Monday, 7 September 2026

Brooke Rollins, the United States agriculture secretary, disclosed fossil fuel investments worth as much as USD 2.5 million held jointly with her husband Mark Rollins, an executive in the oil and gas industry, in reports filed in July, Inside Climate News reported.

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee-Minority produced a separate tally on presidential holdings. Its report put President Trump's potential gain at around USD 15.5 million on the oil and gas positions he held at the end of 2025, according to Inside Climate News.

Industry-wide earnings have moved in the same direction. Oil and gas companies have booked more than USD 125 billion in profits since the launch of the war, Inside Climate News reported.

An April survey found 94% of farmers concerned about rising production costs tied to the war in Iran, according to Inside Climate News.

The department Rollins runs has closed off one alternative for growers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped funding wind and solar projects on American farmland and made renewable energy projects ineligible for loans under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Inside Climate News reported.

REAP loans finance on-farm generation and efficiency upgrades. Cutting renewables out of the program eliminates that borrowing route while 94% of surveyed farmers report concern over production costs linked to the war in Iran.

Latvia has expanded its EUR 85 million household renewable energy support program, raising grants for eligible households and doubling the minimum supported battery capacity to 10 kWh from 5 kWh, according to pv magazine.

Households holding the Goda gimene family card now qualify for solar grants covering up to 85% of eligible costs, up from 70%, pv magazine reported.

Demand has skewed heavily toward panels. The ministry reported more than 14,000 applications for solar panels and more than 2,000 applications for batteries, per pv magazine. The revised 10 kWh floor applies to the smaller battery stream.

As of May 2026, the scheme had supported 15,700 projects and awarded more than EUR 59.75 million, according to the Latvian government as cited by pv magazine. The award total sits against the EUR 85 million program budget.

Installed solar capacity in Latvia has reached 1,521 MW, according to statistics from the Latvian Renewable Energy Alliance cited by pv magazine. Around 601 MW of that has been added so far this year, on top of the 920 MW installed by the end of last year.

Argentina is stepping up pressure on companies involved in offshore oil development around the Falkland Islands as the territory nears first production, according to World Oil, reviving a longstanding dispute with the UK.

The press office of President Javier Milei circulated statements from Halliburton, SLB and Baker Hughes confirming that the three oilfield service companies have no involvement in oil development off the islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, World Oil reported.

The pressure campaign extends to ownership of the islands' commercial infrastructure. Argentine businessman Eduardo Elsztain holds about a 2% stake in FIH Group Plc through Dolphin Fund Ltd., according to World Oil. FIH Group is the parent of the Falkland Islands Company.

Elsztain had sought a larger position. British authorities declined to allow an Argentine investor to take a majority interest in the Falkland Islands Company, World Oil reported.