coal

India's power plants are running down coal inventories to a three-year low as generators burn more coal to make up for weak hydroelectric output. The government has ordered all captive coal plants above 50 MW to run at full capacity to head off a potential power shortage, highlighting the strain on the country's electricity supply during the current demand season.

The United States has extended tariff relief to a broad set of products under its latest trade arrangement with China. The exemptions cover US coal and agricultural goods as well as Chinese-made toys, car seats and holiday decorations. The scope of the relief is drawing attention because it touches both American export sectors and everyday consumer imports ahead of the holiday shopping season.

New figures on global electricity generation show coal remained the world's largest source in 2024, producing about 34% of electricity, while wind and solar together reached 15%, up sharply from just 4% a decade earlier. The data, presented as charts drawn directly onto a world map, is drawing attention to both the slow pace of the coal decline and the rapid growth of renewables.

A growing coalition is urging Congress to approach wildfires as a national security challenge rather than solely a natural disaster or land management issue. The push would reframe how the federal government funds, plans and responds to catastrophic fires, bringing wildfire policy into the same conversation as defense preparedness and homeland security priorities.

The New York Times reports that the Trump administration has acted on the coal industry's requests for a rescue, reportedly involving support for coal-fired power plants. The piece frames the move as a federal intervention on behalf of a declining fossil fuel sector, drawing attention from climate and energy observers discussing the policy's environmental and political implications.

Manifest has joined Chainguard's Athena Coalition, an initiative aimed at identifying open-source software risk inside commercial software products. The announcement was carried by Business Wire and picked up by outlets including Yahoo Finance. The coalition brings companies together to improve visibility into the open-source components embedded in software supply chains, a growing concern after a series of high-profile supply chain attacks.

A court has ruled against Antioch University's board in its legal dispute with a coalition the university itself helped establish. The case centres on governance and control of the coalition, an unusual fight given Antioch's founding role in it. Higher education outlets are covering the ruling as a notable setback for the board.

A civil rights coalition is calling on the US Federal Trade Commission to ban the use of AI-driven surveillance pricing in housing and consumer markets. The practice involves companies using personal data and algorithmic tools to set individualised prices, which the coalition argues can lead to discrimination against protected groups and unfair costs for consumers. The group is pressing regulators to treat the practice as a civil rights and consumer protection issue.

A new Guardian Essential poll finds Australia's Coalition has sunk to its lowest ever primary vote, while a majority of voters back hardline immigration policies. The combined findings are drawing attention because they suggest voters are drifting away from the major conservative party even as they embrace tougher positions on immigration, complicating the political strategy of both major parties ahead of future contests.

The Elk-Kootenai Study Board has postponed its draft report on transboundary coal pollution affecting the Elk-Kootenai watershed along the Montana-British Columbia border. The board, formed to study selenium and other contaminants from coal mining flowing into shared waterways, has not given a public reason for the delay. The postponement affects communities and tribes awaiting findings on cross-border water contamination.