Friday, 10 July 2026

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, announced next steps for the Canadian Digital Core Library (CDCL) at the 2026 Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Hodgson highlighted newly signed memoranda of understanding with Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon to advance the CDCL, Natural Resources Canada said.

He also announced up to CAD 15 million for Creative Destruction Lab to develop the CDCL platform, according to the department.

Core scanning is set to begin by September 2026, Natural Resources Canada said.

The Geological Survey of Canada holds over 80,000 metres of drill core, with provincial and territorial libraries adding almost five million metres to the country's core catalogue, according to the department.

Canada produces over 60 minerals and metals, including the 34 critical minerals identified on the 2024 Critical Minerals List, Natural Resources Canada said.

California is deciding whether to spend nearly USD 200 million to help public schools install healthier and more efficient heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and plumbing systems, according to Canary Media.

The alternative under consideration is returning the money to the state's biggest utilities so customers save roughly a dollar per month on their bills, Canary Media reported.

Fern and a group of NGOs have begun developing a methodology built on six criteria to identify areas where mining should be prohibited, according to Climate Home News. The work is being carried out in consultation with Indigenous Peoples' organisations.

Around half of the metals and minerals needed for the energy transition sit on or near Indigenous Peoples' territories, according to Climate Home News.

Research cited by Climate Home News shows that the expansion of mining threatens about 363,000 km2 of protected land in the Brazilian Amazon, home to 195,000 traditional and Indigenous people.

The Sakatti nickel project in Finnish Lapland has part of its deposit under a peat bog ecosystem, according to Climate Home News. The site is protected under Finnish law and forms part of the Natura 2000 network.

According to Fern, the European Commission disregarded expert advice when selecting strategic mining sites eligible for streamlined permitting. Several controversial projects were added to the list after initially failing expert assessments.

Perrine Fournier, a trade, mining and forest campaigner at Fern, argues that no mining should proceed without the Free Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples or local communities.

Canada expanded the Greener Homes Affordability Program to Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, building on an existing partnership with Manitoba, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Over $500 million in funding, including $300 million from the federal government, will help more than 35,000 low- and median-income households install heat pumps, better insulation, improved air sealing and other upgrades at no cost, Natural Resources Canada said. The upgrades cut energy bills and household emissions.

Retrofits under the program will help participants save between $300 and $1,700 in annual energy costs and reduce a household's annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.5 tonnes, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The Quebec allocation totals $243.5 million, according to the department's backgrounder. That includes $172.5 million from the federal government, $9.7 million from Quebec's MELCCFP and $61.3 million from Hydro-Quebec, supporting no-cost upgrades for about 25,000 households.

BC Hydro will receive $68.8 million in federal funding plus roughly $108.5 million from BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia, for total funding of about $177.3 million.

Nova Scotia will receive $20 million from the federal government plus $6 million from the province, totalling $26 million, to expand the HomeWarming and African Nova Scotian Communities Retrofit programs for about 1,600 additional households, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Across Canada, more than 96 percent of building emissions come from space and water heating, the department said. Switching from oil heating to a heat pump can save over $1,300 and 2.8 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Canada and Italy tasked their critical minerals envoys with developing joint approaches to stockpiling by the end of 2026, according to a joint statement from Natural Resources Canada. The commitment came at the second Canada-Italy Ministerial Energy Dialogue in Montreal, held on the margins of the International Energy Agency's Global Conference on Energy Efficiency.

Canada's Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Italy's Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin led the meeting. The inaugural dialogue was convened in October 2025 at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The ministers directed officials to advance work in critical minerals value chains, nuclear energy cooperation, liquefied natural gas, and energy security.

On nuclear energy, Canada and Italy committed to continue exploring opportunities for scientific, regulatory, fusion research, and industrial collaboration.

The two governments also formalized the launch of technical discussions between officials at Natural Resources Canada and Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security.

Vermont received its largest delivery of superefficient manufactured homes through a state program aimed at lowering energy bills in affordable housing, according to Canary Media.

The all-electric homes are equipped with heat pumps and cut energy use by more than half compared with new conventional homes, according to Canary Media.

Canary Media described the delivery as the latest example of how the state program can lower energy bills for residents of this type of affordable housing.

Florida's HB 1217, which prohibits local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals, takes effect July 1, according to Inside Climate News. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the measure on April 22, Earth Day.

At least 10 cities and counties in the state have implemented net-zero policies, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Leon County, Inside Climate News reported.

The law requires local governments to submit an annual affidavit to the state Department of Revenue verifying compliance, according to Inside Climate News. It also prevents local governments from participating in carbon-trading programs or charging taxes or fees tied to carbon emissions.

In response to the law, Leon County rescinded a 2023 resolution declaring a climate emergency and rolled back plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles, Inside Climate News reported.

Orlando Utilities Commission, the state's second-largest municipal utility, serves more than 288,000 customers in Orange and Osceola counties, according to Inside Climate News. The utility remains committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2040.

Wood Mackenzie tied 7 GW of renewable project cancellations and stalled activity on federal lands during 2025 to tighter permitting rules and withdrawn federal funding.

The firm estimates that stiffer federal oversight puts a further 12 GW on federal lands and 80 GW on private lands at risk. Across technologies, solar carries the heaviest load in absolute terms, with 30% of its pipeline exposed to added review, according to Wood Mackenzie.

The trigger was a Department of Interior memorandum dated July 15, 2025, which pulled review of nearly all wind and solar projects into a centralized process, Wood Mackenzie said. Under those rules, the firm calculates that 32% of the early-stage pipeline now faces extra federal review.

Kaitlin Fung, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said wetland permitting is the main bottleneck for solar, wind and energy storage alike.

The policy has run into the courts. A federal court granted a preliminary injunction in April 2026 that halted agency measures tightening restrictions and broadening review for wind and solar, ruling them likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Separately, the House passed the Simplifying Permitting and Ending Endless Delays (SPEED) Act in December 2025, which still needs Senate and Executive sign-off.

India aims to widen its sources of crude and stockpile enough fuel to cover up to a month of domestic demand, according to Rigzone.

The country buys roughly 90% of the crude it uses, running at close to 5 million barrels a day, Rigzone reported.

Refiners including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. secure close to half their crude under long-term contracts and source the rest on the spot market, according to Rigzone.

The diversification push would tap fresh output from producers such as Guyana, Brazil and the US, Rigzone said, citing people familiar with the plans.

The stockpiling program spans crude, LPG and liquefied natural gas, with volumes set to cover as much as a month of demand, Rigzone reported.

Indian Oil had already been building toward a trading desk with Vitol Group before the war, according to Rigzone.

US waivers permitting purchases of Russian oil have given Indian refiners short-term supply relief, and they have bought heavily, Rigzone reported.

Diplomats gathered in Nairobi for a four-day informal session that opened Tuesday, marking their first face-to-face meeting since UN plastic treaty talks broke down nearly a year earlier, according to Climate Home News.

A formal negotiating round is set for March 13 to March 24, 2027, Climate Home News reported.

The reopened talks revealed a split over whether the accord should cap how much plastic gets made. A bloc of large fossil fuel and petrochemical producers, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia and India, has pressed for a deal limited to waste management rather than output curbs, according to Climate Home News.

Washington backs practical, cost-effective measures against plastic pollution and opposes global plastic bans, a US State Department spokesperson told Climate Home News.

Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano, who chairs the process, took the role in February after his predecessor stepped down, Climate Home News reported. He rejected any narrowing of scope, saying no topic is off the table and urging delegations to submit whatever proposals they consider necessary for a workable outcome.

Without new limits, the UN projects plastic production will triple by 2060, according to Climate Home News.

The 11th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency concluded in Montreal on June 30, 2026, according to Natural Resources Canada. The event was co-hosted by International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, and Canada's Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature Julie Dabrusin.

All participating countries, including Canada, endorsed the Montreal Action Plan, Natural Resources Canada said. The plan highlights the importance of doubling global energy efficiency progress by 2030.

According to Natural Resources Canada, energy efficiency standards have saved Canadian households more than CAD 110 billion since the 1990s.

Hodgson accepted the IEA's invitation for Canada to join the IEA Ministerial Advisory Panel on Electricity Affordability, Natural Resources Canada said.

The conference also celebrated six global winners of the Youth Energy Efficiency Leadership Award, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Exports of portable air conditioners from China to Western Europe surged 70% in the first five months of 2026, according to Semafor Net Zero. The European heatwave is benefiting Chinese air-conditioning makers and e-commerce platforms, Semafor reported.

Demand has outrun supply on some product lines. A Midea AC model that debuted this month is completely sold out in Germany on Alibaba's international retail site, according to Semafor.

Chinese presence extends beyond cooling hardware. A German executive said China was "everywhere" at a recent solar and energy storage exhibition in Munich, Semafor reported.

The trend intersects with a policy push in Brussels, which is looking to counter Europe's reliance on China's clean-energy hardware, according to Semafor.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson met with European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen in Montreal on June 29, 2026, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The two discussed deepening cooperation across liquefied natural gas (LNG), critical minerals, nuclear energy, electrification, and clean technologies, Natural Resources Canada said.

Hodgson and Jørgensen co-hosted an Energy Security Business Roundtable that brought together Ministers from EU member states and senior industry executives, according to Natural Resources Canada. The roundtable addressed greater Canada-EU energy supply chain integration.

A federal appeals court has upheld New York City and state rules barring fossil fuel-burning appliances in new construction, siding with the electrification mandates against an industry challenge, according to CleanTechnica. In the same decision, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgments of two lower courts.

The rejected challenges targeted building electrification requirements, CleanTechnica reported.