Latest news with #EnvironmentMinister
Globe and Mail
03-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Private equity firm KKR drops out of rescue deal for British utility Thames Water
Thames Water suffered a major setback in its fight to avoid nationalization on Tuesday as it said U.S. private equity firm KKR had pulled out of a multibillion-pound rescue plan. Britain's biggest water supplier has been pushed to the edge by its £18-billion (US$24.35-billion) debt pile, and was banking on KKR investing about £4-billion in new equity to effectively buy the company. The government has said it is on standby in case Thames Water fails to recapitalize and needs to be temporarily nationalized in order to keep services running. 'The government is clearly keeping a very close eye on what's going on,' Environment Minister Steve Reed told LBC Radio on Tuesday, after Thames Water said KKR had pulled out. KKR declined to comment. Britain's Thames Water says fines need to be deferred to help company avoid state rescue Thames Water is at the centre of a public backlash against the privatized water sector which has been blamed for polluting Britain's rivers and seas while hiking bills, and prioritizing dividend payouts over investment in infrastructure. Public outrage over frequent sewage spills has prompted tough action from regulators, but Thames Water bosses have said punitive fines are hindering its efforts at a turnaround. Thames Water CEO Chris Weston warned in mid-May that in order to help the company attract equity and avoid a state rescue, it would need relief from fines estimated to come in at £900-million over the next five years. The government wants to reform the sector and has tasked former Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe with leading a commission to do so. He said on Tuesday regulation needed to be overhauled. While water companies needed to be held to account, action should be proportional, he said. 'It means being able to help companies and support them when they need to improve so they don't wind up in this spiral going down,' he told Sky News. KKR's withdrawal comes days after Thames was fined £123-million for sewage failures. The announcement sent Thames' bonds to record lows. Its 2040 bond dropped 4 pence in the pound to 69 pence while its euro-denominated April 2027 bond dropped 2 euro cents to just under 68 cents. Chairman Adrian Montague said KKR pulling out after two months of due diligence was 'disappointing.' Without fresh funding, Thames Water could run out of money in the middle of 2026. Montague said the company, which has 16 million customers in southern England, would talk to its senior creditors, who have presented their own plan, likely to involve some equity investment and a debt-for-equity swap. The creditors already effectively own the company after writeoffs by the previous shareholders. A creditor spokesperson declined to provide more details on their plan. While Environment Minister Reed acknowledged the situation was 'difficult,' he said the company was stable, adding that the government was ready to step in. Elected last July, the Labour government had promised to clean up Britain's waterways and get on top of the sewage scandal. But in setting up Cunliffe's water commission, it ruled out renationalization as an option. The interim report said risk in the sector needed to be reduced to attract investors willing to accept lower returns over the longer term.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia approves Woodside's North West Shelf LNG project extension
SYDNEY, May 28 (Reuters) - The Australian government approved on Wednesday Woodside Energy's ( opens new tab request to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas plant, after a six-year review process dogged by delays, appeals and backlash from green groups. Environment Minister Murray Watt said in a statement the decision to approve the extension of the project would be subject to strict conditions "particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation".
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Wild horse populations plummet as Kosciuszko biodiversity recovers
Biodiversity in Kosciuszko National Park is healing as feral horse populations drop, according to the New South Wales Environment Minister. Supporters of the brumby are concerned population totals are so low they're threatening guaranteed minimum population levels. But ecologists say it's giving native species populations a better shot at survival.
The Australian
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Australian
Politics latest: Murray Watt promises North West Shelf gas project decision
Politics latest: New Environment Minister Murray Watt promises North West Shelf call 'by end of month' New Environment Minister Murray Watt has promised a decision on the North West Shelf gas project, long delayed under his predecessor Tanya Plibersek, by May 31, adding that some groups 'will be unhappy' with the outcome.
CBC
16-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Alberta fighting 'tiny invasive species' with mandatory watercraft inspections
Social Sharing Highly invasive mussels are making their way through North America, and Alberta is looking to keep them out with a first-of-its-kind mandatory watercraft inspection policy. From June 1 to Sept. 30, anyone travelling across Alberta's southern or eastern borders with any motorized or non-motorized watercraft will be required to undergo a mandatory inspection. The goal of the inspections is to prevent zebra and quagga mussels, two highly invasive species with the potential to devastate aquatic ecosystems, from being introduced in Alberta. "Alberta is the first province in Canada to make watercraft inspections mandatory when travelling from high-risk areas to fight these tiny invasive species," said Rebecca Schulz, provincial minister of environment and protected areas, during an announcement on Friday. While Alberta is free of zebra and quagga mussels to the government's knowledge, increasing reports of established populations east and south of the province have prompted concern. "With boating season now underway, we are stepping up to defend our water bodies and ecosystem to continue to protect Alberta jobs, businesses, and the water infrastructure we rely on," said Schulz. Alberta tallies up cost of invasive mussels on fishing, drinking water, property values 3 days ago Duration 2:40 Alberta is upping efforts to keep invasive mussels out of the province's water bodies. Why? Because, as a new report outlines, allowing waters to become contaminated could cost an estimated $76 million annually to manage. According to provincial data, 13,408 watercraft inspections last year found 15 watercraft with invasive mussels on board. The mandatory inspection policy comes with the opening of 11 new inspection stations, for a total of 12 stations across the province, with increased staffing, extended operating hours and on-site K-9 detection and mobile decontamination units. Stations will be open from as early as 6 a.m. to as late as 2 a.m., with a sheriff highway patrol station near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border on Highway 1 open 24/7. Failure to stop for a watercraft inspection could lead to a $4,200 fine, a significant increase from the $324 fine in place prior to 2024. According to the province, about 20 per cent of drivers transporting watercraft attempted to bypass watercraft inspection stations in 2024. To fund the initiative, Budget 2025 includes the allocation of $18 million over the next five years to expand the province's aquatic invasive species inspection response programs. Mandatory inspections start on June 1 this year, and will be conducted from May 1 to Sept. 30 starting next year. Highly invasive, destructive species Zebra and quagga mussels are tiny animals — both typically measure under five centimetres in length — but can have catastrophic impacts on the ecosystems they invade. As prolific filter feeders, these mollusks consume food particles in the water, leading to significant disruptions in the food chain and potentially even a decrease in fish populations as their presence depletes resources for native fish and shellfish species. Female zebra mussels can produce up to one million eggs per year. Mussel larvae rapidly spread by following currents and attaching to any solid surface they encounter, including boats, plants and other shellfish species such as native mollusks. With the right climate conditions, zebra and quagga mussels can survive out of water for an extended period of time — 30 days according to the Government of Alberta — making watercraft inspections, in addition to proper cleaning, draining and drying of watercraft and equipment, of the utmost importance. "These measures are essential to avoid long-term, costly ecological and economic impacts and to protect our waters and aquatic ecosystems before irreversible damage occurs," said Megan Evans, executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council. Zebra and quagga mussels are not established in Alberta at this time. Zebra mussels have been detected in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and as far west as Manitoba. It's believed that watercraft transport has been the primary method of movement for invasive mussels across Canada and the United States. The province estimates an infestation of invasive mussels would cost $75 million a year — water infrastructure such as drinking water, power generation and irrigation systems would need to be both protected and replaced, while there would be a substantial decrease in revenue from recreational fishing combined with a decrease in property values and increases in boat maintenance costs. "Preventing the introduction of invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels requires proactive action," said Evans. Zebra and quagga mussels both hail from Eastern Europe, with the two species first being detected in the Great Lakes in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Much smaller than native mussel species, these invasive shellfish have brown shells that may have banding patterns. Zebra mussel shells are triangular in shape, while quagga mussels sport D-shaped shells. If a suspicious-looking mussel is spotted, the most telling sign that the mussel is an invasive species is whether it is found attached to anything. Native mussel species typically bury themselves in the sand, while zebra and quagga mussels are most often found attached to solid surfaces.
