GreenergyDaily

Sep. 6, 2024

1. China's electric cars have zoomed into a new era of battery-powered driving. Now models such as BYD's Seal and Great Wall Motor's Funky Cat face an international backlash. The U.S. is quadrupling duties on imports of electric vehicles from the People's Republic to more than 100%, while the EU is lifting total tariffs close to 50% for some marques. The Chinese-made batteries that power the vehicles are an obvious next target for trade restrictions. But that battle will be even harder for the West to win.

2. Eight member countries of the OPEC+, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, decided Thursday to extend their voluntary output cuts by two months until the end of November amid sliding oil prices.

3. China's largest desert, the Taklimakan, spanning 337,600 sqkm, is set to be completely encircled by a green belt by end-2024. The project, aimed at combating desertification, will be completed with the final 285-km section, adding to the existing 2,761 km.

4. Nio reported total revenues of RMB 17.446 billion ($2,400.6 million) for the second quarter, an increase of 98.9 percent from the second quarter of 2023 and 76.1 percent from the first quarter of 2024.

5. US electric vehicle maker Tesla plans to launch FSD (Full Self-Driving) in China early next year, a slight delay from previous plans. Tesla plans to launch FSD in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval, Tesla's AI team's account said on social media platform X today.

6. Premier Li Qiang and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held talks in Beijing on Thursday, vowing to deepen China-Ethiopia cooperation in various fields. Li called on the two countries to further align their development strategies, expand trade and investment and conduct cooperation in emerging industries such as new energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.

7. China has submitted a request to Canada for consultation at the World Trade Organisation on additional tariffs it has imposed on Chinese electric vehicles as well as steel and aluminum products, the commerce ministry said on Friday. "China urges Canada to abide by WTO rules and immediately correct wrongdoings," said a spokesperson for the commerce ministry.

8. Up to 50% of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets, BYD Pakistan, a partnership between China's BYD and Pakistani car group Mega Motors, said. BYD last month announced its entry into Pakistan, making the South Asian nation of 250 million people one of its newest markets.

9. Germany's Environment Agency announced on Friday that it rejected carbon credits for 215,000 tons of CO2 emissions from oil companies due to suspected fraud involving climate projects in China. These projects were meant to help oil companies meet EU greenhouse gas reduction targets, which require them to make their fuel more eco-friendly.

10. A total of 646 smart solar street lights are installed along a highway in Xiangfen County, Linfen City, north China’s Shanxi Province, set to illuminate the road for drivers using energy collected during the day.