Germany mulls 2045 climate neutrality in building law

Spanish Market: Electricity, Hydrogen, Natural gas
06/07/26

Germany's federal government has proposed an amendment to the country's Building Modernisation Act (GModG), targeting the use of only climate-neutral fuels in the building sector by 2045 through a green gas and heating oil quota.

The amendment introduces section 42a, requiring the introduction of a new law by 1 December to oblige heating oil and gas suppliers to gradually switch to climate-friendly fuels — renewable or low-carbon — so that by 2045 only these are used to heat buildings.

The draft law does retain the "biotreppe" (bio-ladder) framework, with a rising share of climate-neutral sources in new heating installations starting at 10pc in 2029, and continuing to 15pc in 2030, 30pc in 2035 and 60pc in 2040. Biomethane, bio-oil, biogenic liquefied petroleum gas and green, blue, orange and turquoise hydrogen, including derivatives, count towards the quota. The amendment defines bio-oil for the first time.

Although the bio-ladder ends with a 60pc share in 2040, the new green gas and heating oil quota would make fossil-fuel heating virtually impossible from 2045.

A wider range of options are also being considered to meet the quota, including green fuels, solar thermal systems and ventilation systems with heat recovery. Hybrid systems combining a heat pump and fossil-fuel boiler can also qualify under certain technical conditions.

The amendment contains detailed rules around documentation. Company declarations as well as expert reports will count as proof of compliance. Energy suppliers must confirm on invoices that fuels meet legal requirements. Documents must be kept for years and made available to authorities on request.

The draft GModG had drawn criticism in recent months. The Left party announced that it had filed an urgent complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court on 3 July to block the law before the summer recess because of the speed of the process, despite missing information on the law's impact.

The government plans to pass the law this week in second and third readings before the summer recess, but it is not yet on the Bundestag's public agenda.

By Svea Winter

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09/07/26

Last month second-hottest June recorded: EU Copernicus

London, 9 July (Argus) — Last month was the second-warmest June on record globally, and the hottest June recorded in western Europe, EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus said today. The global average surface air temperature in June was 16.54°C, 0.56°C higher than the 1991-2020 average and 1.39°C above the pre-industrial average, Copernicus data show. Much of western and central Europe was affected by a severe heatwave in June . "Many June and some all-time records for daily maximum temperature" were broken in several countries, Copernicus said. The average temperature over European land in June was the second-highest on record, at 19.14°C. This is 1.78°C above the 1991-2020 average for the month, Copernicus data show. Western Europe, which was most affected by extreme heat, experienced its hottest June on record, with an average temperature of 20.74°C — 3.05°C above the 1991-2020 average for the month, Copernicus said. The average sea surface temperature in non-polar oceans in June was the highest on record for the month, at 20.86°C, just marginally above the average temperature for June 2024, Copernicus said. Sea surface temperatures were at "exceptionally high levels across a large portion of the tropical Pacific", where El Nino conditions are present, "and forecast to strengthen rapidly", Copernicus said. El Nino is forecast to be a "strong" event, the World Meteorological Organisation said earlier in July . This increases the chance of extreme weather events. "June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing", said Copernicus' strategic lead for climate Samantha Burgess. The records broken in Europe last month "reflect a climate system continuing to accumulate heat. The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure", Burgess said. The hottest year on record is 2024. The past three years, 2023-25, are the hottest three years recorded. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US launches new strikes against Iran

08/07/26

US launches new strikes against Iran

Washington, 8 July (Argus) — US forces launched a new wave of attacks on Iran after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the US-Iran ceasefire was "over". The air strikes, for a second night in a row, are meant to retaliate against Iranian attacks earlier this week on three commercial vessels attempting passage through the strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees the Middle East-based US forces, said at 5:15pm ET on Wednesday. Centcom carried out strikes on Iranian defense targets late on Tuesday, and Iranian forces retaliated with drone and missile attacks at US military installations in the Mideast Gulf. Iran's response so far has spared its neighbors' energy infrastructure. "As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump said on Wednesday of the ceasefire established by the US-Iran interim deal he signed on 18 June. Trump, in remarks at a Nato summit in Turkey, previewed the forthcoming attacks and said he may re-establish the US naval blockade that was removed last month. The US will continue strikes on Iranian military targets until Tehran agrees to fully reopen the strait of Hormuz to navigation and stops attacking vessels passing through it, US vice president JD Vance said on Wednesday. Trump, who said last month that the US would be unable to reopen Hormuz by military means alone, said he was no longer willing to negotiate with Iran. "I'm not sure I want to make a deal with them," Trump told reporters at the conclusion of the Nato summit. "Let's just finish the job," he said. Vance, who led the US diplomacy with Iran over sanctions relief and a ceasefire in Lebanon, on Wednesday described the interim US-Iran deal as hinging on the status of navigation through Hormuz. "The basic deal that we cut was, 'we'll lift our blockade if you stop shooting at ships,'" Vance told reporters during a visit to Wisconsin. "The strait of Hormuz is going to be open," Vance said. "That means oil and gas is going to flow to the American people." If Iran continues attacking ships in Hormuz, there will be a US military response, Vance said. The resumption of intense clashes between the US and Iranian militaries sent oil prices higher. August Nymex WTI rose by $3.08/bl to settle at $73.52/bl on Wednesday. Trump has touted the decline in crude futures since the US-Iran interim deal on 18 June, but he has expressed frustration at the slower pace of decline in US retail fuel prices. Trump has ordered federal prosecutors to begin looking into whether consumers were being "gouged" by oil companies, and his administration has invited state officials to join the federal probe. Tehran is talking tough too Tehran anticipated the resumption of US attacks and threatened to respond strongly to them. Tehran also vowed to fully close navigation through Hormuz. The 18 June deal called for the strait of Hormuz to fully reopen to commercial traffic, and for Tehran to receive limited sanctions relief in return. But key terms began to unravel well ahead of the 21 August deadline that the countries set to thrash out the final details of a peace agreement, including the fate of Iran's nuclear program. Tehran has been keen to preserve its control over the strait of Hormuz and has been attacking ships crossing close to the coast of Oman, in a section of the strait where the US and the International Maritime Organization have encouraged transits. The US on Tuesday revoked authorization to allow purchases of Iranian crude, refined products and petrochemicals. The US-Iran clashes since Tuesday followed an increase in hostile rhetoric from both countries, after Trump on 5 July said that the US passed on a chance to assassinate the Iranian leadership during the belated funeral for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US strike on 28 February. "We said, 'Go and do your funeral stuff,'" Trump said on Wednesday. "And instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships yesterday." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Venezuela's president approves new oil regulations

08/07/26

Venezuela's president approves new oil regulations

Caracas, 8 July (Argus) — Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez and oil minister Paula Henao on Wednesday enacted the framework of regulations needed to implement recent reforms to the main hydrocarbons law. Almost 1,400 regulations issued over the last 83 years of oil activities were "studied and analyzed" in trying to incorporate best practices into the new framework, Rodriguez said during the televised event. "This is done in order to transform the [oil] reserves of our country into the development of our country," she said. "The resources for the recovery and reconstruction of our country after the dual earthquakes of June 24th are also here." The government must still publish the full text of the regulations in the official gazette. Henao had said in late May that the government would approve the regulations soon . Venezuela's government moved to open operation of its oil fields to beyond state-owned PdV and trimmed its take of earnings and production under changes to the hydrocarbon law made after the US' essential takeover of its oil sector on 3 January. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US says Ukraine's Russia strikes could end war

08/07/26

US says Ukraine's Russia strikes could end war

Washington, 8 July (Argus) — Ukraine's ability to carry out drone strikes against Russia's oil infrastructure could prompt Moscow to end the war against its neighbor, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. "The Russians are finding it more difficult to defend their own airspace," Rubio said during a meeting between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Ankara, Turkey. "What we hope that means is, that's going to create the space now to negotiate the end of this war." Trump added that "it's an escalation, but it's also an escalation that can help lead to an end" to the war. Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries in Russia, some located thousands of kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border, have caused widespread motor fuel shortages in Russia. Moscow on Wednesday banned diesel exports, adding to restrictions on exports of gasoline and jet fuel. Russia has responded to the Ukrainian attacks by scaling up bombardment of major urban areas in Ukraine. The latest meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders, on the sidelines of a Nato summit, highlighted a marked improvement in relations since their encounter in the Oval Office in February 2025, which ended with Trump and his key aides chiding Zelenskiy for allegedly being ungrateful for US assistance. "We've actually developed a very good relationship from the Oval Office to now," Trump said on Wednesday. "It's hard to believe, right?" Trump and Zelenskiy on Wednesday announced defense co-operation deals, which would involve transfer of Ukrainian drone manufacturing know-how to US companies and an authorization for Ukraine to produce US Patriot air defense systems. Trump has also scaled down demands for Kyiv to agree to a peace agreement with Russia along the lines he discussed with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, last year. The terms of the deal were never made public but previous comments by Trump suggest he wanted Kyiv to accept Russia's territorial gains in exchange for a ceasefire. Trump on Wednesday still said that he believed that Putin "wants to see a settlement" and that "we've made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks" on a possible Russia-Ukraine deal. Putin and Trump had a lengthy phone conversation on 4 July, which the Kremlin described as constructive. "I'm sure that you will do everything to solve this war," Zelenskiy said. Asked by Trump if he would consider going to Moscow to meet with Putin, as the Russian president has suggested, Zelenskiy said, "It's difficult, right? Lots of Ukrainian drones there." The Trump administration allowed a general sanctions waiver for Russian seaborne oil sales to lapse last month without renewing it. The US administration issued the waiver in March, during the Iran war, and said it would renew it only if oil prices remain elevated. US sanctions enforcers recently extended an authorization for Russia's Lukoil to negotiate the sale of its international assets, until 25 July. The US imposed sanctions on Lukoil from 21 November, forcing the company to try to spin off Lukoil International. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US, Iran threaten to escalate hostilities: Update

08/07/26

US, Iran threaten to escalate hostilities: Update

Updates with details throughout Washington, 8 July (Argus) — The US and Iran on Wednesday said the interim deal they signed last month is effectively over as they threatened to escalate attacks following overnight exchanges of fire in the Mideast Gulf. "As far as I'm concerned, it's over," President Donald Trump said of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding he signed on 18 June. Trump, in public remarks during meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, said he will order the Pentagon to carry out another round of strikes against Iran and that he may reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian trade. Trump said he does not "want to deal" with the Iranian leadership anymore, describing them as "scum" and "sick people." But he appeared to keep the door open to a continuation of talks with Iran, of which there have been several rounds since the signing of the agreement. "Terrorist Trump officially announced that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has ended," said Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "Continuing the understanding that Trump has also officially declared dead is logically and rationally wrong." Tehran will fully close navigation through the strait of Hormuz and respond strongly to any further US attacks, state news agency Press TV said. The resumption of intense clashes between the US and Iranian militaries sent oil prices higher . August Nymex WTI rose by $4.86/bl, or about 7pc, to $75.30/bl as of 11am ET. Trump, who had touted the decline in crude futures since the US-Iran interim deal was signed in June, acknowledged on Wednesday that the flare up in conflict would reverse the trend. "Any time we hit them, it goes up a little", Trump said about crude futures. "Maybe we'll do some other things that would lift it a little bit, but I don't think it's going to lift it a lot at all," Trump said. The 18 June interim deal was supposed to usher in a 60-day ceasefire and trigger a process to gradually reopen the strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping. The US military carried out strikes on Iranian defense targets late on 7 July, following Iranian attacks on vessels travelling along the strait's southern corridor. The IRGC said it retaliated with drone and missile attacks at US military installations in the Mideast Gulf, including the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and at the Ali al-Salem air base in Kuwait. The 18 June deal called for the strait of Hormuz to fully reopen to commercial traffic, and for Tehran to receive limited sanctions relief in return. But key terms are unravelling well ahead of the 21 August deadline that the countries set to thrash out the final details of a peace agreement, including the fate of Iran's nuclear program. The US on Tuesday also revoked authorisation to allow purchases of Iranian crude, refined products and petrochemicals. By Nader Itayim, Prethika Nair and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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