00:01G7 countries have agreed to release up to 100 million barrels from their strategic reserves
00:06in a coordinated effort to bring down soaring energy prices, particularly diesel prices.
00:12The International Energy Agency will coordinate the release over four months
00:16with a substantial amount of diesel expected to become available within the first 20 days.
00:22French President Emmanuel Macron said the countries had agreed to act together
00:26to ease pressure on energy prices.
00:28The move follows growing pressure from Washington to release strategic reserves
00:32as diesel supplies tighten.
00:35The package also includes measures to increase refinery output
00:39and a pledge not to restrict trade in energy and oil products between partner countries.
00:44But the impact may not be immediate.
00:48Crude oil must first be processed by refineries, meaning capacity, logistics and the type of crude available
00:53will determine how much additional diesel ultimately reaches consumers.
01:05The EU is adding 130 million euros into drone technology
01:09as part of a broader push to strengthen border security and counter hybrid threats.
01:14The European Commission announced the funding at a meeting of Justice and Home Affairs ministers in Luxembourg.
01:20Another important topic today is how we work with new technologies, drones.
01:27That is important also for border protection but also for protecting our critical infrastructure.
01:33In February, the Commission unveiled an action plan on drone and counter drone security
01:38including a 250 million euros call for national authorities to invest in land and maritime border surveillance.
01:44The scheme covers the purchase of drones and counter drone systems,
01:48the integration into national surveillance networks and other technologies designed to counter hybrid threats.
01:54Brussels has separately made 170 million euros available to EU border agency, Frontex
02:00and national authorities to secure EU's external borders.
02:07President protests across France have intensified with around 400 high schools expected to stay closed
02:13after Friday as demonstrations over school conditions continue.
02:17Students are protesting long school hours, staff shortages and inadequate conditions including overheated classrooms.
02:26The education minister, Edouard Geffre, said 564 schools had faced actions or disruptions since the start of the day.
02:34The minister added that at least 65 staff members and around 107 students have been injured since the protest began.
02:41Around 2,000 people have been taken into police custody, 90 percent of them minors.
02:48Students have accused police of excessive force including the frequent use of tear gas.
02:52The government says the students' grievances are legitimate but has condemned what it calls urban violence.
03:00Geffre said the movement was being held hostage by ultra-violent fringe groups.
03:07Europe is insulating itself from the volatility of fossil fuel import costs thanks to a surge in solar power, according
03:13to a new report.
03:14Solar Power Europe analysis revealed that harnessing sunlight has saved Europe over 37 billion euros,
03:20with solar becoming the EU's largest single source of electricity in June, supplying 25 percent of the bloc's power.
03:27The ongoing war in Iran has led to record gas prices for months due to the blockade of the Strait
03:32of Hormuz,
03:33the vital shipping route that usually carries around one-fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas.
03:37The megawatt-hour price of LNG traded at around 32 euros on February 27, the day before the war broke
03:44out,
03:44and on September 30 it traded around 72 euros per megawatt-hour, a 126 percent increase.
03:51Meanwhile, several European nations have already demonstrated the concrete benefits of transforming their energy systems prior to the war,
03:57such as Spain, which has doubled its wind and solar capacity since 2019, adding more than 40 gigawatts to its
04:04energy mix.
04:05To put it into perspective, that's a capacity to power more than 35 million households for a year.
04:10The UK also generated enough wind energy to power 23 million homes, a new renewable energy record.
04:16However, despite significant growth in renewables, Europe is still struggling to reduce its reliance on gas.
04:22As recent data from Eurostat shows that total EU gas-fired electricity generation increased by 3.9 percent year-on
04:29-year in the second quarter,
04:31while renewable generation grew by only 2.8 percent over the same period.
04:35Power sector analysts argue this is due to weak hydro and wind generation across the continent,
04:40which still brings gas back into the mix, underscoring the need for more solar infrastructure.
