Ursula von der Leyen

A mega-yacht seized by U.S. authorities from a Russian oligarch is costing the government nearly $1 million a month to maintain, according to new court filings.The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking permission to sell a 348-foot yacht called Amadea, which it seized in 2022, alleging that it was owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. The government said it wants to sell the $230 million yacht due to the "excessive costs" of maintenance and crew, which it said could total $922,000 a month."It is…

Over 400 wildfires are raging across Canada this week and firefighting teams have been overwhelmed by the flames. Canadian officials have asked for foreign support, and several countries have offered to send supplies and people, including the United States. As of yesterday, the U.S. has deployed more than 600 firefighters and support personnel to help on the ground emergency response teams, according to the White House.Biggest Forest Fire in New Mexico HistoryOther countries have sent emergency response teams to Canada…

World leaders are addressing their concerns about AI at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on Friday, suggesting that “guardrails” should be put in place to monitor the evolving technology. The summit, which will tackle other issues including the Ukraine War, China relations, and clean energy, is bringing the AI discussion to the table for the first time at the request of President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.Is AI Moving Too Fast? | Future TechLeaders from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S.,…

WASHINGTON—President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Friday as the U.S. and Europe try to move beyond a spat over subsidies for clean-energy technology and preserve a trans-Atlantic relationship that had strengthened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Since Congress passed the climate and healthcare law called the Inflation Reduction Act last year, European officials have loudly complained about provisions that they fear disadvantage their own…

Both pink and blue have been used to differentiate between different methods of hydrogen production.Eve Livesey | Moment | Getty ImagesFrom Tesla's Elon Musk to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the past few years have seen many high-profile names talk about the role hydrogen may — or may not — play in the planet's shift to a more sustainable future.Musk has expressed skepticism about hydrogen's usefulness, but many think it could help to slash emissions in a number of sectors, including transportation…

Seventy-two hours before they hoped to launch an unprecedented new plan to set a cap on the price of Russian oil, Biden administration officials faced a problem: Poland hadn’t yet signed off on the final design. With support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Poland had pushed for setting the cap as low as $30 a barrel, an attempt to deeply cut the Kremlin’s oil revenues. But the U.S. and other Group of Seven advanced democracies sought a deal at $60 a barrel to hedge against the risk of sending global crude…

This image, from March 2021, shows a worker with car batteries at a facility in China.STR | AFP | Getty ImagesChina is leading the way when it comes to lithium — and the rest of the world has not been quick enough to respond to its dominance, according to the CEO of American Lithium.Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Monday, Simon Clarke discussed how China had secured its position of strength within the industry."I just think the Chinese have — I mean you have to take your hat off, they've played a great game," he…

A Lithium-ion battery photographed at a Volkswagen facility in Germany. The EU is looking to increase the number of electric vehicles on its roads in the coming years.Ronny Hartmann | AFP | Getty ImagesParis-headquartered minerals giant Imerys plans to develop a lithium extraction project that it's hoped will help meet demand and secure supply for Europe's emerging electric vehicle market.In a statement Monday, Imerys said its Emili Project would be located at a site in the center of France, with the company targeting…

In a statement Tuesday, the Port of Rotterdam Authority's CEO, Allard Castelein, said northwest Europe used "far more energy than it can produce in a sustainable way."Eschcollection | Stone | Getty ImagesMadrid-headquartered energy firm Cepsa said it would work with the Port of Rotterdam to develop "the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and northern Europe," in the latest sign of how the emerging sector is attracting interest from major companies and organizations.In an announcement Tuesday, Cepsa — which is…

Part of a hydrogen-powered train photographed in Germany on Aug. 24, 2022. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed support for hydrogen during her State of the Union address on Sept. 14Carmen Jaspersen | AFP | Getty ImagesThe European Commission on Wednesday approved up to 5.2 billion euros (roughly $5.2 billion) in public funding for hydrogen projects, a move it said could unlock a further 7 billion euros of investments from the private sector.The executive arm of the EU said the bloc's flagship…