World:
¶ “Eurozone Trade Surplus Soars As US Deal Boosts Exports” • The eurozone’s trade surplus in goods recorded a sharp increase in September 2025, as exports to the US jumped after a new transatlantic trade agreement that eased tensions following months of tariff-related disruption. The September surplus was €19,4 billion ($22.55 billion). [Euronews]
Shipping containers in Rotterdam (Julia Taubitz, Unsplash)
¶ “How Azerbaijan’s Oil Fund Is Expanding Its Influence In The EU’s Private Markets” • Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund is ramping up investments in European infrastructure and renewable energy, taking stakes in London Gatwick airport and Italian solar panel capacities as it seeks to diversify away from depending on its oil and hydrocarbon revenues. [Euronews]
¶ “Extreme Flooding Led To Concerning Decrease In Rice Yields” • Extreme flooding has led to a significant reduction in one of the world’s most important food staples, a paper that appeared in Science Advances found. Devastating floods in Asia and nearby regions between 1980 and 2015 has caused rice yields to decrease by 4.3% annually. [ABC News]
Rice paddies with normal flooding (Steve Douglas, Unsplash)
¶ “Latin America EV Sales Report: 6% Market Share Reached In Q3 Thanks To 55% Growth YOY” • As of October 2025, the Latin American Zero-Emission Observatory has detailed information on thirteen countries for over 98% of the total regional market. EV sales have been rising steadily, and Q3 2025 represents a 55% increase, year over year. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “BYD Leads Surge In EV Sales In Australia” • According to the Australian Automobile Association, the market share of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric cars exceeded 30% for the first time in the third quarter of 2025. Battery electric cars, with 29,298 sold, accounted for 9.7% of new cars sales, the highest proportion on record. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Atto 2 (BYD image)
¶ “Used EVs Pull New Duty As Guardians Of The Grid” • Used EVs are the gift that keeps on giving. As bidirectional charging gets more common, the up-and-coming crop of used EVs will provide owners and fleet managers with new opportunities to help balance their grid, build resiliency for their community, and potentially make money. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UK Issues Fresh Wake Effects Guidance” • The government of the UK has introduced updated planning guidance that does not require developers to provide financial compensation for wake effects from new offshore wind farms. Developers will need to carry out wake assessments as part of the consenting process and “take a good neighbour approach.” [reNews]
Wake illustration (Vattenfall and Ørsted)
¶ “Eighty Villages Chosen For Solar Power Plants In Telangana” • The Telangana Renewable Energy Development Corporation Limited’s Chairman A Sharath instructed officials to expedite the necessary procedures for setting up 2-MW solar power plants in eighty of the Indian state’s villages through women’s self-help groups. [The New Indian Express]
US:
¶ “Preliminary Findings Show Fatigue Crack Caused Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill” • A fatigue crack in the Keystone Pipeline led to an oil spill in North Dakota this year that released thousands of barrels of oil onto farmland, said pipeline operator South Bow. Mechanical and metallurgical analysis found the pipe and welds met industry standards. [ABC News]
Pipe for Keystone (shannonpatrick17, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “Looking To The Future: Kamala Harris, Gen Z, And Climate Action” • In her book, 107 Days, Kamala Harris looks at positions on which she based her campaign policy vision. Climate change was not at the forefront. But people in Gen Z are keenly aware of the existential crisis. Globally, 80% report having been personally affected by climate change. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Toyota Commissions New Battery Factory And Pledges $10 Billion Investment In US ” • Toyota has announced the start of production at its new battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina. It is Toyota’s eleventh US plant and the company’s first battery plant outside of Japan. The facility cost $14 billion and will create up to 5,100 American jobs. [CleanTechnica]
Factory (Toyota Motor of North America)
¶ “Somebody Is Losing The War On EVs, Bigly” • US President Donald Trump has been waging war on electric vehicles all year with some notable success, but his inevitable loss is already in the cards. One really good example is the Volkswagen offshoot Scout Motors, which is still on track to launch its first EVs into the US market in 2027. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “RWE Completes 100-MW US Solar Build” • RWE said it has completed construction of the 100-MW Lafitte solar project in Ouachita Parish, its first project in Louisiana. The company said the project will be fully online and generating energy by the end of the year. It said Lafitte Solar has a long-term power purchase agreement with Meta. [reNews]
Solar system (RWE image)
¶ “One Farmer Set Off A Solar Energy Boom In Minnesota; Ten Years Later, Here’s How It Worked Out” • One farmer’s solar purchase ten years ago was the start of something big. Neighbors and clean energy companies began to see opportunities that made Chisago County a hub for solar power. But some people still wonder about the idea. [St Croix 360]
¶ “Groups Warn Trump Executive Orders Would Spike Cancers Caused by Exposure to Nuclear Radiation” • More than forty civil society groups signed a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, calling on officials not to revise its Standards for Protection Against Radiation, as they were directed to earlier this year by Trump. [Common Dreams]
Have a fastidiously spiffy day.
geoharvey 
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