Austria to import gas from Germany, Italy after halting of Russian gas supplies

Austria says it plans to import natural gas from Germany and Italy to mitigate the impact of the halting of Russian gas through Ukraine, but rising energy prices remain a concern.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday that it had stopped gas supplies transiting through Ukraine due to the expiration of key agreements and the lack of renewal by the Ukrainian side.

Gazprom said Ukraine had repeatedly and unequivocally refused to extend these agreements, leaving the Russian company without the technical and legal means to continue the gas transit through Ukraine.

Austria is one of the European countries directly affected by the end of the supply, and while the Austrian government has sought to give assurances that gas shortages will be avoided through additional imports from Germany and Italy, many believe that higher gas prices are inevitable.

The Austrian Gas Grid Management AG (AGGM) confirmed on Wednesday that gas deliveries through the affected pipeline network have ceased, but stressed that Austria's energy sector had been prepared, and that domestic gas supplies will remain secure.

However, experts from the Energie-Control Austria (E-Control), the Austrian regulatory authority for the electricity and gas markets, forecast a short-term rise of three to ten euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) for natural gas.

Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung (WZ) has also reported that while gas prices are unlikely to soar as they did when the Russia-Ukraine crisis erupted in 2022, even a 10 percent increase would represent a significant financial burden for households and businesses, which could further pressure inflation.

The supplies of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory stopped on January 1 at 08:00 Moscow time, Gazprom said Wednesday in a statement.

Ukraine's Ministry of Energy reported that the transit of Russian natural gas through its gas transmission system was stopped at 07:00 Kyiv time Wednesday. The decision was made in the interest of national security, the ministry said, noting that Ukraine had informed its international partners about the move in the prescribed manner.

Austria to import gas from Germany, Italy after halting of Russian gas supplies

Austria to import gas from Germany, Italy after halting of Russian gas supplies

Austria to import gas from Germany, Italy after halting of Russian gas supplies

Austria to import gas from Germany, Italy after halting of Russian gas supplies

The United Nations named China's Blue Bay Restoration Initiative a World Restoration Flagship on Thursday during the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia.

The initiative is jointly led by China's Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Finance. This marks the second time a nationwide ecological restoration initiative from China has received the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration recognition, making China the first country to achieve the distinction twice.

Chosen from over 200 applications and more than 80 government-submitted nominations, the Blue Bay Restoration Initiative was recognized as one of the world's most promising, ambitious and inspiring examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration, said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.

The initiative aims to restore more than 150,000 hectares of coastal wetlands and over 2,000 km of coastline by 2030, bringing lasting benefits to local communities, she added.

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has supported coastal provinces in implementing 194 major marine ecological restoration projects, with cumulative central government awards and subsidies totaling over 36.6 billion yuan (about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Among the many achievements, particularly notable is that China's mangrove area has reached 31,700 hectares, making it one of the world's few countries with sustained net growth in mangrove areas.

"Going forward, we will focus on building blue bays, beautiful shorelines, and harmonious and beautiful islands, adopt measures tailored to local conditions, and coordinate marine ecological restoration with disaster prevention and mitigation. We will improve the quality and service functions of marine ecosystems, promote the conversion of marine ecological product value, and contribute to building a Beautiful China and a maritime power," said Zhong Chongjun, deputy director-general of the Department of Territorial Space Ecological Restoration at China’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

China's Blue Bay Restoration Initiative named UN World Restoration Flagship