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'Negative local press' to blame for Ceredigion's 'ineffective communication

'Negative local press' to blame for Ceredigion's 'ineffective communication

Cambrian News07-05-2025

While the assessment was seen as an overall positive for the council, it did include eight areas for improvement, including the 'recurring theme of ineffective communication across the authority particularly with partners and residents and the effectiveness of Clic'; 'an urgent need for the council to revisit whether their current strategy for social work recruitment is effective and to explore alternatives'; and 'taking steps to address a 'disconnect between backbench members and the executive/senior leadership teams.'

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Prince William says ocean conservation is a challenge like no other ahead of U.N. summit
Prince William says ocean conservation is a challenge like no other ahead of U.N. summit

NBC News

time3 minutes ago

  • NBC News

Prince William says ocean conservation is a challenge like no other ahead of U.N. summit

The third U.N. Ocean Conference opens Monday, with Britain's Prince William among those raising the pressure on nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea. The summit comes as just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That is far below the target agreed under the '30x30' pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030. Atop this year's agenda is ratification of the High Seas Treaty. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned. Speaking ahead of the conference, Britain's Prince William said Sunday that rising sea temperatures, plastic pollution and overfishing were putting pressure on fragile ecosystems and the people who depend on them. 'What once seemed an abundant resource is diminishing before our eyes,' William, heir to the British throne, told the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco. He described the challenge as being 'like none we have faced before'. 'Put simply: the ocean is under enormous threat, but it can revive itself. But, only if together, we act now,' he told the meeting of investors and policymakers. Mauro Randone, regional projects manager at the World Wildlife Fund's Mediterranean Marine Initiative, said that 'it's the Wild West out there with countries just fishing anywhere without any sort of regulation, and that needs to change.' 'The high seas belong to everyone and no one practically at the same time, and countries are finally committing to establish some rules,' he added. The ocean is critical in stabilizing Earth's climate and sustaining life. It generates 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs around 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and captures more than 90% of the excess heat caused by those emissions. Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach. The treaty will only come into force once 60 countries ratify it. As of Monday, just 32 countries had. Advocates hope UNOC can build enough momentum to cross the threshold, which would allow for the first official Oceans Conference of Parties. 'Two-thirds of the ocean is areas beyond national jurisdiction — that's half our planet,' said Minna Epps, director of global ocean policy at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 'We cannot possibly protect 30% of the ocean if it doesn't include the high seas.' South Korea, France and the European Union have championed the treaty, but most large ocean nations have yet to ratify it, including the rest of the G20. Thousands of attendees are expected in Nice, from delegates and heads of state to scientists and industry leaders. The United States has yet to confirm a formal delegation. Beyond new commitments, the conference highlights the growing gap between marine protection declarations and real-world conservation. France, the conference co-host, claims to have surpassed the 30% target for marine protection. But environmental groups say only 3% of French waters are fully protected from harmful activities such as bottom trawling and industrial fishing. 'The government declares these as protected areas, but this is a lie,' said Enric Sala, founder of the National Geographic Pristine Seas marine reserve project. 'Most of it is political box-ticking. It's all paper parks.' That criticism is echoed across the continent. A new World Wildlife Fund report found that although more than 11% of Europe's marine area is designated for protection, just 2% of E.U. waters have management plans in place. Fabien Boileau, director of marine protected areas at France's Office for Biodiversity, acknowledged the presence of bottom trawling in French protected areas, but said it was part of a phased strategy. 'In France, we made the choice to designate large marine protected areas with relatively low levels of regulation at first, betting that stronger protections would be developed over time through local governance,' he said. 'Today, we're gradually increasing the number of zones with stricter protections within those areas.' Advocates say industrial fishing lobbies continue to resist stricter protections, despite evidence that well-managed reserves boost long-term fisheries through the 'spillover effect,' whereby marine life flourishes in nearby waters. 'Protection is not the problem — overfishing is the problem,' Sala said. 'The worst enemy of the fishing industry is themselves.' The conference will feature 10 panels on topics such as blue finance, sustainable fisheries and plastic pollution. Deep sea mining is expected to feature in broader discussions, while small island states are likely to use the platform to advocate for increased climate adaptation funding. The outcome of these discussions will form the basis of the Nice Ocean Action Plan, a declaration of voluntary commitments to be adopted by consensus and presented at the United Nations in New York this July. 'There cannot be a healthy planet without a healthy ocean,' said Peter Thomson, U.N. special envoy for the ocean. 'It's urgent business for us all.'

Auto companies 'in full panic' over rare-earths bottleneck
Auto companies 'in full panic' over rare-earths bottleneck

Time of India

time3 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Auto companies 'in full panic' over rare-earths bottleneck

Frank Eckard, CEO of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in recent weeks. Exasperated automakers and parts suppliers have been desperate to find alternative sources of magnets, which are in short supply due to Chinese export curbs. Some told Eckard their factories could be idled by mid-July without backup magnet supplies. "The whole car industry is in full panic," said Eckard, CEO of Magnosphere, based in Troisdorf, Germany. "They are willing to pay any price." Car executives have once again been driven into their war rooms, concerned that China's tight export controls on rare-earth magnets - crucially needed to make cars - could cripple production. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earths minerals and magnets flow to the United States. A U.S. trade team is scheduled to meet Chinese counterparts for talks in London on Monday. The industry worries that the rare-earths situation could cascade into the third massive supply chain shock in five years. A semiconductor shortage wiped away millions of cars from automakers' production plans, from roughly 2021 to 2023. Before that, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 shut factories for weeks. Those crises prompted the industry to fortify supply chain strategies. Executives have prioritized backup supplies for key components and reexamined the use of just-in-time inventories, which save money but can leave them without stockpiles when a crisis unfurls. Judging from Eckard's inbound calls, though, "nobody has learned from the past," he said. This time, as the rare-earths bottleneck tightens, the industry has few good options, given the extent to which China dominates the market. The fate of automakers' assembly lines has been left to a small team of Chinese bureaucrats as it reviews hundreds of applications for export permits. Several European auto-supplier plants have already shut down, with more outages coming, said the region's auto supplier association, CLEPA. "Sooner or later, this will confront everyone," said CLEPA Secretary-General Benjamin Krieger. Cars today use rare-earths-based motors in dozens of components - side mirrors, stereo speakers, oil pumps, windshield wipers, and sensors for fuel leakage and braking sensors. China controls up to 70% of global rare-earths mining, 85% of refining capacity and about 90% of rare-earths metal alloy and magnet production, consultancy AlixPartners said. The average electric vehicle uses about .5 kg (just over 1 pound) of rare earths elements, and a fossil-fuel car uses just half that, according to the International Energy Agency. China has clamped down before, including in a 2010 dispute with Japan, during which it curbed rare-earths exports. Japan had to find alternative suppliers, and by 2018, China accounted for only 58% of its rare earth imports. "China has had a rare-earth card to play whenever they wanted to," said Mark Smith, CEO of mining company NioCorp, which is developing a rare-earth project in Nebraska scheduled to start production within three years. Across the industry, automakers have been trying to wean off China for rare-earth magnets, or even develop magnets that do not need those elements. But most efforts are years away from the scale needed. "It's really about identifying ... and finding alternative solutions" outside China, Joseph Palmieri, head of supply chain management at supplier Aptiv, said at a conference in Detroit last week. Automakers including General Motors and BMW and major suppliers such as ZF and BorgWarner are working on motors with low-to-zero rare-earth content, but few have managed to scale production enough to cut costs. The EU has launched initiatives including the Critical Raw Materials Act to boost European rare-earth sources. But it has not moved fast enough, said Noah Barkin, a senior advisor at Rhodium Group, a China-focused U.S. think tank. Even players that have developed marketable products struggle to compete with Chinese producers on price. David Bender, co-head of German metal specialist Heraeus' magnet recycling business, said it is only operating at 1% capacity and will have to close next year if sales do not increase. Minneapolis-based Niron has developed rare-earth free magnets and has raised more than $250 million from investors including GM, Stellantis and auto supplier Magna. "We've seen a step change in interest from investors and customers" since China's export controls took effect, CEO Jonathan Rowntree said. It is planning a $1 billion plant scheduled to start production in 2029. England-based Warwick Acoustics has developed rare-earth-free speakers expected to appear in a luxury car later this year. CEO Mike Grant said the company has been in talks with another dozen automakers, although the speakers are not expected to be available in mainstream models for about five years. As auto companies scout longer-term solutions, they are left scrambling to avert imminent factory shutdowns. Automakers must figure out which of their suppliers - and smaller ones a few links up the supply chain - need export permits. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is talking to suppliers about building rare-earth stockpiles. Analysts said the constraints could force automakers to make cars without certain parts and park them until they become available, as GM and others did during the semiconductor crisis. Automakers' reliance on China does not end with rare earth elements. A 2024 European Commission report said China controls more than 50% of global supply of 19 key raw materials, including manganese, graphite and aluminum. Andy Leyland, co-founder of supply chain specialist SC Insights, said any of those elements could be used as leverage by China. "This just is a warning shot," he said.

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