Category: Climate Change

MIL-OSI USA: NASA, French SWOT Satellite Offers Big View of Small Ocean Features

Source: NASA

The international mission collects two-dimensional views of smaller waves and currents that are bringing into focus the ocean’s role in supporting life on Earth.
Small things matter, at least when it comes to ocean features like waves and eddies. A recent NASA-led analysis using data from the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite found that ocean features as small as a mile across potentially have a larger impact on the movement of nutrients and heat in marine ecosystems than previously thought.
Too small to see well with previous satellites but too large to see in their entirety with ship-based instruments, these relatively small ocean features fall into a category known as the submesoscale. The SWOT satellite, a joint effort between NASA and the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), can observe these features and is demonstrating just how important they are, driving much of the vertical transport of things like nutrients, carbon, energy, and heat within the ocean. They also influence the exchange of gases and energy between the ocean and atmosphere.
“The role that submesoscale features play in ocean dynamics is what makes them important,” said Matthew Archer, an oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Some of these features are called out in the animation below, which was created using SWOT sea surface height data.

[embedded content]
This animation shows small ocean features — including internal waves and eddies — derived from SWOT observations in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. White and lighter blue represent higher ocean surface heights compared to darker blue areas. The purple colors shown in one location represent ocean current speeds.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

“Vertical currents move heat between the atmosphere and ocean, and in submesoscale eddies, can actually bring up heat from the deep ocean to the surface, warming the atmosphere,” added Archer, who is a coauthor on the submesoscale analysis published in April in the journal Nature. Vertical circulation can also bring up nutrients from the deep sea, supplying marine food webs in surface waters like a steady stream of food trucks supplying festivalgoers.
“Not only can we see the surface of the ocean at 10 times the resolution of before, we can also infer how water and materials are moving at depth,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, SWOT program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Fundamental Force
Researchers have known about these smaller eddies, or circular currents, and waves for decades. From space, Apollo astronauts first spotted sunlight glinting off small-scale eddies about 50 years ago. And through the years, satellites have captured images of submesoscale ocean features, providing limited information such as their presence and size. Ship-based sensors or instruments dropped into the ocean have yielded a more detailed view of submesoscale features, but only for relatively small areas of the ocean and for short periods of time.
The SWOT satellite measures the height of water on nearly all of Earth’s surface, including the ocean and freshwater bodies, at least once every 21 days. The satellite gives researchers a multidimensional view of water levels, which they can use to calculate, for instance, the slope of a wave or eddy. This in turn yields information on the amount of pressure, or force, being applied to the water in the feature. From there, researchers can figure out how fast a current is moving, what’s driving it and —combined with other types of information — how much energy, heat, or nutrients those currents are transporting.
“Force is the fundamental quantity driving fluid motion,” said study coauthor Jinbo Wang, an oceanographer at Texas A&M University in College Station. Once that quantity is known, a researcher can better understand how the ocean interacts with the atmosphere, as well as how changes in one affect the other.
Prime Numbers
Not only was SWOT able to spot a submesoscale eddy in an offshoot of the Kuroshio Current — a major current in the western Pacific Ocean that flows past the southeast coast of Japan — but researchers were also able to estimate the speed of the vertical circulation within that eddy. When SWOT observed the feature, the vertical circulation was likely 20 to 45 feet (6 to 14 meters) per day.
This is a comparatively small amount for vertical transport. However, the ability to make those calculations for eddies around the world, made possible by SWOT, will improve researchers’ understanding of how much energy, heat, and nutrients move between surface waters and the deep sea.
Researchers can do similar calculations for such submesoscale features as an internal solitary wave — a wave driven by forces like the tide sloshing over an underwater plateau. The SWOT satellite spotted an internal wave in the Andaman Sea, located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean off Myanmar. Archer and colleagues calculated that the energy contained in that solitary wave was at least twice the amount of energy in a typical internal tide in that region.
This kind of information from SWOT helps researchers refine their models of ocean circulation. A lot of ocean models were trained to show large features, like eddies hundreds of miles across, said Lee Fu, SWOT project scientist at JPL and a study coauthor. “Now they have to learn to model these smaller scale features. That’s what SWOT data is helping with.”
Researchers have already started to incorporate SWOT ocean data into some models, including NASA’s ECCO (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean). It may take some time until SWOT data is fully a part of models like ECCO. But once it is, the information will help researchers better understand how the ocean ecosystem will react to a changing world.
More About SWOT
The SWOT satellite was jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. Managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA provided the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. The Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations were provided by CNES. The KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly was provided by CSA.
To learn more about SWOT, visit:
https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov
News Media Contacts
Jane J. Lee / Andrew WangJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.626-491-1943 / 626-379-6874jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
2025-070

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Committee Democrats Introduce Bill to Elevate Tribal Leadership in Land Management
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

May 15, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, top Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee introduced the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act, a landmark bill that ensures Tribal Nations are full and equal partners in the management of federal lands. The legislation would direct the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to incorporate Tribal co-management into decision-making processes—affirming Tribal sovereignty and fulfilling the U.S. federal government’s longstanding trust and treaty obligations.

“As wildfires grow more devastating and climate change accelerates, we simply cannot afford to ignore the expertise of those who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial,” said Ranking Member Huffman. “For too long, the federal government has left Tribal Nations out of decision-making processes when it comes to managing public lands, but these lands often hold deep cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance for Tribal communities. This bill changes that by creating a clear framework for real, equal partnership—where Tribes help shape decisions, lead restoration efforts, and bring their knowledge to the table in a way that is respected, protected, and empowered. This bill would help build a foundation for shared stewardship that respects Tribal sovereignty, improves forest health, and strengthens our communities against climate-driven disasters. It’s long overdue.”

“Federal recognition and respect for the deeply rooted relationship between Indigenous peoples and the land is overdue,” said Vice Ranking Member Sarah Elfreth. “As the original stewards of this land for centuries, their wisdom and lived experiences in preserving ecosystems, waterways, and natural resources like our forests offer generational knowledge we cannot afford to overlook. The Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act takes an important step in ensuring Indigenous communities have their rightful seat at the table.”

“Tribal Nations have been stewards of our forests and lands since time immemorial, guided by deep cultural knowledge and respect for the natural world,” said Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. “When we recognize Tribes authority to lead and co-manage our public lands, we not only honor their sovereignty—we also protect our forests, our water, and our future. The Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act recognizes that Tribal leadership is not just a matter of justice, it is essential for a healthy planet and resilient communities.”

“I’m proud to join Ranking Member Huffman in introducing this bill to elevate Tribal voices in land management decisions. In Colorado, where many Tribes, including the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute, have deep ties to the land, this landmark bill will improve Tribal co-management of our public lands.” said Representative Joe Neguse, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. “I’m excited to join my colleagues in an effort to recognize Tribal Nations as equal partners in land stewardship, and uplift their longstanding ecological knowledge.”

“Tribal Nations have managed these lands for thousands of years—they know what they’re doing,” said Representative Val Hoyle, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries. “If we’re serious about preserving our federal lands and preventing wildfires, we need to work with the people who’ve been protecting these forests long before the federal government existed. This bill gives Tribes the seat at the table they deserve and brings their deep knowledge into decisions that make our communities safer and our forests stronger.”

“Tribal Nations were stewards of their own lands for centuries before the U.S. government stepped in–they deserve an equal role in managing them now. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation that affirms Tribal sovereignty and strengthens Indigenous partnerships in the management of federal lands. Our state is home to 22 federally recognized tribes; this bill ensures Tribal voices are central in shaping the future of our forests and public lands, especially as we work together to address the climate crisis,” said Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Ranking Member of the Energy and Minerals Subcommittee.

BACKGROUND

Tribal Nations have stewarded these lands since time immemorial, using traditional ecological knowledge to reduce wildfire risk, restore ecosystems, and protect sacred cultural resources. Yet despite this expertise, many Tribes continue to face bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of statutory authority that limit their participation in land management decisions.

This bill seeks to change that.

The Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act:
- Requires the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop Tribal Co-Management Plans in coordination with the Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee.
- Mandates culturally appropriate training for Department of the Interior employees engaged in Tribal Co-Management work.
- Extends statutory authority to the U.S. Forest Service to enter into co-management agreements with Tribes for activities including forest planning, ecological restoration, recreation, and research.
- Ensures regular review of Tribal Co-Management Plans and allows Tribes to request reviews following natural disasters.
- Directs agencies to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into planning, with safeguards to protect data sovereignty and cultural integrity.
- Reduces administrative burdens on Tribes by streamlining reporting and compliance processes.
STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT

“We are excited to endorse Rep. Huffman’s tribal self-determination and co-management in forestry bill. Karuk people have been managing our homelands since time immemorial and partnering with the US Forest Service for decades. We appreciate that this bill recognizes the importance of sovereign-to-sovereign co-management frameworks that enable us to do the important work of proactively managing our forests and making our landscapes more resilient to wildfire in a manner consistent with our indigenous knowledge practice and belief systems. We look forward to progressing these efforts in a bipartisan manner to enable more proactive management across multi-jurisdictional landscapes” Karuk Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery

“The Stewardship Project supports the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act as a vital step toward reorienting federal land management around active stewardship and Indigenous leadership. This bill directly reflects recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission by ensuring Tribes are not just consulted, but empowered as equal partners in forest management.” The Stewardship Project Co-Chairs Scott Stephens, Don Hankins, and Sara Clark

“This legislation builds upon the shared stewardship authorities authorized by past Congresses to create a permanent co-management role in improving the health and resilience of federal lands. It would give tribes the ability to expand the successful models and practices used in Indian Country for the benefit of all federal land within their traditional territories. We fully support Congressman Huffman’s legislation and urge its passage by Congress.” Cody Desautel, President, InterTribal Timber Council

“Sustainable Northwest supports the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act and Representative Huffman’s recognition of Tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. Legislation designed to protect and manage federal lands must respect, uphold, and implement the legally binding obligations the federal government has to Tribal nations. This legislation paves the way for a new approach to manage and enhance federal lands, add workforce capacity, and uphold Tribal and treaty rights in land management by formally including Tribal Nations in planning and decision-making.” Dylan Kruse, President, Sustainable Northwest

“The Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition is strongly in support of the Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act which advances opportunities for Tribal co-management and co-stewardship of federal public lands. This bill is an important step in bolstering Tribal sovereignty, honoring protected Tribal rights, and bringing Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge into federal forest and grassland management. We thank Congressman Huffman for his leadership on this issue critical to the stewardship and resilience of rural communities and landscapes of the West.” Laurel Harkness, Coalition Director, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition

“The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission recognized co-management of federal lands with Tribes as a critical tool to achieve wildfire risk reduction. This bill expands the ability of the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to partner with Tribes to plan and accomplish much-needed restoration and risk reduction work and is an important step forward in expansion of federal co-management authority.” Tyson Bertone-Riggs, Managing Director, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience

“Tribal Co-Management Plans are an important vehicle for fulfilling our nation’s treaty and trust responsibilities to Tribal Nations and improving the overall stewardship of fire-dependent public lands. The Climate and Wildfire Institute supports The Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act as a vital pathway for addressing the wildfire crisis by upholding and advancing Tribal rights and access consistent with recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Report.” Marissa Christiansen, Executive Director at the Climate and Wildfire Institute

“Our forests are unhealthy, and Tribal communities are held back from applying time-tested and locally driven practices in our own homelands. This bill on co-management is a fundamental step forward to restore forests and our communities who have managed them for thousands of years.” Ryan Reed, (Karuk, Hupa, Yurok), Director of FireGeneration Collaborative (FireGen)

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MIL OSI USA News –
May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Slovenia to get expressway upgrade with €120 million EIB loan to motorway operator DARS
Source: European Investment Bank
- EIB lends Slovenian motorway company DARS €120 million to finance a bypass project near southeastern city of Novo Mesto.
- Planned Novo Mesto eastern bypass is to improve traffic flow, road safety and air quality in area close to Croatian border.
- Project includes more than six kilometres of cycling paths as well as bike and pedestrian bridge across river Krka.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €120 million to the Slovenian national motorway company DARS to build a bypass near the southeastern city of Novo Mesto. The planned Novo Mesto eastern bypass is a 9.8-kilometre expressway that will improve traffic flow, road safety and air quality in the region, which is near the border with Croatia.

The project is expected to boost economic growth in the area by connecting to the A2 motorway, which traverses Slovenia from north to south.

In line with the EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap commitments, it continues to invest in road projects such as the one in Novo Mesto, which includes the creation of more than six kilometres of dedicated cycling paths as well as a bike and pedestrian bridge across the river Krka, bolstering actions to promote clean forms of transport and fight climate change.

“This project reflects our support for sustainable infrastructure development in Slovenia,” said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris. “It is part of our broader effort to help improve mobility and quality of life for residents in Novo Mesto and the wider region.”

The Novo Mesto Eastern Bypass is part of Slovenia’s plan for sustainable urban mobility and aligns with the European Union’s priorities for infrastructure development and environmental sustainability.

“We welcome the EIB’s decision to grant DARS the credit facilities to implement this key infrastructure project. We are convinced that it will significantly contribute to the development of the municipality and the wider region, while at the same time improving road safety and traffic flow for all users,” said the President of the Board of DARS, mag. Andrej Ribi.

The EIB’s advisory services, including technical assistance from JASPERS, helped in the project preparation by being involved in feasibility studies and environmental-impact assessments.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, the EIB finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high -impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in the organisation’s Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate-change mitigation, adaptation and a healthier environment. Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the EU is directed towards cohesion regions, where per-capita income is lower than the EU average.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of the EIB Group’s headquarters for media use are available here.
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – EU ETS for maritime transport – P-001895/2025
Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-001895/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Asger Christensen (Renew)

1.The current regulatory regime for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for maritime transport only covers ships above 5000 gross tonnage. Does the Commission agree that exempting all ships below 5000 gross tonnage significantly distorts competition in the internal market, and is it prepared to rectify what is unfair competition by including all ships between 400 and 5000 gross tonnage within the EU ETS for maritime transport from 1 January 2027?

2.The current regulatory regime for the EU ETS for maritime transport only covers ships above 5000 gross tonnage. Does the Commission take the view that exempting ships below 5000 gross tonnage incentivises owners of smaller ships to replace their fleets with modern, highly energy-efficient vessels with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission ratings? If not, is the Commission prepared to rectify what is unfair competition by including all ships between 400 and 5000 gross tonnage within the EU ETS for maritime transport from 1 January 2027?

3.Does the Commission agree that the Innovation Fund, which allocates funding from the EU ETS, could usefully be extended to subsidise the retrofitting of low energy efficiency vessels that have high GHG emission ratings?

Submitted: 13.5.2025
Last updated: 15 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 16, 2025

MIL-OSI Europe: REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism – A10-0085/2025

Source: European Parliament

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
Rapporteur: Antonio Decaro
(Simplified procedure – Rule 52(2) of the Rules of Procedure)

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism

(COM(2025)0087 – C10‑0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)0087),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C10-0035/2025),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the budgetary assessment by the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 29 April 2025 [1],

– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

– having regard to Rules 60 and 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of he Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (A10-0085/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 25 a (new)


Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(25a) The CBAM applies to importation of electricity, but it should not apply to electricity generated entirely in the exclusive economic zone of an EEA Member State and imported directly into the customs territory of the Union ;

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2023/956

Article 2 – paragraph 3 b (new)


Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ba) the following paragraph 3b is inserted:
	3b. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, this Regulation shall not apply to electricity generated entirely in the exclusive economic zone of an EEA Member State and imported directly into the customs territory of the Union.

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Annex I – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2023/956

Annex IV – point 3 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 5


Present text	Amendment
	(1a) In point 3, in the notes explaining the formula for SEEg in the first paragraph, the note for EEImpMat is replaced by the following:
EEInpMat	EEInpMat
are the embedded emissions of the input materials (precursors) consumed in the production process. Only input materials (precursors) listed as relevant to the system boundaries of the production process as specified in the implementing act adopted pursuant to Article 7(7) are to be considered. The relevant EEInpMat are calculated as follows:	are the embedded emissions of the input materials (precursors) consumed in the production process. Only input materials (precursors) listed in Annex I and originating in third countries and territories that are not exempted pursuant to Annex III, Section 1 are to be considered. The relevant EEInpMat are calculated as follows:

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

28.4.2025BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGETS

for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism

(COM(2025)0087 – C10‑0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD))

Rapporteur for budgetary assessment: Sandra Gómez López

The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:

A. whereas the proposal by the Commission to simplify the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism(CBAM) aims at achieving significant savings in terms of administrative costs for EU importers of CBAM goods;

B. whereas the proceeds of the CBAM are to become an EU own resource according to the amended Commission proposal of 23 June 2023 for a Council decision amending Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 on the system of own resources of the European Union (COM(2023)0331); whereas Parliament approved this proposal in its legislative resolution of 9 November 2023 [2];

C. whereas the Council has failed to implement the steps set out in the legally binding roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA), the objectives of this roadmap being to introduce sufficient new own resources to at least cover the repayment of NextGenerationEU (NGEU) debt;

D. whereas the estimated revenue from the CBAM would diminish in proportion to the CO2 emissions captured in the scope of the simplified regulation; whereas this impact would remain modest, presumably within one per cent of the overall estimated revenue;

E. whereas the Commission proposal entails additional operational expenditure in Heading 3 to be financed by means of redeployment from a budget line in Heading 4 and administrative expenditure for human resources in Heading 7 to be financed by redeployment within Heading 7;

F. whereas the penalties for CBAM declarants in breach of the regulation are, in principle, to be aligned with excess emission penalties under the Emissions Trading System (ETS); whereas the national competent authorities remain in charge of establishing and enforcing such measures based on implementing acts;

1. Takes note of the proposal to simplify the CBAM regulation in the context of an overall initiative to improve the EU’s competitiveness;

2. Recalls that Parliament has repeatedly endorsed a new own resource based on the CBAM and is keenly aware that this own resource is one of the few candidates that also enjoy tangible support from the Member States in the Council; regrets, therefore, that the embedded emissions covered under the reduced scope of the CBAM would lead to proportionately lower own resources revenue from the CBAM; acknowledges, however, that the amounts (in the order of EUR 20 million per year) and share (1 %) concerned are modest compared to the overall figures that the CBAM is expected to produce in terms of revenue;

3. Confirms that the amending regulation remains compatible with Parliament’s consultative opinion of 9 November 2023, which approves the Commission’s proposal for an amended Council decision on the system of own resources, including a new own resource based on the CBAM;

4. Considers that there are no provisions in the amending regulation that would fall under Rule 58(4), i.e. covering exclusively budgetary aspects which the committee responsible for the subject matter would not be allowed to amend; considers, furthermore, that no legislative amendments in this regard are necessary at this stage;

5. Recalls that the amendments or compromises in the course of the negotiations must not lead to any provisions contradicting Parliament’s established position on the use of CBAM revenue as an own resource; considers it necessary, therefore, to take part in the further negotiations, including the trilogues, in order to monitor the consistency with Parliament’s position on own resources and other pertinent budget-related provisions, and to ensure that the final agreement is compatible with the current MFF;

6. Observes certain flaws and errors in the Legislative Financial and Digital Statement (LFS) that should be rectified in the course of the further process, in a revised version of the Statement; questions, in this respect, the annual amounts listed in the table under Section 3.3 and, in particular, whether there will already be any revenue collected in 2026; also considers that the budget line (which is from the expenditure title) mentioned in this section is incorrect; recalls that in order to be consistent with present practice and the proposed own resources legislation, amounts indicated in this section should be shown ‘net’ of the 25 % collection costs to be retained by Member States and converted into current prices;

7. Acknowledges that the level of revenue foregone, in the order of EUR 21 million as of 2030, is non-material compared to the cost savings for companies, especially SMEs, and acceptable in view of the overall revenue expected from the CBAM;

8. Takes note of the necessary additional operational and administrative appropriations as indicated in the LFS; reiterates its long-standing position that new tasks and responsibilities should, in principle, be financed by fresh resources; deplores the limited margins available in the MFF and acknowledges that they could justify a certain level of reallocation; warns that the additional operational amounts will use a sizeable share of the remaining margin under Heading 3; also recognises that the redeployment from the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEI) implies the creation of some additional margin in Heading 4; determines that the amounts mentioned under points 3.2.1, 3.2.3 and 3.2.6 in the LFS are compatible with the MFF ceilings in Headings 3, 4 and 7, but will require adjustments in the financial programming; questions, nonetheless, whether such redeployment operations are in line with the ring-fencing logic of the MFF headings;

9. Questions why a reduction of the scope, by an alleged 90 %, of companies to be registered as authorised CBAM declarants does not lead to a lower level of administrative needs under Heading 7;

10. Acknowledges that any substantive changes in the governance of the implementation and enforcement of the CBAM, such as those related to the penalties for non-compliance, would be beyond the scope of this simplification initiative; considers, however, in light of the planned revision of the CBAM regulation, that the proceeds of the penalties could eventually be considered as general revenue for the EU budget;

11. Notes that the simplification initiative is also presented as a key enabler for a potential future extension of the scope of the CBAM; expects that such an extension would have significant budgetary implications, including for revenue flows;

12. Recalls that the Union’s budget is under strain and stresses the need for additional sustainable and resilient revenue; points to the legally binding roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources laid down in the IIA, in which Parliament, the Council and the Commission undertook to introduce sufficient new own resources to at least cover the repayment of NGEU debt; recalls its support for the amended Commission proposal on the system of own resources; is deeply concerned by the complete absence of progress on the system of own resources in the Council; calls on the Council to adopt this proposal as a matter of urgency and urges the Commission to spare no effort in supporting the adoption process; calls, furthermore, on the Commission to continue efforts to identify additional genuine new own resources beyond those specified in the IIA.

As part of its budgetary assessment, the Committee on Budgets also submits the following amendments to the proposal:

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital [10] a (new)


Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	([10]a). This Regulation has implications for the Union budget. Accordingly, the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets adopted a budgetary assessment, which forms an integral part of Parliament’s mandate for negotiations.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS
FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur for budgetary assessment declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT

Title	Amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism
References	COM(2025)0087 – C10-0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD)
Committee(s) responsible	ENVI
Date announced in plenary	BUDG 31.3.2025
Rapporteur for budgetary assessment Date appointed	Sandra Gómez López 26.3.2025
Discussed in committee	31.3.2025
Date adopted	23.4.2025
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	23 9 1
Members present for the final vote	Georgios Aftias, Rasmus Andresen, Isabel Benjumea Benjumea, Olivier Chastel, Thomas Geisel, Jean-Marc Germain, Sandra Gómez López, Monika Hohlmeier, Alexander Jungbluth, Fabienne Keller, Giuseppe Lupo, Siegfried Mureşan, Matjaž Nemec, Danuše Nerudová, João Oliveira, Ruggero Razza, Karlo Ressler, Bogdan Rzońca, Julien Sanchez, Hélder Sousa Silva, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Carla Tavares, Nils Ušakovs, Lucia Yar, Auke Zijlstra
Substitutes present for the final vote	Stine Bosse, Rasmus Nordqvist, Jacek Protas
Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote	Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Tobias Cremer, Marieke Ehlers, Julien Leonardelli, Philippe Olivier

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL
IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT

23	+
NI	Thomas Geisel
PPE	Georgios Aftias, Isabel Benjumea Benjumea, Monika Hohlmeier, Siegfried Mureşan, Danuše Nerudová, Jacek Protas, Karlo Ressler, Hélder Sousa Silva
Renew	Stine Bosse, Olivier Chastel, Fabienne Keller, Lucia Yar
S&D	Tobias Cremer, Jean-Marc Germain, Sandra Gómez López, Giuseppe Lupo, Matjaž Nemec, Carla Tavares, Nils Ušakovs
Verts/ALE	Rasmus Andresen, Rasmus Nordqvist, Nicolae Ştefănuță

9	–
ECR	Bogdan Rzońca
ESN	Alexander Jungbluth
PfE	Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Marieke Ehlers, Julien Leonardelli, Philippe Olivier, Julien Sanchez, Auke Zijlstra
The Left	João Oliveira

1	0
ECR	Ruggero Razza

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

– : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE (24.4.2025)

for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism

(COM(2025)0087 – C10‑0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Karin Karlsbro

The Committee on International Trade calls on the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to propose that Parliament adopt its position at first reading, taking over the Commission proposal.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS
FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur for opinion declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Title	Amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism
References	COM(2025)0087 – C10-0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD)
Committee(s) responsible	ENVI
Opinion by Date announced in plenary	INTA 31.3.2025
Rapporteur for the opinion Date appointed	Karin Karlsbro 19.3.2025
Simplified procedure – date of decision	7.4.2025
Discussed in committee	7.4.2025
Date adopted	23.4.2025
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	36 2 0
Members present for the final vote	Manon Aubry, Christophe Bay, Udo Bullmann, Andi Cristea, Raphaël Glucksmann, Markéta Gregorová, Svenja Hahn, Taner Kabilov, Karin Karlsbro, Rihards Kols, Sebastian Kruis, Bernd Lange, Ilia Lazarov, Miriam Lexmann, Thierry Mariani, Gabriel Mato, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Daniele Polato, Kathleen Van Brempt, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Catarina Vieira, Jörgen Warborn, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez
Substitutes present for the final vote	Petras Auštrevičius, Nicolas Bay, Saskia Bricmont, Markus Buchheit, João Cotrim De Figueiredo, Fabio De Masi, Jean-Marc Germain, Hana Jalloul Muro, Sandra Kalniete, David McAllister, Jessika Van Leeuwen
Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote	Alexander Bernhuber, Daniel Buda, Fabrice Leggeri

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL
BY THE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

36	+
ECR	Nicolas Bay, Rihards Kols, Daniele Polato
NI	Fabio De Masi, Taner Kabilov
PPE	Alexander Bernhuber, Daniel Buda, Sandra Kalniete, Ilia Lazarov, Miriam Lexmann, David McAllister, Gabriel Mato, Jessika Van Leeuwen, Jörgen Warborn, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez
PfE	Christophe Bay, Sebastian Kruis, Fabrice Leggeri, Thierry Mariani
Renew	Petras Auštrevičius, João Cotrim De Figueiredo, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne
S&D	Udo Bullmann, Andi Cristea, Jean-Marc Germain, Raphaël Glucksmann, Hana Jalloul Muro, Bernd Lange, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Kathleen Van Brempt
Verts/ALE	Saskia Bricmont, Markéta Gregorová, Catarina Vieira

2	–
ESN	Markus Buchheit
The Left	Manon Aubry

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

– : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND ENERGY (23.4.2025)

for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism.

(COM(2025)0087 – C10‑0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Filip Turek

(Simplified procedure – Rule 52(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure)

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

The European Commission’ proposals aims at simplifying the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) obligations for small importers—primarily SMEs and individuals—by introducing a new de minimis exemption for imports below 50 tonnes mass. These importers bring in minor volumes of CBAM goods, resulting in negligible levels of embedded emissions entering the EU from third countries. Despite this exemption, approximately 99% of total embedded emissions would remain covered under CBAM, while around 90% of importers would be relieved from its obligations. For those importers who continue to fall within the CBAM scope, the proposal also includes a series of simplifications aimed at easing compliance. These measures involve streamlining the authorisation process for declarants, simplifying emission calculation procedures and improving the management of CBAM-related financial liabilities.

The initiative takes a more pragmatic approach for improving the overall functioning of CBAM, particularly by easing the obligations placed on smaller economic actors. Thus, the proposed exemption marks a necessary and welcome simplification. This, along with the accompanying set of procedural facilitations, represents a step forward in ensuring that the CBAM can be administratively manageable.

Within the Omnibus framework, it is appropriate to concentrate on the elements explicitly opened by the Commission, while awaiting the upcoming comprehensive review, which will provide a more suitable occasion to consider structural and far-reaching revisions, including concerns on the effectiveness of CBAM.

In its current design, CBAM disproportionately affects certain energy-intensive sectors and risks being an ineffective tool to ensure a level playing field for EU industries and to prevent carbon leakage. In fact, it could undermine the EU competitiveness by increasing the production costs and the administrative burdens for EU companies.

The structural revision is therefore urgent to address the risks of resource reshuffling and circumvention. Equally pressing is the postponement (or the deletion) of the phase out from the ETS free allowances, as well as the need to implement effective solutions for EU exporters. Moreover, the possible extension of CBAM to downstream products should be preceded by a thorough and comprehensive impact assessment.

While the ITRE Committee will refrain from tabling amendments to the proposal, the threshold could have merited more in-depth consideration. The de minimis exemption may in fact be too low to reflect meaningfully the reality of many SMEs and micro-enterprises. Data indicates that several businesses, including those officially categorized as “micro,” regularly exceed the threshold of 50 tonnes. Hence, a balanced solution could be raising it to at least 110 tons. This adjustment would strike a more realistic and equitable balance, enhancing the administrative feasibility of the CBAM, while continuing to capture the vast majority of emissions within the scope of the Mechanism (according to Commission estimates, still over 98%). The exemption of more importers from CBAM obligations would also generate additional cost savings, without significantly undermining the ratio of the proposal.

In conclusion, waiting for the upcoming comprehensive review, which will provide a timely opportunity to address the outstanding issues, the Rapporteur notes the willingness of the ITRE Committee to not table amendments and supports the Commission’s initiative.

*******

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy calls on the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to propose that Parliament adopt its position at first reading, taking over the Commission proposal.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS
FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR THE OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, prior to the adoption thereof in committee:

Entity and/or person

Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

ČEZ Group

Emerson International

Italian Confederation of Craft Trades and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

European Express Association

Round Table on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition

Office of the Government of the Czech Republic

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the concerned natural persons the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Title	Amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism
References	COM(2025)0087 – C10-0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD)
Committee(s) responsible	ENVI
Opinion by Date announced in plenary	ITRE 31.3.2025
Rapporteur for the opinion Date appointed	Filip Turek 25.3.2025
Simplified procedure – date of decision	18.3.2025
Date adopted	24.4.2025
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	73 5 6
Members present for the final vote	Wouter Beke, Tom Berendsen, Michael Bloss, Barbara Bonte, Paolo Borchia, Markus Buchheit, Borys Budka, João Cotrim De Figueiredo, Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, Elena Donazzan, Matthias Ecke, Sofie Eriksson, Jan Farský, Niels Fuglsang, Bruno Gonçalves, Nicolás González Casares, Giorgio Gori, Niels Flemming Hansen, Eero Heinäluoma, Ivars Ijabs, Fernand Kartheiser, Seán Kelly, Rudi Kennes, Ondřej Krutílek, Eszter Lakos, Isabella Lövin, Yannis Maniatis, Sara Matthieu, Marina Mesure, Angelika Niebler, Ville Niinistö, Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Tsvetelina Penkova, Pascale Piera, Jüri Ratas, Aura Salla, Elena Sancho Murillo, Jussi Saramo, Paulius Saudargas, Diego Solier, Marcin Sypniewski, Beata Szydło, Dario Tamburrano, Bruno Tobback, Matej Tonin, Yvan Verougstraete, Mariateresa Vivaldini, Andrea Wechsler, Elena Yoncheva, Auke Zijlstra, Nicola Zingaretti
Substitutes present for the final vote	Christophe Bay, Adam Bielan, Marc Botenga, Andi Cristea, Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, Chiara Gemma, Andreas Glück, Michalis Hadjipantela, Martin Hojsík, Radan Kanev, Katri Kulmuni, Sergey Lagodinsky, András László, Marion Maréchal, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Pierre-Romain Thionnet, Francesco Torselli, Marie Toussaint
Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote	Magdalena Adamowicz, Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Krzysztof Brejza, Jaroslav Bžoch, José Cepeda, Vivien Costanzo, Ton Diepeveen, Siegbert Frank Droese, Anne-Sophie Frigout, Svenja Hahn, Andrzej Halicki, Ilia Lazarov, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Axel Voss

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL
BY THE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

73	+
ECR	Adam Bielan, Elena Donazzan, Chiara Gemma, Fernand Kartheiser, Ondřej Krutílek, Marion Maréchal, Diego Solier, Beata Szydło, Francesco Torselli, Mariateresa Vivaldini
NI	Elena Yoncheva
PPE	Magdalena Adamowicz, Wouter Beke, Tom Berendsen, Krzysztof Brejza, Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, Jan Farský, Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, Michalis Hadjipantela, Andrzej Halicki, Niels Flemming Hansen, Radan Kanev, Seán Kelly, Eszter Lakos, Ilia Lazarov, Angelika Niebler, Jüri Ratas, Aura Salla, Paulius Saudargas, Matej Tonin, Axel Voss, Andrea Wechsler
PfE	Christophe Bay, Paolo Borchia, Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Jaroslav Bžoch, Anne-Sophie Frigout, András László, Pascale Piera, Pierre-Romain Thionnet
Renew	João Cotrim De Figueiredo, Andreas Glück, Svenja Hahn, Martin Hojsík, Ivars Ijabs, Katri Kulmuni, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Yvan Verougstraete
S&D	José Cepeda, Vivien Costanzo, Andi Cristea, Matthias Ecke, Sofie Eriksson, Niels Fuglsang, Bruno Gonçalves, Nicolás González Casares, Giorgio Gori, Eero Heinäluoma, Yannis Maniatis, Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Tsvetelina Penkova, Elena Sancho Murillo, Bruno Tobback, Nicola Zingaretti
Verts/ALE	Michael Bloss, Sergey Lagodinsky, Isabella Lövin, Sara Matthieu, Ville Niinistö, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Marie Toussaint

5	–
The Left	Marc Botenga, Rudi Kennes, Marina Mesure, Jussi Saramo, Dario Tamburrano

6	0
ESN	Markus Buchheit, Siegbert Frank Droese, Marcin Sypniewski
PfE	Barbara Bonte, Ton Diepeveen, Auke Zijlstra

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

– : against

0 : abstention

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism
References	COM(2025)0087 – C10-0035/2025 – 2025/0039(COD)
Date submitted to Parliament	27.2.2025
Committee(s) responsible	ENVI
Committees asked for opinions Date announced in plenary	BUDG 23.4.2025	INTA 31.3.2025	ITRE 31.3.2025
Rapporteurs Date appointed	Antonio Decaro 10.3.2025
Simplified procedure – date of decision	10.3.2025
Discussed in committee	18.3.2025
Budgetary assessment Date of budgetary assessment	BUDG 23.4.2025
Date adopted	13.5.2025
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	85 1 1
Members present for the final vote	Bartosz Arłukowicz, Sakis Arnaoutoglou, Anja Arndt, Thomas Bajada, Barbara Bonte, Stine Bosse, Lynn Boylan, Jorge Buxadé Villalba, Pascal Canfin, Laurent Castillo, Christophe Clergeau, Annalisa Corrado, Ivan David, Antonio Decaro, Ondřej Dostál, Viktória Ferenc, Pietro Fiocchi, Emma Fourreau, Anne-Sophie Frigout, Heléne Fritzon, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Esther Herranz García, Martin Hojsík, Pär Holmgren, Romana Jerković, Marc Jongen, Ondřej Knotek, Stefan Köhler, Ewa Kopacz, András Tivadar Kulja, Peter Liese, Javi López, César Luena, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Ignazio Roberto Marino, Tilly Metz, Dolors Montserrat, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Jana Nagyová, Rasmus Nordqvist, Jacek Ozdoba, Jutta Paulus, Michele Picaro, Jessica Polfjärd, Carola Rackete, Massimiliano Salini, Lena Schilling, Christine Schneider, Günther Sidl, Jonas Sjöstedt, Sander Smit, Claudiu-Richard Târziu, Ingeborg Ter Laak, Beatrice Timgren, Dimitris Tsiodras, Alexandr Vondra, Emma Wiesner, Michal Wiezik, Tiemo Wölken, Anna Zalewska
Substitutes present for the final vote	Biljana Borzan, Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Stefano Cavedagna, Susanna Ceccardi, Sebastian Everding, Michalis Hadjipantela, Paolo Inselvini, Adam Jarubas, Nora Junco García, Karin Karlsbro, Billy Kelleher, Norbert Lins, Letizia Moratti, Maria Ohisalo, Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Manuela Ripa, André Rodrigues, Elena Sancho Murillo, Christine Singer, Liesbet Sommen, Sebastiaan Stöteler, Anna Stürgkh, Bruno Tobback, Raffaele Topo
Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote	Javier Moreno Sánchez, Séverine Werbrouck
Date tabled	14.5.2025

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

85	+
ECR	Stefano Cavedagna, Pietro Fiocchi, Paolo Inselvini, Nora Junco García, Jacek Ozdoba, Michele Picaro, Claudiu-Richard Târziu, Beatrice Timgren, Alexandr Vondra, Anna Zalewska
ESN	Anja Arndt, Ivan David, Marc Jongen
NI	Ondřej Dostál
PPE	Bartosz Arłukowicz, Laurent Castillo, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Michalis Hadjipantela, Esther Herranz García, Adam Jarubas, Stefan Köhler, Ewa Kopacz, András Tivadar Kulja, Peter Liese, Norbert Lins, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Dolors Montserrat, Letizia Moratti, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Jessica Polfjärd, Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Manuela Ripa, Massimiliano Salini, Christine Schneider, Sander Smit, Liesbet Sommen, Ingeborg Ter Laak, Dimitris Tsiodras
PfE	Barbara Bonte, Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Jorge Buxadé Villalba, Viktória Ferenc, Anne-Sophie Frigout, Ondřej Knotek, Jana Nagyová, Sebastiaan Stöteler, Séverine Werbrouck
Renew	Stine Bosse, Pascal Canfin, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Martin Hojsík, Karin Karlsbro, Billy Kelleher, Christine Singer, Anna Stürgkh, Emma Wiesner, Michal Wiezik
S&D	Sakis Arnaoutoglou, Thomas Bajada, Biljana Borzan, Christophe Clergeau, Annalisa Corrado, Antonio Decaro, Heléne Fritzon, Romana Jerković, Javi López, César Luena, Javier Moreno Sánchez, André Rodrigues, Elena Sancho Murillo, Günther Sidl, Bruno Tobback, Raffaele Topo, Tiemo Wölken
The Left	Lynn Boylan, Sebastian Everding, Carola Rackete, Jonas Sjöstedt
Verts/ALE	Pär Holmgren, Ignazio Roberto Marino, Tilly Metz, Rasmus Nordqvist, Maria Ohisalo, Jutta Paulus, Lena Schilling

1	–
The Left	Emma Fourreau

1	0
PfE	Susanna Ceccardi

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

– : against

0 : abstention

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 16, 2025

MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – An EU climate target for 2040 – 15-05-2025

Source: European Parliament

Article 4(3) of the European Climate Law states: ‘With a view to achieving the climate-neutrality objective set out in Article 2(1) of this Regulation, a Union-wide climate target for 2040 shall be set’. Article 4(4) and 4(5) sets out aspects to consider in setting the 2040 target. In early 2024, the European Commission adopted a communication accompanied by an impact assessment (IA) regarding a 2040 target and the pathway to 2050 climate neutrality. Setting out pathway scenarios and an indicative 2030-2050 EU greenhouse gas (GHG) budget, it considers that a 2040 climate target depends on two dimensions (I): fairness and (II): feasibility. The legislative proposal was scheduled for first quarter 2025 but is delayed until June or July 2025.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: May 15, 2025 SEEC Energy and Commerce Members Slam Republicans’ Attack on American Health and Affordability Washington, D.C. – This week, House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee slammed House Republicans’ obscene budget reconciliation plan to gut life-saving pollution reduction programs, raise Americans’ electricity bills, cut off critical… Read More
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Kevin Mullin California (15th District)

Washington, D.C. – This week, House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee slammed House Republicans’ obscene budget reconciliation plan to gut life-saving pollution reduction programs, raise Americans’ electricity bills, cut off critical support for high-tech American manufacturing, and legalize corruption for oil and gas companies. These members included SEEC Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui (CA) and Paul Tonko (NY) and were joined by their fellow SEEC colleagues Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA), Kathy Castor (FL), Yvette Clarke (NY), Debbie Dingell (MI), Jennifer McClellan (VA), Kevin Mullin (CA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Scott Peters (CA), Kim Schrier (WA), and Darren Soto (FL).

“Republicans are ramming through a disastrous, ugly budget bill that is going to cause widespread harm to Americans and our environment. Why? So they can give massive tax cuts to billionaires, corporations, and oil companies. Republicans want to strip health care away from over 13.7 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, which will raise prices for the privately insured too,” said Congressman Mullin. “The bill also cuts funding for clean energy innovation while allowing oil and gas companies to buy their way out of having to follow environmental laws. This will stagnate American progress in developing affordable, sustainable solutions to meet our energy needs. This isn’t efficiency, it’s cruelty and Republicans are making it clear that they don’t care about raising costs for working families.”

“Republicans’ reconciliation bill is a shameless sell-out to corporations at the expense of hard-working Americans’ health and prosperity,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “This bill eliminates and defunds pollution protections and pollution reduction programs that my constituents rely on, illegally and insidiously clawing back funding that is already supporting projects in communities across this country. In my district, La Familia Counseling Center was poised to do transformative work with their Community Change Grant—but Republicans are gutting that progress to pay for tax breaks for their billionaire friends. As if that weren’t enough, Republicans’ bill contains a shocking and outrageous attempt to legalize corruption for oil and gas companies, allowing polluting corporations to simply buy all the permits they need to build a pipeline through American communities, no questions asked. This kind of bribery is how dictatorships operate. This is not how America works. We cannot allow this egregious corruption to become law.”

“My Republican colleagues claim they are going after the clean energy programs that are, in their words ‘reckless’ and favor ‘wokeness over sensible policy,’” said Congressman Tonko. “Which programs are those? Is it the $12 million in unobligated funds to reduce air pollution in schools? How about DOE money to train contractors to retrofit people’s homes? What about money to upgrade our ports with the latest and greatest technologies? These are just a few examples of commonsense investments that are being targeted today that are creating American jobs and deploying new technologies that will indeed reduce pollution. And when you start to list them out, you can see how ridiculous this proposal is. But why on Earth would Republicans be doing this? Well, we know these funds will be used to partially offset yet another round of tax cuts, the benefits of which will overwhelmingly go to the wealthiest.”

“Republican cuts to environmental justice grants will directly harm the health of our communities,” said Congresswoman Barragán. “Medicaid helps many access and afford health care in vulnerable communities with clean air and water challenges. Yet, Republicans have proposed the largest Medicaid cut in history. It’s all connected and Republicans want to go backward on the environment and health care access.”

“You should hold on to your wallets, because House Republicans are coming after your electric bills to pay for a massive tax giveaway to billionaires like Elon Musk,” said Congresswoman Castor. “Because let’s face it, American families are being financially squeezed right now – especially my neighbors in Florida still struggling to rebuild from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Utility companies in at least 19 states have hiked rates as much as $40 per month since the Trump administration began. Republicans have not brought forth a single bill to lower energy costs for hardworking American families. Instead, what they’re offering today is a handout to big oil companies and polluters and the impact will be to raise your electric bill.”

“There’s nothing and no one House Republicans won’t betray just to fund obscene tax breaks for their wealthy donors,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “By taking an axe to the critical programs Americans rely on to protect them from the climate crisis, reduce pollution, and keep energy affordable, our colleagues across the aisle have once again proven they are incapable of putting the needs of their communities above the demands of their billionaire puppet masters.”

“What this bill does is create total chaos for the auto industry in repealing EPA’s emission standards for light and medium-duty vehicles and NHTSA’s corporate average fuel economy standards. What the domestic auto industry needs now more than anything is certainty. My priority is to protect American jobs, maintain our competitive edge in automotive manufacturing, ensure the United States leads in technology and innovation, and that we cede our leadership to nobody,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “Our policies must reflect the priorities on the ground, prioritize consumer choice and offer a practical, ambitious path forward. To remain competitive, the US must align with the global shift towards hybrids, electric vehicles, and down the road, who else knows what other technology. Here’s a fact. The global marketplace wants electric vehicles and I will be damned if I let China beat us in that market.”

“I know the Trump Administration and some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don’t like the word environmental justice, but what environmental justice is designed to do is recognize that there are communities in this country — white, black, low-income, urban and rural — where energy projects were put in place with no input from the community, where the people didn’t have the resources to fight back or even knew what was happening,” said Congresswoman McClellan. “These are the same communities that have some of the poorest health outcomes in the country. We should want to help address centuries of injustice and invest in those communities, but this bill guts those programs altogether – that’s not justice.”

“In my time here in Congress, I have participated in investigations of large corporations that have poisoned communities across the country. A lot of times, these communities were poisoned due to large corporations that were exploiting corrupt loopholes in the law in order to poison the most vulnerable communities in America,” said Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. “And I deeply fear that there is a loophole and similar provision in this bill. This bill allows gas companies to pay $1 million in order for their project to bypass the traditional permitting process. In fact, this bill allows natural gas pipeline projects to pay a fee of $10 million to cut the line and bypass the normal permitting process. Allowing massive corporations to simply cut a check to bypass the very real reasons why permitting exists in the first place, poses a deep and grave danger to people across the country.”

“Last Congress, my Republican colleagues were insistent that we should have an all-of-the-above energy strategy, one that leveraged our natural resources, unleashed American innovation, and cut through bureaucratic red tape,” said Congressman Peters. “Which is why I am confused that we are considering a reconciliation bill that picks winners and losers, and elevates expensive, outdated, and inefficient sources like coal over cheap American-made energy like solar, wind, and storage. Why does this bill provide government-backed insurance to coal plants, as the President of the United States single-handedly kills hundreds, if not thousands, of clean energy jobs across the country by illegally targeting projects and weaponizing the permitting process?”

“This bill completely bypasses communities and landowners, and these ‘pay-to-play’ provisions put not just a thumb but an entire arm, maybe a body on the scale favoring oil and gas,” said Congresswoman Schrier. “It’s giant corporations like Shell, BP, Chevron. They’re the ones that have the wherewithal to pay to bypass all permitting requirements. This bill is more of the ‘drill baby drill’ agenda that we hear every week from our Republican colleagues. I’m all for streamlining permitting to address energy demand and infrastructure that has real impacts on our communities. But there’s ways to streamline permitting and get new energy resources online without sidelining solar, wind, nuclear, hydropower, or hydrogen projects. Streamlining permitting is key if we’re going to meet energy demand. Clean power should have the same opportunity as oil and gas and we shouldn’t be disregarding important environmental protections.”

“This is a bad deal for the South, whether it’s consumers in Florida or whether it’s all these high-paying jobs going to all these Southern states. This is a job killer,” said Congressman Soto. “In addition, adding in defunding of interstate transmission lines. I’ve heard from both sides of the aisle how often this is critical. So why in the world would you defund the interstate transmission lines? That makes no sense. That will raise energy prices. It will prevent efficiencies in the market. And it will prevent different states from specializing in new types of energy, whether it’s modular nuclear or renewable energy that’s being formulated here in Florida.”

Background

House Republicans are gutting critical pollution protections and pollution reduction programs, raising American household energy costs, pulling the rug out from under America’s manufacturing sector, and creating a brazen new “pay-to-play” bribery scheme for polluting corporations. Here’s what the bill does:
- Repeals and rescinds funding from Environmental Protection Agency programs that protect Americans from pollution and help American households save money on energy costs and medical bills. Some of these programs include:
  - Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that is dedicated to lowering energy bills and cutting pollution.
  - Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants that support disadvantaged communities to reduce pollution and pollution-related health impacts in their communities.
  - Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program to reduce pollution and waste from the oil and gas sector, improving the health and economic well-being of overburdened communities, while also saving energy.
  - Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Program that helps communities replace old polluting diesel engines and vehicles—some of the dirtiest vehicles on the road—with new, clean vehicles.
  - Clean Ports Program that helps improve air quality around U.S. ports and address the public health and environmental impacts to surrounding communities.
- Repeals life-saving Clean Air Act standards for vehicle pollution and fuel efficiency that help Americans save money at the pump and improve health outcomes in our communities.
- Eliminates funding for the Department of Energy Loan Programs and the Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program that help commercialize next-generation American-made technology, bringing manufacturing back to America and creating good-paying jobs, while also developing cutting-edge technologies that save Americans money and reduce pollution in American communities.
- Creates a pay-to-play bribery scheme for polluters that allows oil and gas companies to pay a fee and bypass standard permitting, environmental reviews, and judicial review processes. Whether it’s a natural gas pipeline or a natural gas export terminal, companies can simply buy all the permits they need to build their pipeline through your community. This is blatant and unconscionable corruption.
Republicans had multiple opportunities to improve the bill and ensure that Americans’ pocketbooks, health, and livelihoods are protected, but Republicans repeatedly rejected Democratic amendments, including Democratic-led efforts to:
- Ensure that this bill does not raise energy costs for American households. Representative Castor’s amendment would have required the U.S. Energy Information Administration to publish the impacts of the Energy Subtitle of the bill on monthly energy costs for American households.
- Protect the health and safety of our families and communities. Representative Dingell’s amendment would have prevented the repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
- Hold polluters accountable and prevent the legalization of corruption under this bill. Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s amendment would have required the Inspector General of the Department of Energy to certify that this bill will not increase risks of corruption or ‘pay-to-play’ politics.
- Protect American energy independence and deliver cheap energy to Americans. Representative Auchincloss’ amendment would have prevented the energy provisions from going into effect until the Secretary of Energy certifies that tariffs on energy imports are no greater than they were on January 19, 2025.
###

MIL OSI USA News –
May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Ricketts Thanks Officers During National Police Week

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) highlighted his efforts to recognize law enforcement in Nebraska and across America during this week’s press call. Ricketts thanks all police and commemorates the tragic 2024 loss of officer Ross Bartlett, who died in the line of duty. He spoke with members of Nebraska press about National Police Week:
“Officers across Nebraska work hard to prevent crime and protect families,” said Ricketts. “They face danger, act fast, and serve with courage. I’m fighting to give them the tools and resources they need.”
To protect law enforcement officers, Ricketts is cosponsoring the Thin Blue Line Act.
“This bill would increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement officers,” continued Ricketts. “It also would provide new tools for officers to protect themselves. It would help deter violent criminals from targeting our law enforcement.”
Remembering the daily sacrifice of police, Ricketts encouraged gratitude and commemorated Officer Ross Bartlett.
“This year’s Police Week resolution honors Nebraskan Ross Bartlett,” said Ricketts. “He was killed in 2024 when his patrol car was struck by another vehicle as he was conducting a traffic stop. We honor Officer Bartlett’s service, and remember him this week — and every week.”
Watch the video here.
TRANSCRIPT
Senator Ricketts: “Thank you all for joining our press call today.
“This is National Police Week.
“It’s a time to thank the law enforcement officers who keep us safe.
“Officers across Nebraska work hard to prevent crime and protect families.
“They face danger, act fast, and serve with courage.
“I’m fighting to give them the tools and resources they need.
“Nebraska’s women and men in blue are a model for the rest of the nation.
“For example, the Omaha Police Department has achieved a 100% homicide clearance rate in each of the last two years.
“Meanwhile, the national rate sits below 60%.
“And Omaha continues to see murder rates decrease every year.
“In fact, the number of murders in Omaha has decreased in each of the last four years.
“Their unprecedented success is a testament to their commitment and excellence.
“Nebraskans back the blue.
“Communities in our state respect and rely on our local police.
“We support our officers with better tools, training, and strong laws.
“That’s what we did when I was Governor.
“When I was Governor, we offered retention bonuses, generous education benefits, and retirement plans to our law enforcement officers.
“We invested $47.7 million to expand the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island.
“We also upgraded our State Patrol Crime Laboratory to the tune of $16.9 million.
“These investments equipped officers with world-class training and tools to keep people safe.
“I am particularly grateful for the work Nebraska law enforcement officers do to keep deadly drugs like fentanyl off our streets.
“When the drug situation at our nation’s southern border went from crisis to catastrophe, the Nebraska State Patrol stepped up.
“In my last year as governor, state troopers confiscated two times as much methamphetamine, three times as much fentanyl, and ten times as much cocaine as just two years prior.
“They did this work in spite of the Biden administration’s terrible open border policies.
“As Senator, I’m working with President Trump to secure the border and ease the burden on local law enforcement.
“We passed the HALT Fentanyl Act.
“The law will permanently classify fentanyl and its analogues as Schedule I substances.
“It will lead to harsher sentences for fentanyl traffickers.
“Less fentanyl means fewer overdose deaths, like the tragic loss of Taryn Lee Griffith.
“By cracking down on drug dealers and cartels, we’re making our streets safer.
“I’m also fighting for policies that will deter anti-cop attacks.
“That’s why I co-led the Back the Blue Act and am co-leading the Thin Blue Line Act.
“This bill would increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement officers.
“It also would provide new tools for officers to protect themselves.
“It would help deter violent criminals from targeting our law enforcement.
“Police groups support it.
“I’ll keep working to send it to President Trump’s desk.
“This year’s Police Week resolution honors Nebraskan Ross Bartlett. Barlett was a police officer at the Ceresco Police Department in Ceresco, Nebraska.
“He was killed last year when his patrol car was struck by another vehicle as he was conducting a traffic stop.
“Officer Bartlett’s family is in D.C. this week.
“They rented an Airbnb in Maryland.
“When their Airbnb host, who as it turns out is a Capitol Police Officer himself, found out why Bartlett’s family was here this week—he comped them the rental.
“That demonstrates the brotherhood and sisterhood of law enforcement officers.
“We honor Officer Bartlett’s service and remember him this week—and every week.
“Please join me in expressing our gratitude for their important work — not just during Police Week, but every single week.
“If you see an officer, say thank you. A kind word means a lot.
“Lastly, I want to take a moment to celebrate an action recently taken by President Trump.
“Over the weekend, the President signed a Congressional Review Act resolution into law that I led in the Senate. Mike Flood led this effort in the House.
“Following their election loss, the Biden-Harris CFPB rushed an eleventh-hour rule to attack non-bank digital consumer payment applications.
“Think of PayPal and other payment applications. These are widely popular applications among consumers.
“Many of these companies are already being regulated by federal and state governments.
“This rule was a one-size-fits-all solution in search of a problem.
“I am happy President Trump signed my resolution into law to reverse this regulation and stop, in my opinion, the CFPB’s illegal expansion of its authority.
“President Trump is continuing to pass common sense measures by reversing this Biden-era rule.”

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Louisiana Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Hurricane Francine

Source: United States Small Business Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Louisiana of the June 16 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by Hurricane Francine occurring Sept. 9-12, 2024.

The disaster declaration covers the Louisiana parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Terrebonne.

Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.

EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

“SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than June 16.

###

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Development Bank of Nigeria visits African Development Bank to benchmark sustainability and resilience into financing

Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, May 15, 2025/APO Group/ —

A delegation of eight officials from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) recently concluded a five-day study visit to the African Development Bank headquarters (www.AfDB.org) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The visit, jointly hosted by the Climate Change and Green Growth Department and the Financial Sector Development Department, focused on sharing tools and best practices for integrating climate and sustainability considerations into the institution’s financial operations

Through the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC) (https://apo-opa.co/4dCVDFL), the African Development Bank offers technical assistance to African financial institutions to help them manage climate-related risks and unlock opportunities in green investments.

Africa remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with climate-induced losses projected to reach up to $50 billion annually by 2030, equivalent to as much as 15% of the continent’s GDP. Despite this vulnerability, Africa holds immense potential for sustainable investment, leveraging its abundant natural capital, including land, minerals, and renewable energy resources. Mobilizing domestic capital towards long-term sustainable investments is key to realizing this potential.

Public development banks are instrumental in steering capital toward priority sectors by de-risking innovative and sustainable investments.

Batchi Baldeh, Director of Power Systems Development and DBN board member, remarked, “Through targeted investments, the African Development Bank is committed to strengthening institutions such as the Development Bank of Nigeria to foster youth employment and drive resilient and sustainable development.”

Dr. Anthony Nyong, Director of the Climate Change and Green Growth Department, emphasized the importance of peer learning among African institutions. “The Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy serves as a framework to deepen regional and global partnerships and expand access to concessional financing from mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund. To this end, the Bank provides technical assistance to regional and national financial institutions to create green jobs and build resilience into their operations,” he said.

Ahmed Attout, Director of Financial Sector Development at the Bank, said: “The Development Bank of Nigeria remains a key strategic partner of the Bank in the implementation of flagship programs that are geared at expanding access to finance for underserved sections of the society, especially Women and Youth in Nigeria. Visits like this reinforce our partnership and strengthen our impact, and we look forward to building on the opportunities identified this week”.

Jeremiah Dan-Okayi, DBN Head of Strategy and Policy, remarked that this visit was timely for the implementation of its green finance strategy. Beyond technical knowledge, the visit also opened new avenues for collaboration to strengthen our role in building a more resilient and inclusive financial system in Nigeria”, he said.

The African Development Bank continues to rally partners through the African Financial Alliance on Climate (AFAC) to provide technical assistance to regional financial institutions to increase financing for sustainable investments.

MIL OSI Africa –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: There’s growing evidence of possible life on other planets – here’s why you should still be sceptical

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics, University of East Anglia

Artist’s impression of K2-18 b. NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

A team of researchers has recently claimed they have discovered a gas called dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the atmosphere of K2-18b, a planet orbiting a distant star.

The University of Cambridge team’s claims are potentially very exciting because, on Earth at least, the compound is produced by marine bacteria. The presence of this gas may be a sign of life on K2-18b too – but we can’t rush to conclusions just yet.

K2-18b has a radius 2.6 times that of Earth, a mass nearly nine times greater and orbits a star that is 124 light years away. We can’t directly tell what kinds of large scale characteristics it has, although one possibility is a world with a global liquid water ocean under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

Such a world might well be hospitable to life, but different ideas exist about the properties of this planet – and what that might mean for a DMS signature.

Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

Claims for the detection of life on other planets go back decades.

In the 1970s, one of the scientists working on the Viking mission to Mars claimed that his experiment had indicated there could be microorganisms in the Martian soil. However, these conclusions were widely refuted by other researchers.

In 1996, a team said that microscopic features resembling bacteria had been found in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. However, subsequent studies cast significant doubt on the discovery.

Since the early 2000s there have also been repeated claims for the detection of methane gas in the atmosphere of Mars, both by remote sensing by satellites and by in-situ observations by rovers.

Methane can be produced by several mechanisms. One of these potential sources involves production by microorganisms. Such sources are described by scientists as being “biotic”. Other sources of methane, such as volcanoes and hydrothermal vents, don’t require life and are said to be “abiotic”.

The claimed detection of phosphine gas in Venus’ atmosphere has been proposed as a biosignature.
Nasa

Not all of the previous claims for evidence of extraterrestrial life involve the red planet. In 2020, Earth-based observations of Venus’s atmosphere implied the presence of low levels of phosphine gas.

Because phosphine gas can be produced by microbes, there was speculation that life might exist in Venus’s clouds. However, the detection of phosphine was later disputed by other scientists.

Proposed signs of life on other worlds are known as “biosignatures”. This is defined as “an object, substance, and/or pattern whose origin specifically requires a biological agent”. In other words, any detection requires all possible abiotic production pathways to be considered.

In addition to this, scientists face many challenges in the collection, interpretation, and planetary environmental context of possible biosignature gases. Understanding the composition of a planetary atmosphere from limited data, collected from light years away, is very difficult.

We also have to understand that these are often exotic environments, with conditions we do not experience on Earth. As such, exotic chemical processes may occur here too.

In order to characterise the atmospheres of exoplanets, we obtain what are called spectra. These are the fingerprints of molecules in the atmosphere that absorb light at specific wavelengths.

Once the data has been collected, it needs to be interpreted. Astronomers assess which chemicals, or combinations thereof, best fit the observations. It is an involved process and one that requires lots of computer based work. The process is especially challenging when dealing with exoplanets, where available data is at a premium.

Once these stages have been carried out, astronomers can then assign a confidence to the likelihood of a particular chemical signature being “real”. In the case of the recent discovery from K2-18b, the authors claim the detection of a feature that can only be explained by DMS with a likelihood of greater than 99.9%. In other words, there’s about a 1 in 1,500 chance that this feature is not actually there.

While the team behind the recent result favours a model of K2-18b as an ocean world, another team suggests it could actually have a magma (molten rock) ocean instead. It could also be a Neptune-like “gas dwarf” planet, with a small core shrouded in a thick layer of gas and ices. Both of these options would be much less favourable to the development of life – raising questions as to whether there are abiotic ways that DMS can form.

A higher bar?

But is the bar higher for claims of extraterrestrial life than for other areas of science? In a study claiming the detection of a biosignature, the usual level of scientific rigour expected for all research should apply to the collection and processing of the data, along with the interpretation of the results.

However, even when these standards have been met, claims that indicate the presence of life have in the past still been meet with high levels of scepticism. The reasons for this are probably best summed up by the phrase “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. This is attributed to the American planetary scientist, author and science communicator Carl Sagan.

While on Earth there are no known means of producing DMS without life, the chemical has been detected on a comet called 67/P, which was studied up close by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft. DMS has even been detected in the interstellar medium, the space between stars, suggesting that it can be produced by non-biological, or abiotic, mechanisms.

Given the uncertainties about the nature of K2-18b, we cannot be sure if the presence of this gas might simply be a sign of non-biological processes we don’t yet understand.

The claimed discovery of DMS on K2-18b is interesting, exciting, and reflects huge advances in astronomy, planetary science and astrobiology. However, its possible implications mean that we have to consider the results very cautiously. We must also entertain alternative explanations before supporting such a profound conclusion as the presence of extraterrestrial life.

Manoj Joshi receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Maria di Paolo receives funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Andrew Rushby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. There’s growing evidence of possible life on other planets – here’s why you should still be sceptical – https://theconversation.com/theres-growing-evidence-of-possible-life-on-other-planets-heres-why-you-should-still-be-sceptical-256050

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Community created blossom exhibition on tour

Source: City of Plymouth

This spring, communities across Plymouth have teamed up with local creatives and artists to create blossom-inspired art.

Photograph of one of the workshops

Plymouth City Council’s Green Communities team partnered up with the National Trust’s Cotehele property to offer communities in Devonport, Keyham, and around Central Park the opportunity to work with professional creatives. In total, over 250 people took part in these creative workshops, with over 20 sessions taking place across the three communities.

From powerful poetry to buzzing bee puppets, nature sculptures to blooming blossom prints, we are celebrating all their wonderful work through a community tour, which will see their pieces toured throughout the city and in nearby National Trust properties.

The tour will be happening between 19 May to 31 May, and the creative pieces will be blossoming in Mount Wise Neighbourhood Centre in Devonport, Keyham Green Places, and the Central Park Hub, along with Cotehele, Antony, and Saltram.

Photograph of some of the artists taking part in the project

As well as the artwork, there will be free nature inspired arts and crafts available, along with the opportunity to learn more about the Green Communities project.

The creatives who have been working with the communities are poet and performer Liv Torc, local storyteller and puppet maker Samantha Webb, nature artist and illustrator Devon Tipping, and printmaker, Grace Beswick.

Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change, said: “I am really pleased that we can host this opportunity for members of the community to showcase their skills and the excellent work they have created as part of this initiative with the National Trust.

“My family and I are looking forward to seeing their artwork at the community tour. I hope many people are able to join us with the free arts and crafts.”

Also through the Blossom project, throughout Plymouth and the Tamar Valley, the Green Communities team and Cotehele have offered skill sharing workshops, free sustainable travel, storytelling sessions and lots of other ways to get involved in springtime celebrations. With over 350 people getting involved in the Plymouth events.

A representative from the National Trust said: “The Festival of Blossom takes place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland each spring with the aim of connecting people and nature. Blossom serves the natural world by providing food and habitat to early pollinators but also brings hope and joy to people after a long winter.

“A lot of celebrations infuse nature with creativity because artistic expression welcomes people in to share their own voices, identities, experiences and as a result, brings people together to look anew at where they live and all its untapped beauty. Nowhere is this more strongly evident than in the ever-growing creative community of Plymouth and the surrounding Tamar Valley and we hope that the Festival of Blossom will only grow each year, welcoming more and more people to celebrate spring and all it does for us.”

This project has been funded by the National Trust’s Festival of Blossom thanks to the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Mayor of Winchester elected at 2025 mayor-making

Source: City of Winchester

Councillor Sudhakar Achwal has been elected as the 826th Mayor of Winchester.

A ceremony took place in the King Charles Hall of Guildhall Winchester last night, Wednesday 14 May 2025.

Cllr Achwal, who is a councillor in the Whiteley and Shedfield ward, was born and raised in India before first coming to the UK in 1974 to complete a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Salford. He later travelled across Europe, the Middle East, India, the Far East, and the Americas as part of his work.

He met his wife Vivian Achwal, who is a fellow councillor in the same ward, in Newcastle. The couple, who now live in Whiteley, returned to the UK permanently in 1997. They have been together for 45 years and have one daughter and one grandson. Cllr Vivian Achwal was Mayor of Winchester in 2021-2.

Cllr Sudhakar Achwal said: “Beyond my career, I’ve found deep fulfilment in volunteering. I believe in giving back to the community that welcomed me so warmly. I’m also passionate about the environment, and I try to stay active. My shelves are always full, especially with history books, which continue to fuel my curiosity.

“Family remains at the heart of everything. My journey continues, filled with gratitude for the many experiences, lessons, and people that have shaped it.”

Cllr Achwal has selected his Mayoral Charities for 2025-6: Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis (WinACC); Home-Start Winchester & Districts; and Trinity Winchester.

At the mayor-making, Cllr Jamie Scott was elected as Deputy Mayor.

Taking the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, the Mayor said: “I Sudhakar Achwal, having been elected to the office of Mayor of the City of Winchester, hereby declare that I will take the said office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties thereof to the best of my judgement and ability.”

Read the full biography of the new mayor.

Last Updated: Thursday 15 May 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Hurricane disaster planning with aging parents should start now, before the storm: 5 tips

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota

When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor named Ms. Carmen. She was in her late 70s, fiercely independent and lived alone with her two dogs and one cat, which were her closest companions.

Each hurricane season, she would anxiously ask if I would check on her when the winds began to pick up. She once told me: I’m more afraid of being forgotten than of the storm itself. Her fear wasn’t just about the weather; it was about facing it alone.

When hurricanes hit, we often measure the damage in downed power lines, flooded roads and wind-torn homes. But some of the most serious consequences are harder to see, especially for older adults who may struggle with mobility, chronic health problems and cognitive decline.

Emergency preparedness plans too often overlook the specific needs of elders in America’s aging population, many of whom live alone. For people like Ms. Carmen, resilience needs to start long before the storm.

The number of older adults in the U.S. and the percentage of the population age 65 and older have been rising.
US Census Bureau

I study disaster preparations and response. To prepare for hurricane season, and any other disaster, I encourage families to work with their older adults now to create an emergency plan. Preparing can help ensure that older adults will be safe, able to contact relatives or others for help, and will have the medications, documents and supplies they need, as well as the peace of mind of knowing what steps to take.

Recent hurricanes show the gaps

In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton put a spotlight on the risks to older adults.

The storms forced thousands of people to evacuate, often to shelters with little more than food supplies and mattresses on the floor and ill-equipped for medical needs.

Flooding isolated many rural homes, stranding older adults. Power was out for weeks in some areas. Emergency systems were overwhelmed.

A tornado tore into a senior community in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during Milton, killing six people. Some long-term care facilities lost power and water during Helene.

At the same time, some older adults chose to stay in homes in harm’s way for fear that they would be separated from their pets or that their homes would be vandalized.

At least 700 people stayed in chairs or on air mattresses at River Ridge Middle/High School in New Port Richey, Fla., during Hurricane Milton.
AP Photo/Mike Carlson

These events are not just tragic, they are predictable. Many older adults cannot evacuate without assistance, and many evacuation centers aren’t prepared to handle their needs.

How to prepare: 5 key steps

Helping older adults prepare for emergencies should involve the entire family so everyone knows what to expect. The best plans are personal, practical and proactive, but they will contain some common elements.

Here are five important steps:

1. Prepare an emergency folder with important documents.

Disasters can leave older adults without essential information and supplies that they need, such as prescription lists, financial records, medical devices and – importantly – contact information to reach family, friends and neighbors who could help them.

Many older adults rely on preprogrammed phone numbers. If their phone is lost or the battery dies, they may not know how to reach friends or loved ones, so it’s useful to have a hard copy of phone numbers.

Consider encouraging the use of medical ID bracelets or cards for those with memory loss.

Critical documents like wills, home deeds, powers of attorney and insurance records are frequently kept in physical form and may be forgotten or lost in a sudden evacuation. Use waterproof storage that’s easy to carry, and share copies with trusted caregivers and family members in case those documents are lost.

2. Have backup medications and equipment.

Think about that person’s assistive devices and health needs. Having extra batteries on hand is important, as is remembering to bring chargers and personal mobility aids, such as walkers, canes, mobility scooters or wheelchairs. Do not forget that service animals support mobility, so having supplies of their food will be important during a hurricane or evacuation.

Ask doctors to provide an emergency set of medications in case supplies run low in a disaster.

If the person is staying in their home, prepare for at least 72 hours of self-sufficiency in case the power goes out. That means having enough bottled water, extra pet food and human food that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooking.

3. Map evacuation routes and shelter options.

Identify nearby shelters that will likely be able to support older adults’ mobility and cognitive challenges. If the person has pets, make a plan for them, too – many areas will have at least one pet-friendly shelter, but not all shelters will take pets.

An older woman crosses a street flooded by torrential rain from Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023, in Thousand Palms, Calif.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Figure out how the person will get to a shelter, and have a backup plan in case their usual transportation isn’t an option. And decide where they will go and how they will get there if they can’t return home after a storm.

If your loved one lives in a care facility, ask to see that facility’s hurricane plan.

4. Create a multiperson check-in system.

Don’t rely on just one caregiver or family member to check on older adults. Involve neighbors, faith communities or local services such as home-delivered meals, transportation assistance, support groups and senior centers. Redundancy is crucial when systems break down.

5. Practice the plan.

Go through evacuation steps in advance so everyone knows what to do. Executing the plan should be second nature, not a scramble during a disaster or crisis.

Planning with, not just for, older adults

Emergency planning isn’t something done for older adults – it’s something done with them.

Elders bring not only vulnerability but also wisdom. Their preferences and autonomy will have to guide decisions for the plan to be successful in a crisis.

That means listening to their needs, honoring their independence and making sure caregivers have realistic plans in place. It’s an important shift from just reacting to a storm to preparing with purpose.

Lee Ann Rawlins Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Hurricane disaster planning with aging parents should start now, before the storm: 5 tips – https://theconversation.com/hurricane-disaster-planning-with-aging-parents-should-start-now-before-the-storm-5-tips-254917

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: SPC May 15, 2025 Day 4-8 Severe Weather Outlook

Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Day 4-8 Severe Weather Outlook Issued on May 15, 2025

Updated: Thu May 15 09:01:03 UTC 2025

.

D4
Sun, May 18, 2025 – Mon, May 19, 2025
D7
Wed, May 21, 2025 – Thu, May 22, 2025

D5
Mon, May 19, 2025 – Tue, May 20, 2025
D8
Thu, May 22, 2025 – Fri, May 23, 2025

D6
Tue, May 20, 2025 – Wed, May 21, 2025
(All days are valid from 12 UTC – 12 UTC the following day)

Note: A severe weather area depicted in the Day 4-8 period indicates 15%, 30% or higher probability for severe thunderstorms within 25 miles of any point.

PREDICTABILITY TOO LOW is used to indicate severe storms may be possible based on some model scenarios. However, the location or occurrence of severe storms are in doubt due to: 1) large differences in the deterministic model solutions, 2) large spread in the ensemble guidance, and/or 3) minimal run-to-run continuity.

POTENTIAL TOO LOW means the threat for a regional area of organized severe storms appears unlikely (i.e., less than 15%) for the forecast day.

Forecast Discussion

ZCZC SPCSWOD48 ALL
ACUS48 KWNS 150858
SPC AC 150858

Day 4-8 Convective Outlook
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0358 AM CDT Thu May 15 2025

Valid 181200Z – 231200Z

…DISCUSSION…
Medium-range guidance indicates that the persistent, prominent
mid/upper ridging across the mid-latitude and subtropical eastern
Pacific will become suppressed late this coming weekend into early
next week, before breaking down through the remainder of this
period. As it does, amplified downstream troughing is forecast to
emerge from the Intermountain West. Sunday, this may commence
gradually, with one significant lead short wave perturbation
pivoting north-northeast of the southern Rockies, accompanied by
cyclogenesis across eastern Colorado, as an upstream perturbation
continues to dig toward the Four Corners region. It appears that
this trailing perturbation will then pivot across the southern
Rockies through the central/southern Great Plains by late Monday,
perhaps accompanied by renewed cyclogenesis across the Texas
Panhandle into central Great Plains.

Both days, the dryline and warm front may provide focus for
organized severe convective development, including supercells, in
the presence of strong deep-layer shear and thermodynamic profiles
characterized by steep lapse rates and sizable CAPE. It appears
that a substantive risk for strong to severe thunderstorms will
persist into at least Tuesday, within a broadening warm sector as
the cyclone and associated mid-level troughing shift a bit more
rapidly eastward across the middle Mississippi Valley.

Convective potential becomes more unclear Wednesday into Thursday as
the cyclone likely weakens and synoptic developments become more
uncertain across the East.

..Kerr.. 05/15/2025

CLICK TO GET WUUS48 PTSD48 PRODUCT

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: SPC – No MDs are in effect as of Thu May 15 12:13:02 UTC 2025

Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Current Mesoscale DiscussionsUpdated: Thu May 15 12:31:02 UTC 2025

All times are UTCNotice: The responsibility for Heavy Rain Mesoscale Discussions has been transferred to the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) on April 9, 2013. Click here for the Service Change Notice.
Archived Convective ProductsTo view convective products for a previous day, type in the date you wish to retrieve (e.g. 20040529 for May 29, 2004). Data available since January 1, 2004.

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Working to Understand Why Mercury Levels are so High in the Arctic

Source: US State of Connecticut

Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element found across the globe, yet it becomes highly toxic as it accumulates up the food chain. Pollution from human activities has pumped increasing amounts of mercury into the atmosphere, and for reasons that are not well understood, the Arctic region has significantly higher levels of mercury, despite having a relatively sparse population and less pollution.

Mercury is found in the environment as both inorganic and organic compounds, such as monomethylmercury (MMHg), which is the most bioavailable form of mercury that enters the food web and accumulates to toxic levels in wildlife and humans. Most people are exposed to MMHg from seafood consumption, but in the Arctic, people are at higher risk due to the consumption of marine mammals. Climate change also impacts Hg in polar regions, especially the increased melting of ice and glaciers, bringing changing inputs of Hg to the marine waters.

To examine the cycling of Hg in the Arctic, a team of researchers, including UConn Department of Marine Science Professor Robert Mason and his students, Yipeng He and Hannah Inman, developed a study focused at the air-sea interface to answer questions about why mercury (Hg) levels are higher in the Arctic. Their findings from a research expedition in spring 2021 are published in Science Advances.

One focus of the study was another organic form of Hg, dimethylmercury (DMHg), which is also very toxic, says Mason, and is found predominantly in deeper ocean waters but can cycle to the surface through upwelling of these waters. DMHg doesn’t accumulate to the same degree as MMHg in the food chain as it’s a dissolved gas in water. Another focus was MMHg, which can also be found in the atmosphere attached to aerosols or in precipitation and the source of this MMHg is highly debated.

Mason and his team collected samples in the Arctic from the water, the surface snow on top of the ice, and the ice to analyze levels of MMHg. They found the snow contained significantly higher concentrations than the ice. (Contributed photo)

Mason says some have wondered if this MMHg is the result of reactions taking place in the precipitation or in the atmosphere. Earlier studies found higher concentrations of mercury off the coast of California in cloud water and speculated about its sources so Mason says he and his research team were interested in focusing on the exchange of MMHg and DMHg at the sea-air interface in the Arctic to see if they could study these puzzling aspects of mercury cycling in more detail, specifically if DMHg originating from the upwelling of deep-sea waters in this area plays a critical role in how much MMHg ends up in the Arctic Ocean waters and in marine organisms.

“Dimethylmercury can be lost from the ocean if it’s at high concentrations in the surface waters. The idea put forward was that in California, there must be an upwelling of deep ocean water to the surface that brings the dimethylmercury to the surface. However, no one had put all the bits together in one study,” Mason says.

This is the first study to make all of the measurements in the atmosphere and seawater at the same time to piece together this dynamic puzzle and emphasizes the impacts DMHg can play in ecosystems far from the source.

Mason says a key aspect of this research that enabled them to assemble the clues was the ability to take constant measurements of the forms of Hg in the atmosphere and surface waters while aboard a research cruise, and taking advantage of a new instrument his research group developed that allows for continuous, high-resolution collection of DMHg while the ship is moving.

“Most research ships have a way of bringing surface water into the ship to measure the temperature, salinity, nutrients, and other chemicals. We developed an DMHg analyzer that could take a measurement every hour, and that was something no one had been able to do previously,” he says.

The sampling took place aboard the research vessel Sikuliaq, which set off from Dutch Harbor, Alaska into the Bering and Chukchi Seas as far north as the ship could go because of ice, and then returned back to Seward, Alaska. Weather conditions and aspects of the landscape, such as permafrost, and the seascape, such as glaciers and sea ice impact mercury’s movement through Arctic ecosystems, and its transport from the atmosphere and terrestrial environment to the marine waters. On the return trip, the ship encountered upwelled waters off the coast of the Aleutian Islands. Here, the researchers found high concentrations of DMHg. Mason explains that DMHg is unstable in sunlight and is degraded to MMHg in surface waters.

“Basically, the rate at which DMHg is coming up from the deep ocean to the surface has to be greater than the rate at which it’s being decomposed for it to escape to the atmosphere,” says Mason. “We took measurements of it and MMHg in the surface water, in the rain, and in the aerosols and found very high concentrations close to the source. Further north there was no more upwelling and the surface water sampled would have been sitting there since the ice retreated. Given that we were there in May and June, and we were following the retreating ice, the surface water is fresher because of the melting ice, and there’s very little mixing of that water because of density differences.”

The cruise navigated through relatively shallow water and about 15 miles into ice, which Mason said was around a meter thick. As long as the coast was clear of polar bears, the researchers took turns leaving the ship to collect samples. Mason and his team collected samples from the water, the surface snow on top of the ice, and the ice. They tested the samples for MMHg and found the snow contained significantly higher concentrations than the ice.

“The higher concentrations in this surface snow, which had been recently deposited on the ice, demonstrates the removal of methylmercury from the atmosphere, and that’s part of the story of why we saw decreasing concentrations away from the source,” says Mason.

They determined the DMHg is coming out of the ocean, is transported north, and then degraded in the atmosphere to MMHg. This MMHg is then attached to the aerosol particles and removed by precipitation.

“Our study showed that the amount of DMHg evaded to the atmosphere from the upwelling region was enough to account for the MMHg in the precipitation and aerosols over thousands of kilometers from the source,” says Mason.

He explains that this makes it a complicated story, and is what has been the focus of much of his research on the exchange of Hg between the ocean and the atmosphere.

“In addition to DMHg, elemental Hg is also a dissolved gas in water and its loss to the atmosphere is a major removal mechanism for ocean Hg. Inorganic Hg comes into the ocean from the atmosphere primarily, although in the Arctic coastal inputs from rivers, glaciers and groundwater are more important than other oceans,” says Mason. “Overall, Hg is moving back and forth all the time between the ocean and the atmosphere and the net input of inorganic Hg and MMHg is what controls the amount of MMHg in ocean waters and its bioaccumulation into organisms consumed by humans and wildlife.”

MIL OSI USA News –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Bitcoin Solaris Launches Enterprise-Grade Security Framework Ahead of Nova App Release
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TALLINN, Estonia, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitcoin Solaris has officially rolled out its enterprise-grade security framework, establishing the technical foundation for the upcoming Nova App launch and broader public participation in its blockchain ecosystem. Designed for scale, speed, and verifiability, this framework represents a critical step in the project’s roadmap toward secure global adoption.

Dual-Layer Architecture for Proven Resilience

At the heart of Bitcoin Solaris is a dual-layer blockchain system tailored to meet the evolving demands of decentralized infrastructure. The architecture divides responsibilities between two dedicated layers to optimize both security and performance:
- The Base Layer secures the ledger through a hybrid consensus mechanism that combines Proof-of-Stake (PoS)with Proof-of-Capacity (PoC). This structure promotes decentralization while reducing energy consumption and preserving data integrity.
- The Solaris Layer supports smart contract execution and high-throughput transaction processing using Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Time (PoT). This allows the network to achieve sub-2-second finality and scale to over 10,000 transactions per second, accommodating real-time applications across DeFi, gaming, and identity solutions.
This layered approach is designed to operate at the protocol level—not as an external scalability patch—delivering consistent, auditable performance under load.

Independent Security Audits and Full KYC Verification

Bitcoin Solaris has taken proactive steps to validate its security claims with independent third-party audits and verified project governance. Key milestones include:
- Cyberscope Audit evaluated the entire smart contract stack for logical flaws, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors.
- Freshcoins Audit examined token logic, emissions, and compliance with common Solidity standards.
- KYC Verification confirmed the identity of the core team—an increasingly rare and important factor for trust.
These audits were conducted as part of the network’s build phase, ensuring security measures are embedded in the protocol itself rather than applied reactively post-launch.

Security at the Edge: Mobile Mining via Nova App

In parallel with its enterprise-grade backend, Bitcoin Solaris is finalizing the launch of the Nova App, a smartphone-based mining application. Designed for accessibility, the app enables users to allocate unused device resources—such as idle CPU and storage—to participate in token mining.

The system runs in the background with no need for staking, validator setup, or private key handling. All mining logic and reward calculations are processed through the same audited smart contracts that govern the Solaris Layer, providing a secure and transparent user experience from end to end.

Fixed Supply and Predictable Emissions

Bitcoin Solaris maintains a fixed supply of 21 million BTC-S tokens, following a halving-based emission model similar to traditional sound money systems. There is no inflation, and token creation is governed entirely by protocol logic.

The project is currently in Presale Phase 3, with BTC-S priced at 3 USDT. Only 4.2 million tokens (20%) are allocated for this phase, and the price will rise to 4 USDT in Phase 4. This structured release supports long-term stability while rewarding early network participants.

In a detailed video walkthrough, Crypto Chino explores how Bitcoin Solaris’s security framework stacks up against projects like Dogecoin, which have cultural appeal but minimal infrastructure oversight. The video highlights the architectural design, Nova App integration, and why formal audits are more than just paperwork — they’re essential to building user trust.

Built for Trust, Designed for Growth

Bitcoin Solaris is building a blockchain ecosystem that aligns with the demands of real-world use—security, speed, transparency, and accessibility. From its dual-consensus architecture to its audited smart contract layer and mobile-first mining app, the project aims to deliver infrastructure that is both future-ready and user-friendly.

With the Nova App set to roll out in the coming weeks and public participation expanding rapidly, Bitcoin Solaris is establishing itself as a secure, scalable platform for the next generation of blockchain users.

Website: https://bitcoinsolaris.com
X (Twitter): https://x.com/BitcoinSolaris
Telegram: https://t.me/Bitcoinsolaris

Media Contact:
Xander Levine
info@bitcoinsolaris.com

Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Bitcoin Solaris. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.
Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.

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Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9c5eba49-6baa-48dd-8328-4b81ad6cefe6

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2442c88f-ef34-4855-8bcb-94b1e509528b

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8979d398-26a6-4044-819d-5f7940742235

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/10cdb880-35fe-4b90-9347-0d53efe70dfb

The MIL Network –
May 16, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Grattan on Friday: Ley and Littleproud have had a prickly relationship – can they negotiate a smooth future?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

With the future of the Coalition relationship on the line, Nationals leader David Littleproud drove to his Liberal counterpart Sussan Ley’s hometown of Albury this week. They had much to talk about, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

Littleproud and Ley have had a combustible relationship in the past.

After Ley, on the backbench at the time, in 2018 co-sponsored a private member’s bill to restrict live sheep exports, Littleproud, the agriculture minister, said dismissively, “I’m going to predicate my decisions on evidence, not emotion”.

More seriously, when she was environment minister in 2019–22, Ley and Littleproud clashed over the Murray-Darling Basin.

The Nationals leader is father of, and a true believer in, the opposition’s nuclear policy; Ley began as an agnostic on the issue, saying in 2019, “To be honest, I am not strongly for or against nuclear power”.

The two leaders differ in their economic philosophies. Littleproud is what detractors of the Nationals and their predecessor the Country Party used to call an “agrarian socialist”. It was the Nationals who, in the last term, drove the Coalition policy to break up supermarkets that misused their power. Ley is less inclined to industry intervention.

Ley and Littleproud have to find a way for their two parties to continue to share the same house and, assuming they do, how they divide up the rooms, and manage their joint spaces.

Kevin Hogan, the new Nationals deputy, said late Thursday there was a will to sign a Coalition agreement, but certainly there was “a scenario where it doesn’t get signed”.

The Nationals are feeling their power, after an election in which they held almost all their seats and the Liberals were devastated.

Their Senate leader, Bridget McKenzie, who is outspoken and frequently in the media, said this week, “We haven’t had this amount of political clout within the Coalition since the ‘70s”.

How many shadow ministries the Nationals receive is determined on a formula, but central is what posts they obtain.

“There needs to be a very serious conversation heading into any Coalition discussions about the role of the National Party,” she said.

“We don’t need to rush into an agreement, but we do need to make sure it reflects the realities of the election result, which does give greater kudos and say to the National Party within that.”

In a cheeky reference that wouldn’t go down well with some Liberals, McKenzie said, “In our 120-year history, for 16 of these years, we held the treasury portfolio in government”.

The Nationals are not going to hold the Treasury post in opposition. But they will try to have a louder economic voice. (There is speculation they might seek the finance shadow ministry.)

McKenzie referred to the power of party greats Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair and Peter Nixon in Malcolm Fraser’s government. She could have gone back to the legendary John “Black Jack” McEwen in earlier years.

Back then, the party exercised power through the sheer strength of such individual personalities, and their ability to prevail in battles with colleagues. Looking at the Fraser years, it’s remarkable to think the prime minister used Nixon (who died just before the election, aged 97) in trying to manage a difficult and ambitious senior Liberal, Andrew Peacock, who aspired to the leadership.

The modern Nationals have no such personalities. In recent years the party has also been riven by division over leadership and policy. Littleproud saw off a leadership challenge from Matt Canavan this week.

Canavan lost the ballot but his call for the party to walk away from the target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050 has yet to be resolved.

All opposition policies are on the table, with Ley and her deputy Ted O’Brien saying they won’t rush the reconsideration of them.

But this shapes as a complicated process, littered with obstacles.

What if the Liberal party and the Nationals came to different conclusions on whether to retain the 2050 commitment? It could be touch and go whether the Nationals ditch it. The Liberals would be courting disaster to do so: that would divide the party and further alienate voters in the Teal-type areas that they need to win back.

If the two parties found themselves at odds on net zero, could they viably stay together in coalition?

The review of the nuclear policy is interlinked with the net zero commitment – nuclear was advanced as a way of getting to the target – and is also fraught. There will be pressure from some Liberals to just junk it. But Littleproud and others within his party would fight hard for it.

The issue of timing is also critical. The opposition doesn’t have the luxury – that it appears to think it has – of going too slowly on the net zero issue.

Energy and climate policy will be central issues over coming months.

The government delayed until beyond the election considering what 2035 emissions reduction target it will submit under the Paris climate agreement. The Climate Change Authority, which must make a recommendation to the government on the target, helpfully said it had more work to do.

But the target must be submitted by September. The government is expected to receive the recommendation from the authority around July. The authority has been consulting on a 65% to 75% reduction. It could recommend a single figure, or (perhaps more likely) a range.

Anywhere between 65% and 75% would be ambitious in practical terms. The 2035 debate will take the argument away from primarily electricity into the areas of industry, transport and agriculture.

If the opposition is to be credible in whatever criticisms it wants to make, it will need to have at least a settled position on the net zero question.

Moreover, in trying to rebuild electoral support, the Liberals in particular require an early confirmed stance on net zero. Climate is a specially important issue with young voters, among whom the party’s support is woeful.

Meanwhile, as all the machinations play out, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price must be giving a thought to what might have been, had she not defected from the Nationals to the Liberals in a misjudged bid to become Liberal deputy.

She may regard the Liberals as her natural home, as she says, but if she’d stayed she might have become Nationals deputy leader this week (previous deputy Perin Davey lost her seat). That would have had her well placed to pursue her portfolio ambitions, backed by Littleproud. But who will be her champion now?

In jumping ship, Price has found herself adrift, for the moment at least.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Ley and Littleproud have had a prickly relationship – can they negotiate a smooth future? – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-ley-and-littleproud-have-had-a-prickly-relationship-can-they-negotiate-a-smooth-future-256458

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Ireland’s Competitiveness Confirmed – Minister Peter Burke
Source: Government of Ireland – Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation

15th May 2025

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, has welcomed the publication of Re-estimating Ireland’s International Competitiveness Performance, the latest bulletin by the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC).

Minister Burke said:

“This analysis marks a very welcome contribution by the Council and confirms that the Irish economy is internationally competitive. However, we cannot become complacent, and there remains work to do in many areas. The Council’s findings will make a valuable contribution in the preparation of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity.”

“Despite our strong international performance, we are also aware that there are challenges, and it is important that we do not take our current strengths for granted. This is reflected in the decision taken by Cabinet to expedite delivery of the Action Plan, which will play a key role in addressing these challenges and safeguarding our competitiveness performance into the future.”

This Bulletin explores how Ireland’s performance in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2024 is affected when selected indicators are rescaled using Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) in place of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The findings show that Ireland’s competitiveness performance remains strong with this adjustment. In fact, it rises by one position in the ranking, with improvements in three of the four pillars. The analysis explores how Ireland’s competitiveness profile changes when key metrics are recalibrated to better reflect the scale of the domestic economy.

The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking is a widely used international benchmark, assessing over 60 economies across four key pillars and 20 sub-pillars, and based on 250 individual measures. In the 2024 IMD results, Ireland was ranked 4th overall. The analysis included in this Bulletin involves replicating the IMD methodology from the ground up, in order to facilitate the substitution of GNI* for GDP for Ireland.

Key findings from the Bulletin include:
- Ireland’s competitiveness ranking improves by one place when GDP-based indicators are adjusted using GNI*, with notable gains in Economic Performance (up seven places) and Infrastructure (up two places). Business Efficiency is unchanged, while Government Efficiency declines slightly, reflecting a more constrained fiscal profile when public finance metrics are expressed over a smaller income base.
- The analysis underscores the importance of context-sensitive benchmarking, especially when using international indices to inform national policy. This Bulletin highlights the need to interpret international indices critically, understanding their underlying assumptions, and where necessary, supplementing them with alternative analyses that better capture national circumstances.
NOTES TO EDITORS

The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) was established in 1997 (then the National Competitiveness Council) to report to the Taoiseach, through the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, on key competitiveness issues facing the Irish economy. In 2019, the NCPC was designated as Ireland’s National Productivity Board.

As part of its work, the NCPC makes recommendations on policy actions required to enhance Ireland’s competitive position. The NCPC publishes three main research outputs:
- The Competitiveness Scorecard benchmarks Ireland against international competitors on areas of competitiveness and productivity. This is published every three years (and was last published in 2024).
- The Competitiveness Challenge is an annual publication in which the NCPC makes recommendations for Government on key challenges to Ireland’s international competitiveness.
- NCPC Bulletins are short and focused research notes, examining specific topics within the sphere of competitiveness and productivity. The NCPC releases multiple Bulletins each year. These short pieces often feed into the NCPC’s main Challenges report.
The members of the Council are:

Dr. Frances Ruane Chair, National Competitiveness and Productivity Council

Dr. Laura Bambrick Head of Social Policy & Employment Affairs, ICTU

Edel Clancy Group Director of Corporate Affairs, Musgrave Group

Kevin Sherry Interim Chief Executive, Enterprise Ireland

Ciaran Conlon Director of Public Policy, Microsoft Ireland

Luiz de Mello Director of Country Studies, Economics Department, OECD

Maeve Dineen Chair of Ireland’s Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman

Brian McHugh Chairperson, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Gary Tobin Assistant Secretary, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Michael Lohan Chief Executive, IDA Ireland

Liam Madden Independent Consultant, Semiconductor Industry

Neil McDonnell Chief Executive, ISME

Bernadette McGahon Director of Innovation Services, Industry Research & Development Group

Danny McCoy Chief Executive, IBEC

Michael Taft Research Officer, SIPTU

Representatives from the Departments of An Taoiseach; Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Environment, Climate and Communications; Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Social Protection; Finance; Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Justice; Public Expenditure and Reform; Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Transport attend Council meetings in an advisory capacity.

Research, Analysis and Secretariat from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment:

Dr. Dermot Coates

Rory Mulholland

Dr. Keith Fitzgerald

Pádraig O’Sullivan

Erika Valiukaite

Jordan O’Donoghue

Patrick Connolly

ENDS

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MIL OSI Europe News –
May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – EU industrial priorities: will the Commission acknowledge mistakes and take real action to save the European steel sector? – E-001863/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001863/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Piotr Müller (ECR)

For years, the Commission has stood passively by as Europe has deindustrialised, imposing costly regulations and ignoring the consequences of China’s increasing industrial overproduction and the US’s recent tightening of customs policy aimed at protecting its heavy industry. Now, facing pressures from rising unemployment, dependence on external suppliers and the threat of losing industrial sovereignty, the Commission is trying to save the steel sector, which employs more than 300 000 EU citizens.

I would therefore like to ask three specific questions, which require equally specific answers:

1.Is the Commission prepared to explicitly acknowledge that its current regulatory approach – lacking any effective mechanisms to protect strategic industry – has contributed to the loss of production capacity and has deepened Europe’s dependence on external economic powers?

2.In light of the facts (mass lay-offs, steelworks closures, falling exports and growing trade deficits), will the Commission acknowledge that maintaining industrial production in the EU must become an absolute priority, even if it means having to adapt the decarbonisation agenda?

3.Will the Commission review the application of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) to the steel industry and consider temporarily suspending or permanently modifying it, given that, as currently designed, the ETS makes it impossible in practice for European steel producers to compete with operators outside the EU?

Submitted: 8.5.2025
Last updated: 15 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Spain: ICF, EIB and CEB join forces to mobilise up to €400 million investment in social infrastructure in Catalonia
Source: European Investment Bank
- Institut Català de Finances (ICF) has signed a €100 million loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €50 million loan with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB).
- The loans will support projects to develop care homes, day centres and assisted living facilities for the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the region.
- These agreements will allow ICF to finance non-profit social organisations, foundations, local administrations, public and private companies, unlocking up to €400 million in investment for social infrastructure projects.
- The EIB loan is backed by InvestEU, an EU flagship programme to mobilise public and private sector investment to support EU policy goals.
ICF, the public development bank of the Government of Catalonia, has signed a €100 million loan with the EIB to promote the construction and rehabilitation of social infrastructures in Catalonia, Spain. This is the first tranche of a loan approved for a total value of €150 million. ICF has also signed a €50 million loan with the CEB with the same aim. These agreements will allow ICF to finance non-profit social organisations, foundations, local administrations, public and private companies, unlocking up to €400 million investment for social infrastructure projects in the region.

The loans will support the construction, refurbishment and improvement of care homes, day centres and assisted living facilities supporting the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups across Catalonia. The financing provided by the three financial institutions is expected to support the creation of approximately 7.500 new residential care places in Catalonia. All funded projects must meet European sustainable building standards, specifically nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) requirements.

María Serrano, EIB’s Head of Division Public Sector in Spain, remarked, “The EIB continues to strengthen its commitment to social infrastructure to meet the most pressing needs of Europe’s people. This financing agreement with the ICF will help to strengthen and expand the range of care facilities for elderly and dependent individuals in line with the highest standards of quality and sustainability, for the benefit of all”.

As emphasised by Maria Sigüenza, the CEB’s Country Manager for Spain, “We are pleased to expand our ongoing partnership with ICF. This new loan reflects the CEB’s strong commitment to social inclusion and the reduction of inequality in Spain. Moreover, it exemplifies the importance of cooperation and joint action among multilateral development banks, such as the CEB and EIB, in building stronger communities and delivering high-impact social projects.”

Vanessa Servera, CEO of the ICF, described the agreement as “a new success story in public-private cooperation,” emphasising that “the EIB and the CEB are providing the financial resources, we are taking on the management and financial risk, and it will be public entities and other actors that will launch the projects and investments the Catalan social services network needs to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”

The agreement with ICF contributes to the EIB Group’s strategic priority of reinforcing Europe’s social infrastructure. This is one of the Group’s eight priorities set out in its Strategic Roadmap for the years 2024-2027.

The EIB loan is guaranteed by InvestEU, the flagship EU programme to mobilise over €372 billion of additional public and private sector investment to support EU policy goals from 2021 to 2027.

As the social development bank for Europe, investing in social infrastructure is the CEB’s main mission, as emphasised by its Strategic Framework 2023-2027. By signing the agreement with ICF, the CEB continues to respond flexibly to evolving social development and inclusion challenges in Spain.

Background information

ICF

ICF has been the public promotional bank in Catalonia for 40 years, and in that period it has financed 37,000 clients for a total of €16 billion. Its main mission is to promote the financing of companies and entities in order to contribute to the growth, innovation and sustainability of the Catalan economy. ICF acts as a complement to the private sector, offering a wide range of financing solutions focused on loans, guarantees and investment in venture capital. Since 2014 it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which brings together a large number of the public promotional banks and financial entities operating in Europe.

EIB

The ElB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by the Member States. Built around eight core priorities, it finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund, signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Agreement, as pledged in the group’s Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects that contribute directly to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a healthier environment.

In Spain, the EIB Group signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for inhabitants.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that invest in projects, leveraging on the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

CEB

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank, whose unique mission is to promote social cohesion in its 43 member states across Europe. The CEB finances investment in social sectors, including education, health and affordable housing, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable people. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations and others. As a multilateral bank with an excellent credit rating, the CEB funds itself on the international capital markets. It approves projects according to strict social, environmental and governance criteria, and provides technical assistance. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to complement its activities.
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Work begins to give residents greater transport choices
Source: City of Derby

Work to create the city’s newest sustainable transport hub is underway on Osmaston Road, following the success of similar hubs elsewhere in the city.

Mobility hubs give residents greater choice when deciding how to travel, as well as making it easier to choose sustainable methods such as electric vehicles (EV), car share clubs, and cycling. The hubs are also continually monitored, helping the Council to learn more about the area’s transport needs.

Following the installation of mobility hubs in the Chaddesden and Six Streets areas, work will begin on Monday 19 May to create the latest hub, which will include:
- Electric vehicle (EV) charging and dedicated parking for up to three EVs
- Additional Enterprise Car Club vehicles
- An accessible seating area with bike storage, designed in consultation with local businesses, ward councillors and the Police
- Interactive information totem with live travel updates
Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability said:

Mobility hubs are a fantastic addition to Derby’s ever-growing transport offer, giving residents greater choice and helping them to travel more sustainably.

“We’ve already seen the benefits to residents in Chaddesden and the Six Streets area, so I’m pleased that residents in Osmaston will soon be able to reap the benefits.

“Our teams have taken the time to learn from previous hubs and feedback from residents and we’re confident that this latest hub will become a welcome addition to the community.

To allow essential infrastructure to be installed, a small section of Whittington Street near the junction of Osmaston Road will be closed between Monday 19 and Friday 23 May. Diversion routes will be clearly signposted.

The mobility hub will be funded by the Department for Transport (DFT)’s Future Transport Zones Fund, which was awarded to Derby City Council to trial new and exciting developments in transport.

Residents who would like to know more about the mobility hubs can get in touch with the Future Transport Zones team by emailing traffic.management@derby.gov.uk.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: National Trust announces opening date of Coventry Charterhouse

Source: City of Coventry

The National Trust announces Coventry Charterhouse, a former 14th century monastery, will re-open to visitors on Wednesday 21 May.

Visitors are invited to join the Festival of Blossom during May half-term at the Charterhouse, to celebrate the beauty of nature’s confetti and have a go at family-friendly blossom crafts. Visitors can also enjoy immersive guided tours of Charterhouse interiors*.

Earlier this year, Historic Coventry Trust, which owns the Charterhouse and oversaw its multi-million-pound renovation, entered into a partnership with the National Trust where the day-to-day operations of the site, and visitors’ experience will now be managed by the National Trust. The venue has also received funding and support from Coventry City Council to assist with its restoration and reopening.

The Grade I listed former Carthusian monastery – one of only nine ever built in England – is the National Trust’s first property in Coventry, where it will work closely with organisations in the city as part of its ambition to bring history and heritage to more people in urban areas.

The 14th-century former monastery is home to remarkable 15th and 16th century wall paintings, widely regarded as some of the finest surviving examples of medieval and Renaissance art in England.

Visitors can explore a beautifully landscaped walled garden as well as expansive green space that includes a wildlife pond, community orchard, children’s play area, and grassland park.

A 60-seat café will also open at the historic house from Wednesdays to Sundays, 8am until 5pm.

In preparation for reopening Coventry Charterhouse, the National Trust has appointed a dedicated team of experienced heritage professionals to manage the site.

The charity also put the call-out for volunteers and more than 160 people have come forward to support Coventry Charterhouse and help to share its fascinating history as the former 14th century monastery enters an exciting new chapter with the National Trust.

Cllr Naeem Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome the National Trust to Coventry and see the remarkable Charterhouse flourish as a hub of culture and heritage. This partnership enhances our cultural offer for both residents and visitors – it really does give them the opportunity to experience some Coventry’s rich history.

“The Charterhouse is already a key part of Coventry’s cultural landscape and I am excited to see how it will inspire and engage our community through its future as a National Trust property.”

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, said: “Charterhouse opening as a National Trust attraction – the first in Coventry – is fantastic news. It’s a great chance to attract more visitors from across the region and beyond, boost the local economy and highlight one of the city’s most important historic sites.

“With the backing of the National Trust, the Charterhouse will benefit from national profile and a strong visitor experience – helping to attract more people to the city, support local businesses and highlight one of Coventry’s most important historic sites as part of our wider tourism offer.”

The new team, together with the support of local volunteers, will shape the next phase of the Charterhouse as both a heritage destination and key venue for local communities – a space where visitors can explore medieval architecture and rare wall paintings, enjoy the walled gardens and orchard, and take part in a growing calendar of events and activities.

Gurminder Kenth, General Manager at National Trust, said: “As one of Coventry’s oldest surviving medieval buildings, the Charterhouse is an extraordinary place with a rich story to tell, and we’re excited to open our doors for visitors to explore its layered history.

“Together with the highly experienced individuals we’ve welcomed into the fold as we prepare to reopen, we’ve been overwhelmed by the huge level of support and enthusiasm from locals coming forward to volunteer as we enter this next chapter together with the Charterhouse. Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do at the National Trust and as we’ve already seen from our constantly growing team at the Charterhouse, the passion to support this new chapter for the Charterhouse has been remarkable.

“Working closely with Historic Coventry Trust and the local community, we hope to make this already special place somewhere people from all walks of life can explore, learn, and feel a real sense of community and history.”

Coventry Charterhouse will be operated in partnership between Historic Coventry Trust, which owns the property and led its £11.9 million restoration with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the National Trust, which will help bring the site to wider audiences locally, nationally and internationally.

In addition to managing the Charterhouse, the National Trust will also work with partners including the John Muir Trust to support the development of the wider heritage park and the green corridor connecting it to the city centre.

For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/warwickshire/coventry-charterhouse

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Australia – Holidays boost household spending in April, but consumer rebound remains sluggish – CBA

Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

A soft consumer and global uncertainty have led to a downgrade to GDP expectations, with additional interest rate cuts needed to improve spending momentum.

The CommBank Household Spending Insights (HSI) Index rose 0.2 per cent in April, a very modest lift following a soft first quarter of spending in 2025. (ref. https://www.commbankresearch.com.au/apex/researcharticleviewv2?id=a0NDo000000wOzu )

Seven of the twelve HSI categories recorded spending growth for the month, led by Insurance (+1.6 per cent), Hospitality (+1.4 per cent) and Communications & Digital (+0.7 per cent). The increase seen in hospitality spending was likely driven by the Easter-Anzac Day ‘super holiday’ period. April also featured the lead-up to the Federal election, recovery from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and newly announced tariffs by the Trump administration.

Spending on Utilities fell 2.0 per cent in the month, the largest decline across all categories, with decreases seen in electricity, gas, water and council services. Transport (-0.8 per cent), Education (-0.7 per cent) and Household Services (-0.7 per cent) also declined.

“Another soft month for household spending reinforces our view that a slower than expected consumer recovery is unfolding. This trend, along with global economic uncertainty, led us to recently downgrade our Australian GDP forecast for 2025,” said CBA Senior Economist, Belinda Allen.

“While moderating inflation, February’s RBA rate cut and lower utility and petrol bills are improving purchasing power, households clearly remain deliberate with their spending choices. The recent pause of additional tariffs between the U.S. and China could improve sentiment going forward, however we expect it will take additional interest rates cuts to improve momentum in consumer spending.

“We maintain our call for the RBA to cut rates by 25 basis points next week , with a forecast end of year cash rate of 3.35 per cent.”

The annual rate of spending across home ownership status saw a surprising shift in April – renters have typically recorded the weakest spending over the past two years however this has now switched with renters leading annual growth in spending (+2.4 per cent), followed by those with a mortgage (2.2 per cent) and outright homeowners most sluggish (+0.7 per cent).

“Renters in particular have increased discretionary spending which suggests that while consumers are making cutbacks in some areas, many are still making trade-offs and allocating a share of their wallet to areas like hospitality and recreation and more so in April given the additional public holidays,” commented Ms Allen.

Queensland recorded the strongest household spending growth in April of the states and territories, rising 0.8 per cent following a rebound from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred in March, when the state posted the softest growth of all states at just 0.2 per cent.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Africa – 2025 Civil Society Forum: African Development Bank and Civil Society Reaffirm Alliance for Africa’s Transformation

SOURCE: African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

The forum provided an opportunity for the Bank to present its Civil Society Engagement Action Plan (2024–2028), reaffirming its commitment to an inclusive and participatory development process

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, May 14, 2025/ — The African Development Bank www.AfDB.org has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to collaborating with African civil society to advance the continent’s development agenda. This was a key message of the 2025 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum, which was successfully held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Abidjan.

The forum, organized under the theme: “Celebrating the Contribution of Civil Society to Africa’s Development,” brought together over 150 participants at the Bank’s headquarters, with thousands more connected online across Africa and the diaspora.

A Novel Action Plan to Deepen Engagement

This edition of the CSO Forum marked a pivotal step in reinforcing a solid, transformative, and trust-based partnership between the African Development Bank and civil society organizations. This enduring alliance is essential for collectively serving African populations and achieving impactful development across the continent.

The forum provided an opportunity for the Bank to present its Civil Society Engagement Action Plan (2024–2028), reaffirming its commitment to an inclusive and participatory development process.

Zeneb Touré, Manager of the Civil Society and Community Engagement Division, presented the strategic framework to Beth Dunford, the African Development Bank Group’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development, who accepted it on behalf of the institution’s President, Akinwumi Adesina.

Demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive partnership, Dunford shared the Action Plan with representatives of key civil society components: the Bank-Civil Society Committee, the Climate and Energy Coalition, and a continental network of women entrepreneurs’ associations.

Augustine Njamnshi, a prominent voice in the civil society climate and energy movement, welcomed its adoption: “The approval of this Action Plan marks a historic turning point in our collaboration with the African Development Bank Group. Born from a shared vision, this document becomes our collective legacy. We express our sincere gratitude to the Bank for this profound act of trust.”

Highlighting the essential role of civil society as an integral part of Africa’s progress, Kolyang Palebele, representative of the Platform of Farmers’ Organizations of Africa, expressed the spirit of collaboration, praising “the Bank’s unique power to unite the continent’s driving forces around a common vision of improving the lives of African people.” “Civil society is not on the margins of development dynamics; it is the very essence, its living memory and its engine for change,” Mr. Palebele stated.

“Over the years, civil society engagement has become a cornerstone of the African Development Bank’s work. What was once an aspiration has become evolved into a structured, institutionalized, and results-oriented collaboration partnership.” Ms. Dunford emphasized.

Empowering Communities Through Decentralized Engagement

During the forum, an important session highlighted the progress made in decentralizing the Bank’s engagement with civil society. Successful experiences from the five regions of Africa were presented. This localized approach was strongly commended by the Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo, who appreciated a transformative cross-border initiative between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project has provided over 2.4 million people with access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, while strengthening community resilience and fostering cooperation.

Fostering Mutual Accountability Through Open Dialogue

The forum culminated in an unprecedented and frank dialogue between senior representatives from seven strategic departments of the Bank and leaders of civil society organizations. Discussions focused on crucial areas such as access to information, environmental and social safeguards, climate action, agriculture, gender equality, youth empowerment, and grievance mechanisms. This essential interaction highlighted a shared commitment to transparency, responsiveness, and mutual accountability in the pursuit of sustainable development outcomes.

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities – AUT LAUNCHES IMPACT-FOCUSED $5 MILLION INNOVATION FUND

Source: AUT

AUT today launches the AUT Innovation Fund with an allocation of $5 million to invest into spinout companies and impact initiatives.

Managed by AUT Ventures, the fund will empower some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most innovative minds to commercialise research and transform it into real-world solutions.

Vice-Chancellor Damon Salesa says that growing research impact is a key focus, and the AUT Innovation Fund extends the way that AUT Ventures supports innovation and research commercialisation. “The AUT Innovation Fund is more than just a financial instrument. It’s a signal — to our researchers, our partners, and our country — that AUT is ready to lead. Ready to invest. Ready to go first.”

AUT Ventures Chief Executive Michael Fielding says the fund is about accelerating commercialisation, as well as linking research to industry. “It’s a game-changer. The fund lets us back promising ideas and teams at a very early stage, committing support to innovators before they’re ready to seek investment from the angel and VC community. But it’s also going to give us new ways to connect with organisations outside the university.”

The fund is being launched with investments into Dot Ingredients and CONICAL.

Motion Capital is the lead investor in the $350k early funding round in Dot Ingredients, alongside Climate Venture Capital Fund and the AUT Innovation Fund. Formerly known as Spherelose, Dot is the brainchild of Associate Professor Jack Chen, who developed a new way to make critical ingredients for everyday products like soaps, detergents and cosmetics, but using wood pulp instead of petrochemicals or palm oil. Based in laboratories at AUT, the company is currently participating in the Aurora Climate Lab accelerator programme run by Creative HQ, while scaling production and developing new applications.

$110,000 will be invested into CONICAL to support the upcoming launch of its indie role-playing game, Faeborne. Launched out of AUT in 2016 by alumnus Alejandro Davila and entirely staffed by AUT graduates, CONICAL quickly gained headlines through the success of its Green Fairy TV series. After earning a reputation for developing cutting edge virtual reality exhibits and activations for businesses across New Zealand and worldwide, Faeborne marks a return to the company’s fairy fantasy origins. Faeborne is a fast-paced, story-driven co-op game centred around the conflict between two fairy sisters in the fantasy realm of Lamparis, and is slated for a multi-platform launch in late 2025.

AUT Ventures has appointed Craigs Investment Partners, a leading New Zealand investment manager, to manage the fund’s assets until they’re invested into new innovations. The income generated under Craig’s management will provide grants to AUT researchers to help kickstart new collaborations with businesses, government and NGOs, expanding the pipeline of future commercialisation opportunities.

AUT’s Innovation Fund will be launched at city campus by Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Hon. Dr Shane Reti today.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Energy Sector – From carbon costs to gas gaps: NZ energy sector flags rising pressures – BusinessNZ

Source: BusinessNZ

New information from the World Energy Council shows affordability, carbon pricing, and demand management are the top energy concerns in New Zealand.

The 2025 Country Issues Map is out now. The report surveyed energy leaders across the wider energy sector to get a snapshot of what keeps them awake at night, and busy during the day.

BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) Executive Director Tina Schirr says the map paints a clear picture of the sector’s issues that still need to be addressed.

“Affordability being the dominant concern on the 2025 map is no surprise given the strain placed on the electricity sector during last year’s dry winter, and the compounding issue of reduced gas availability.”

Carbon pricing ranks high on the uncertainty list, reflecting instability in the Emissions Trading Scheme, an oversupply of New Zealand Units, and investor hesitancy.

Schirr says gas users will continue to face difficulties accessing viable alternatives.

“However, there is growing acknowledgement that grid-scale storage and demand response measures can help reduce supply risks, especially during dry years.

“How New Zealand manages the energy trilemma – balancing security, sustainability, and equity – has become an increasing area of concern in these reports. Uncertainty over gas reliability is now a key threat to security of supply and affecting affordability across the wider industry.”

Schirr says that over the years, a major blind spot for New Zealand remains unchanged – community engagement.

“Engagement and energy literacy continue to rank low for both uncertainty and impact, despite their importance in building lasting public support for energy transitions.

“On the bright side, infrastructure concerns that dominated previous years have eased somewhat, but transmission grids and long-term planning remain high-priority actions. New Zealand also retains its position as a global energy innovator.

“lastly, the report reinforces that our abundant renewable energy resources and strong public-private position on collaboration will serve us well for energy transition to come.”

To read the full BEC commentary and view the New Zealand 2025 issues map visit https://bec.org.nz/tools/issues-maps/

The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Budget ‘25 needs to prioritise a thriving and resilient Pacific region – World Vision

Source: World Vision

World Vision New Zealand is urging the government to prioritise Pacific prosperity and resilience with strong investment in climate finance and foreign aid as part of Budget ’25.

The aid agency’s National Director, Grant Bayldon, says in challenging geopolitical times, it is vital the government invests in the Pacific region to ensure it is strong and thriving.

He says Pacific nations are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks, and New Zealand needs to stand in solidarity with our neighbours.

“These are tough economic times for New Zealand and many other countries, but climate finance is a cornerstone of effective development, ensuring that communities can respond to climate shocks, build resilience, and secure the rights of future generations.

“New Zealand has a leadership role to play and that requires us to step up and support our Pacific neighbours in the face of a changing climate, growing poverty, and changing geo-political alliances.

Bayldon says it’s more important than ever before to invest in the children of the Pacific and to support Pacific communities with education, nutrition, healthcare and the tools to combat climate change.

“Half of the Pacific’s population are children. We know that every dollar invested in child-related programming yields exceptional returns, which will help to make Pacific communities stronger.

“That’s a fantastic return on investment for our region and for New Zealanders who will partner with, and deliver many of these projects,” Bayldon says.

He says this year’s Budget is particularly important because New Zealand will need to decide how much it will invest in climate finance under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

New Zealand committed NZ$1.3 billion in climate finance between 2022 – 2025, but at last year’s COP29 climate conference agreed that developed nations together should contribute more (at least US$300 billion per year) in future to help low-income countries transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change.

Bayldon says it’s incumbent on the Government to increase its climate finance commitment in Budget ’25.

“We know that climate change is the great existential crisis of our time, and it is without doubt a humanitarian crisis in which children bear the brunt of suffering. Every cyclone, every flood, and every village lost to rising sea levels means more children going without food, a home, and an education.

“Our commitment to climate finance will help Pacific children and communities to become more resilient in the face of a changing climate,” he says.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Storm recovery in East Coast Bays
Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines

Following major storms in 2023, Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD) is working with the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office, to facilitate community-led recovery planning in East Coast Bays communities. This is part of a series of partnerships in heavily impacted neighbourhoods across Auckland. Communities are being supported to develop practical plans, which will include activities and priorities to improve well-being and enable them to come out of recovery stronger.

A community responds

In major 2023 storms, East Coast Bays suburbs like Browns Bay, Mairangi Bay, Murrays Bay and Campbells Bay were hit with flooding and slips, cutting off roads, shops, and vital services.

Even emergency services were affected. The Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club was flooded and forced to relocate — yet still rescued 69 people that day. The club is now working with the community to plan a more resilient future.

Around 30 homes in the area have been classified as Category 3, meaning they face serious future risk. These properties are now eligible for council buy-outs, with land use decisions to follow based on safety.

Flooding in Mairangi Bay village

Finding a Way Forward, Together

Through a series of community engagements with affected clubs and residents, the top priorities for the community were determined by the community: Knowing Our Neighbours and Leveraging the Community Systems.

“Two remarkable things stand out about talking with the club management teams severely impacted by the floods: how much care they have for their community, and how resourceful they were to connect with others to help them recover. The community can be so proud to have them as their local leaders,” says Kristi Shaw, community-led storm recovery facilitator in East Coast Bays.

“All the conversations so far have had a similar thread – how well we recovered is about how well we have been connected with each other.

“Our aim is to weave people, groups, and community initiatives to deepen relationships while discovering and leveraging our community systems.”

Community initiative and collaboration has developed the Making Visible Workshops and Exhibition to connect residents with each other, and their experiences of living here, now, with the extreme storms.

Sharing experiences through artwork

Making Visible is a community-led project facilitated by local artist and arts therapist, Wendy Lawson.

Through a series of neighbourhood gatherings, residents are invited to bring an object that holds meaning, whether emotionally, symbolically, or as a tangible part of their experience of the storms or storm recovery. Shared stories and objects lead to a co-created artwork that is designed to be temporary, woven from the contributions and materials offered by the group.

Wendy knows first-hand what storm impact feels like.

Rope used to tether Wendy’s art studio after the 2023 floods; later incorporated into the workshop and exhibition as an object of significance.

“We’ve already seen how much people care about this coastal landscape and one another. It’s about listening carefully and shaping something meaningful together.”

The dynamic artwork, along with shared experiences and insights gathered throughout the workshop, will be curated into the ‘Making Visible’ exhibition at Mairangi Arts Centre from 14–19 June.

Get involved

If you live in the East Coast Bays and are aged 16 or over, you’re invited to register for one of the upcoming Making Visible Workshops. All you need is a curious mind and a willingness to share.
- Sat 17 May, 1pm, Browns Bay Presbyterian Church
- Sat 24 May, 1pm, RAFT Studios, Torbay
Visit the ANCAD website to register or email kristi@ancad.org.nz for more information.

Many hands making together – Making Visible Workshop, process photo.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
May 15, 2025

Category: Climate Change

BACKGROUND

STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

28.4.2025BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGETS

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE (24.4.2025)

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND ENERGY (23.4.2025)

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

A higher bar?

Recent hurricanes show the gaps

How to prepare: 5 key steps

Planning with, not just for, older adults

Source: BusinessNZ