Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

On the night of the World Cup final, televisions glow from almost every pub in Liverpool. But just six bus stops from the city's famous Anfield stadium, Gary Youds has opted not to show the match at his cannabis social club and harm reduction center. Inside the Chillin' Rooms on Holt Road, about 30 members sit shoulder to shoulder on old church pews, drinking tea beneath a portrait of John Lennon and a sign declaring "ALCOHOL KILLS, CANNABIS CHILLS." Members are smoking spliffs, although a powerful ventilation system keeps the air surprisingly clear. At the far end of the room is a fully equipped stage where local musicians perform most nights. There is no television in sight. The place could be heaving with soccer fans. But Youds says live sports would ruin the decidedly mellow vibe. "I don't want no screens in here," says the 56-year-old Liverpudlian, dressed in his customary white T-shirt bearing the Chinese character for cannabis. That same symbol is unmissable outside, on the black metal gates that the police have sawed through more than once. The arms of Youds' glasses are neon green. A "Chillin' Rooms" tattoo peeks from beneath his left sleeve. He is wearing a pair of green Crocs dotted with cannabis-related symbols. He holds a mug of tea in one hand and a joint in the other. "I want people connecting and talking face to face," he adds. "No gimmicks." It is an unusually strict rule for a man who has spent more than two decades defying the U.K.'s cannabis laws. The father of two, who uses cannabis to manage his spinal arthritis, has been arrested more than 30 times, been convicted 10 times, served four prison sentences, been repeatedly raided by ransacking police, and lost his home. The local newspaper anointed him "The Cannabis Martyr." He sleeps in his elderly mother's living room and claims to live on less than 100 pounds per week (about $135). Yet the club is thriving. Youds believes the Chillin' Rooms model could be replicated nationally, turning dwindling pubs and vacant shops into alcohol-free cannabis cafés. "This would chill the country out if we had one in every town and city," he says. "It's going to create jobs and put the country back to work. This is a self-seeded community, and it's oven-ready for the whole of the U.K." A third of Britonsadmitto having used cannabis, andconsumerssustain an illegal marketworthbillions, none of which reaches the taxman. "We're taking cannabis off the streets, " Youds says. "That's why I'm holding my head up high. There's noempty buildingin this city that couldn't be repurposed for this industry." Over four nights at the Chillin' Rooms in July, I meet members from Brazil, Sudan, India, and Australia; young men arriving alone; trans and gay regulars; entrepreneurs, students, scientists, and builders; and elderly patrons greeted by name. Many describe cannabis as medicine. Longtime neighbors tell me the only disturbances they have witnessed come when dozens of police officers descend on the building. To the authorities, Youds is a persistent criminal. In the Chillin' Rooms, he is treated like an elder statesman. "The congregation is growing," he says. "Jailing me again would just elevate my profile more." Until August 3, 2024, entry to the Chillin' Rooms required a referral. There was no Chinese character emblazoned on the gates, and new members generally arrived by word of mouth. That day, as anti-immigration protests spread across Merseyside, the county that contains Liverpool, Youds told his probation officer that "the city needs to chill out" and that his multicultural café could serve as a bastion of racial unity. It was also his first night without an ankle tag enforcing an evening curfew. He returned to Holt Road, pulled open the gates, and stood outside. Nobody came in that night. But Youds' doors have remained open from 11 a.m. to 11pm, seven days a week, ever since. The Chillin' Rooms receives hundreds of visitors per week. "Right now, it's the best I've ever seen it," says stuntman Eddie Sarsfield, who suffered serious burns on his arms working onGladiator IIand now has a medical cannabis prescription. He has visited the club since it reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, he says, two visitors from Portugal arrived after asking an AI chatbot where they could smoke cannabis in Liverpool. "This is a ray of sunshine for the community," Sarsfield adds. "Gary has become a messianic figure. For so long, he's just consistently been a good guy. He's done nothing but say the exact same thing and fight the exact same cause for nearly 25 years. He deserves a break. Everyone knows that." The contrast with the surrounding back streets can be stark. Holt Road sits in a deprived area where bike-riding dealers sell crack to fund their own addictions and womensell sexon nearby Shiel Road. Territorial feuds between Liverpool gangs are common. Yet rivals who might clash elsewhere have made peace inside the Chillin' Rooms. "People are coming here from all different parts of Liverpool," says Lee, who works at the club and does not want to use his real name due to the cannabis laws. "In any other place, you would not get this. I've worked in bars for years—there'd be some sort of fight." A few months ago, Lee says, members of two rival gangs arrived on the same night and tension began to build. Youds persuaded them to sit down together. "They talked it out and squashed their beef," Lee says. "He's an absolute legend. He's out litter-picking every day. People come from the other end of the country to visit and have a joint with Gary." Members describe the place as an urban oasis: part café, part community center, part informal clinic. People with epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and chronic pain come through its gates. Some arrive carrying medical cannabis prescriptions; others remain locked out of that expensive system, which relies almost entirely on private clinics rather than the National Health Service. "They come in shaking," says Lisa, who also works at the Chillin' Rooms and did not want to give her surname. "But once they've had a smoke, they've stopped shaking." Dave, a disabled member with complex regional pain syndrome, was among the first people in the country to obtain medicinal cannabis flower legally and has driven more than an hour with his wife from Cheshire to visit the Chillin' Rooms. "People would be at home consuming their medication alone, but here we can connect with each other," he says. Before he discovered that cannabis abates his pain, he recalls, he was a "morphine zombie." "I was a drooling mess," Dave says. "I had to be maintained 100 percent of the time. I was on morphine and fentanyl and couldn't string a sentence together. But now I can contribute." He spends around 1,000 pounds a month (about $1,350) for enough cannabis to manage his condition, consuming the plant four times a day. But obtaining cannabis legally has not stopped patients nationwide from beingharassedby police, arrested, and taken to court. Dave's neighbors have reported him over the smell, and police have repeatedly visited his home, arriving in three cars on one occasion. "I was in the kitchen having my medication, and the copper put his foot in the door and tried to walk into our house," he says. "My son asked him, 'Do you think fentanyl and morphine's safe just because it's prescribed by your G.P.?' The copper did not know what to say." Others say the club has helped them stop drinking. One member, a lifelong alcoholic in his early 70s, tells me he gradually lost the urge to visit the pub after he began spending time here. For him and many others, the Chillin' Rooms offers the familiarity and companionship of a local bar without the alcohol, aggression, or pressure to keep spending money. "This is my pub now," he says. On busy evenings, the Chillin' Rooms becomes a neighborhood music venue with up to 100 people filling the pews. Youds says one of his greatest pleasures is watching musicians rehearse during the week and gradually perfect their performances, which often reference the café's caretaker. "He ain't a criminal or gangster / He's just a cannabis martyr / To be free, in what will be," sings one local artist. "We hate the raids, but they just bring us closer together," Lisa tells me. She helped organize protests against Youds' imprisonment outside court, where musicians performed beneath "Free Gary" banners. "He's giving us community," she adds. "You can just come here and play. You never know what's going to happen." She compares it to The Cavern Club, the Liverpool nightclub made famous by the Beatles. The party came to a screeching halt on February 18, when police raided the Chillin' Rooms on a packed night right as a band was preparing to play. Members were ordered to put their hands on the tables while officers searched the building. Youds was led away to prison, and the evening abruptly ended. "About 30 officers flooded into the place," Youds recalls. "I told them in the interview that [medical] cannabis is legal and I'm looking forward to getting in front of a jury." According to a police report, he told officers, "Cannabis isn't a drug; it's a flower." After pleading guilty to permitting his premises to be used for smoking cannabis, Youds was released on April 28. He reopened the Chillin' Rooms yet again a month later. Back in 2004, when Youds first attempted to open the Chillin' Rooms legally, a police officer appeared at the licensing hearing to oppose his application. Youds had remortgaged his home to spend 60,000 pounds (almost $81,800) transforming a derelict former taxi office on Holt Road into a private members' club for weed smokers. Inspired after attending a 2002cannabis conferencein Liverpool called "Shaping a New Agenda," held months after the government hadannouncedplans to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug, Youds fitted a ventilation system into the premises, kitted it out with fire alarms, and installed a kitchen and toilets. Youds hoped the change in the law, which reduced penalties for cannabis possession, meant police would ease their enforcement approach. Around the same time,the U.K.'s first cannabis social clubs, includingQuantum Leafin Worthing and theDutch Experiencein Stockport,popped up elsewhere. Youds applied to the local council for a license, hoping that Britain's then-softening approach to cannabis might afford him some room to maneuver. He passed a fire inspection, and his premises were deemed structurally sound, but officials rejected the application. His prospective members even petitioned the mayor, underlining Youds' desire to pay taxes, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. In early March 2005, at4:20 p.m., Youds opened his doors anyway. Within weeks, the club had amassed 400 members andwon the approvalof the local residents association. Not one neighbor submitted an official complaint, according to local newsreports. In late March, however, a police officer stumbled upon the establishment during his rounds. "It was just a bobby on the beat who walked in," says Youds. "He was so startled. He couldn't believe what was going on, like it was a coffeeshop." A conditional discharge did not stop Youds from continuing to operate the Chillin' Rooms. That April, a police Land Rover allegedly ripped the metal gates off; scores of officers from the newly formed Matrix Unit, created to tackle gun crime, streamed into the café, shouting at members to freeze. Youds says everyone cooperated. In afront-pageLiverpool Echostoryafter that raid, Youds insisted: "We are doing nothing wrong. All we want is tolerance." Police said he was supplying cannabis, but Youds said his premises were used only for consuming the plant, adding that he had a zero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol and other drugs. "I just want to be left alone to open a business," hetoldthe BBC. "And if the police don't put me in prison, I will come here and open up every day." Merseyside police took that threat seriously. They distributed a 33-pageoperational guideto officers, offering advice on how to deal with cannabis cafés. "It is essential that a cannabis café is prevented from opening or is successfully policed, closed and prosecuted if one does open," it said. The guide recommended "disruption tactics," including visits by council and fire officials looking for health, hygiene, or safety violations. A year later, in April 2006, Youds wassentencedto 12 months in prison, having pleaded guilty to two offenses of cultivating cannabis. As a result of that case, a café bank account with more than 13,000 pounds (over $17,500) was later frozen. "Either you wanted to martyr yourself in the cause of the pro-cannabis lobby or you wanted to set up a café, a deliberate and blatant challenge to the law,"Judge Brian Lewis told Youds before consigning him to jail. The judge had intended "martyr" as a rebuke. For Youds, it would be something closer to a calling. Youds served three uneventful months behind bars, partly at the notoriously ill-kept, Victorian-era Walton prison. Not being there for important family moments hurt the most. "I missed my oldest son's first day walking," he says. "I feel really guilty." But when Youds emerged from prison in July 2006, he was not ready to immediately reopen the Chillin' Rooms. For nearly a decade, the cannabis martyr disappeared from public view. He worked a minimum-wage job maintaining a hotel, spending much of his time gardening, and focused on raising his young son. During Youds' decade in the wilderness, Britain's brief liberal turn on cannabis went into reverse. In 2009, the government returned cannabis to Class B statusagainst the adviceof its chief drug adviser, David Nutt, whom it subsequently dismissed. Police raided the other cannabis cafés. Yet elsewhere, legalization was moving from stoner fantasy to public policy. When Colorado and Washington state legalized recreational cannabis in 2012, Youds began contemplating a return. "I felt it was the right time," he says. Youds got the place back up to scratch and reopened in early 2015. "I didn't make any fanfare about it," he says. "I invited a few friends, and before you know it, it's entirely functional and we're having the time of our life." Patrons could again "stay medicated and live the dream," as one poster advised. But in June 2015, the police came again. "There were all these police cars sealing the roads," Youds says. "It was surreal." He was outside the gates when dozens of officers barged in. "About 30 officers dressed like Robocops jumped out the back of this van," he recalls. "It was 'Go, go, go.' They were running in with helmets and axes, smashing all my doors in. I was saying, 'There's no one even in there. Why are you smashing my doors in?'" The policeclaimedto have discovered 11,000 pounds worth of cannabis (almost $15,000), plus grinders and bongs. In court in January 2017, Youds told the prosecuting barrister that the estimated value of what was found was vastly exaggerated: "I said it'd fit in a seven-inch-square margarine tub, so don't tell me about '11,000 pounds worth of weed.'" Despite his protests, Youds was sentenced to nine months in jail, away from his two children, then aged six and 12. The Walton prisonwasworse when he returned. Routine drug testing had sharply reduced cannabis use in prison, but more-dangerous synthetic cannabinoids were widespread. "Spice" dealers came to Youds' door daily, and he saw inmates overdose across the wing. Because batches varied wildly in quality and concentration, dealers made vulnerable inmates test them to see whether they collapsed. Conditions at Walton caused anational scandalduring Youds' five-month stay. He plugged gaps in his windowless cell's brickwork with pieces of sponge, and his toilet regularly broke. "It was the worst time of my life," he says. "I feared for my life every day. I was scared to leave my cell. There was so much violence, and so many overdoses." Prison was supposed to put out Youds' campaign, but he emerged more convinced that his moral compass was pointing in the right direction."The people here are my jury," he tells me at the café one night. "There's always at least 12, and not one is standing up and saying this isn't acceptable." And unlike in many pubs, "there's no one snorting white in the toilets." After reopening in the second half of 2017, Youds sought support from U.K. Cannabis Social Clubs, an advocacy group that wascalling outthe treatment of cannabis growers. At one meeting in Leicester, he met James Tisdale, a terminal cancer patient and successful businessman, and his wife, Joanna Drinkwater. Youds was soon ferrying cannabis oil to Tisdale in Birmingham. He made the train journey at least three times—and he refused any payment, Drinkwater later told a court. But the police were still targeting Youds. By his count, he was arrested nine times in 2019. One of the raids has lived long in his clientele's memory. "We were sitting here and Gary said, 'This place, I'll never get raided again,'" says J.J., a musician who has been a member since 2015. "And then literally before he finished the wordraided, two coppers came through the fire exit and put him straight in headlock and got him on the floor. They started to punch him and all sorts." Youds steadfastly continued reopening and providing cannabis oil to Tisdale. "I'd provided it to him three or four times," Youds tells me as we stand outside Liverpool Lime Street station. "He was getting much better. He had his appetite back, and he was sleeping well." On October 24, 2020, Youds entered Liverpool Lime Street carrying the oil, but a group of undercover police officers nabbed him before he could board the train. That led to a new set of charges. After Youds reopened the Chillin' Rooms in 2021 after a pandemic pause, and still facing charges over the oil, he suffered the most violent raid yet: "They carried me out, smashed my glasses, scraped all my face on the floor, and pepper-sprayed me at the same time. It fucking terrified me, honest to God." Upon inspecting Youds' home, officers found six "very large and well-maintained" cannabis plants up to six feet tall and three feet wide, describing them as "some of the largest plants [they] had ever seen." Youdssaidafter his arrest that he was "growing the fruits of the earth for medicinal purposes" and was "saving the city by producing the fruits of the earth for the people." Drinkwater testified at the trial that Youds' cannabis oil "is well known as one of the best in the U.K." and that he had "helped many people," adding: "There was no exchange of money or anything. Gary just wanted to help us, and we are eternally grateful for that help." Even though Britain hadlegalizedprescribed medical cannabis in November 2018, Youds was given a three-year prison sentence in February 2023. "I didn't even have a bag packed," he recalls. "I spent the first three weeks in prison in complete shock." Youds was released from his longest stint inside after a year, but prisonstillhad not reformed him. "All revolutionaries go to jail," YoudstoldViceupon his release. He reopened in 2024 on April 20, the most important day in the stoner calendar, a few months before hecast the gates openfor all passersby during the riots. His incarceration "made me want to fight for the people inside," he says."Hopefully I'm the one who can bring the change and put things right." Youds was recently in court, defiantly demanding the return of 1,000 pounds in cash (about $1,350) that police had seized during the February raid, which he says had accumulated from the 5-pound entrance fees members pay ($6.75). He will be back in court on November 25. "The policeman was shocked that I'd turned up as I'd just come out of jail," Youds says. "I told him it was a real business." Youds believes his criminal record cost him the home he bought on the other side of Anfield back in 2000. Unable to obtain a loan to repay his mortgage, he was forced to sell it in March. "No one lent me the money," he says outside his old home, where former neighbors greet him warmly near a towering palm tree that he planted in 2005. "I was on some kind of list. They mention your convictions. I went to court at least 10 times to get the repossession order canceled or stayed. I was devastated. I was going to live in that house for the rest of my life." Cannabis convictions, he says, "are holding so many people back." When Youds got out of prison earlier this year, he moved in with his 80-year-old mother,Joan Youds, who had a stroke four years ago and now requires care. "He's just obsessed with that cannabis club," she tells me in her living room, opposite her son's single bed, as he prepares her lunch. "They'll bash it, knock it all to pieces—he'll start again." He is "a son in a million," she adds. "Potheads are just calm, peaceful. They just want to be left alone." Does she believe he will ever give it up? "He'll never stop," she replies. Back in the club on my final afternoon, I hear a musician playing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" while Youds tells me he sees his defiance as distinctly Liverpudlian. His family has lived for generations in a port city shaped by Irish migration, deindustrialization, and a distrust of distant authority. "We stand up to tyranny," he says. "If good men do nothing, tyranny prospers." Youds hopes the new prime minister, the Labour Party's Andy Burnham, a fellow 56-year-old Merseysider, will be the man to liberate him once and for all, as figures like Virgin founderRichard Bransonlobby for marijuana reform. "The community needs this right now," Youds says. "There's millions of us, and we want change. They should just let it be. The Chillin' Rooms is what the future looks like the day after the drug war. This is where the drug war ended. I think Andy is the man." One Labour insider recently told me he is not optimistic that drug policy reform will be a priority for Burnham. But Youds has received support from the pro-legalization Green Party, which won more than 6 percent of the vote in the 2024 general election. "We have long supported the social club model championed by Gary Youds," a spokesperson for the Green Party's drug policy working group tells me, "and strongly believe this model will provide a necessary framework to engage all community stakeholders from the bottom up." The cannabis social club model that Youds operates does not diverge from what is increasingly a norm in some parts of Europe, most notably Barcelona, says Kojo Koram, a professor of law and political economy at Loughborough University, and the author ofThe Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs. "Part of the value for lawmakers is that they see becoming a member of a social club creates a much more supportive environment if someone does find themselves struggling with their use of the plant, or other issues in life." Youds takes me on his daily litter-picking round. "I'm not anti-establishment," he tells me as he fills a garbage sack. "I'm a model citizen. I pick my litter up. I get the bus. I don't do anything wrong. There are just laws that are wrong. I'm harmonizing with nature." He picks up an empty can of Red Bull from a flower bed."The revolution will be cultivated," he says, dropping the can into the sack. "I'm sowing the seeds." Does Youds worry about returning to prison and again leaving his ailing mother and his two sons, now 21 and 16? "I think the war is over," he says. "You can't be extinguished if you're working with nature." With that, he dumps his second sack in a refuse bin and returns to the Chillin' Rooms, where he rolls a joint.

(Teleborsa) - Intesa Sanpaolo , attraverso la Divisione IMI Corporate & Investment Banking guidata da Mauro Micillo, ha partecipato, insieme a un pool di banche internazionali, a un finanziamento di 825 milioni di sterline (pari a oltre 950 milioni di euro) a favore di Enviromena, operatore attivo nello sviluppo di progetti nell’ambito delle energie rinnovabili. L’operazione rappresenta una delle principali transazioni nel settore solare del Regno Unito nel 2026 e risponde alla necessità di sviluppare su larga scala soluzioni energetiche a basse emissioni. La rapida diffusione di impianti solari di grandi dimensioni sarà fondamentale per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi del governo inglese, il rafforzamento della sicurezza energetica e la riduzione dei costi per i consumatori nel lungo periodo. Nicola Doninelli, Head of Distribution Platforms & GTB della Divisione IMI CIB di Intesa Sanpaolo, ha commentato: “Questa operazione conferma il ruolo di Intesa Sanpaolo come partner finanziario di riferimento nei principali mercati internazionali per lo sviluppo di infrastrutture energetiche sostenibili. Nel Regno Unito continuiamo a supportare iniziative di grande scala nel settore delle rinnovabili, mettendo a disposizione competenze specialistiche, capacità di strutturazione e un solido network internazionale, con l’obiettivo di contribuire concretamente alla transizione energetica, alla sicurezza degli approvvigionamenti e alla diffusione di soluzioni a basse emissioni.” La struttura del finanziamento prevede una prima tranche da 525 milioni di sterline (circa 606 milioni di euro), destinata a sostenere nell’immediato lo sviluppo di impianti fotovoltaici per una capacità complessiva pari a circa 1 GW, affiancata da una linea aggiuntiva fino a 300 milioni di sterline (oltre 346 milioni di euro) che potrà essere attivata progressivamente in funzione dell’avanzamento dei progetti. Enviromena - di proprietà del fondo Arjun Infrastructure Partners - è un operatore attivo nel settore delle energie rinnovabili che sviluppa, costruisce e gestisce impianti solari e sistemi di accumulo su larga scala in UK ed Europa. Sostegno alle infrastrutture strategiche del Regno Unito L’operazione si inserisce nel più ampio impegno di Intesa Sanpaolo nel sostenere la transizione energetica e lo sviluppo di infrastrutture sostenibili a livello internazionale, contribuendo alla crescita della capacità di produzione da fonti rinnovabili e al raggiungimento degli obiettivi di decarbonizzazione e sicurezza energetica. Negli ultimi anni, Intesa Sanpaolo ha rafforzato in modo significativo la propria presenza nel mercato infrastrutturale britannico, prendendo parte a numerose operazioni nei principali comparti strategici. Nel settore delle costruzioni, la Divisione IMI CIB ha partecipato a finanziamenti per circa 960 milioni di euro a favore di importanti gruppi del Regno Unito, tra cui Balfour Beatty, Kier Group e Morgan Sindall. In ambito portuale, ha supportato operatori di primo piano con operazioni dedicate, tra cui un finanziamento bilaterale da circa 58 milioni di euro a favore di Associated British Ports e la partecipazione a un finanziamento di circa 240 milioni di euro per Peel Ports Group. Nel comparto della transizione energetica, Intesa Sanpaolo ha inoltre ricoperto il ruolo di Mandated Lead Arranger, insieme ad altre istituzioni finanziarie internazionali, in un’operazione da circa 2,9 miliardi di euro per il progetto Liverpool Bay CO2 Transportation & Storage, parte integrante del programma HyNet, volto allo sviluppo di infrastrutture per l’idrogeno e la cattura delle emissioni di carbonio. Più recentemente, la Divisione IMI CIB ha inoltre concluso due operazioni di finanziamento in favore di National Grid e National Gas per un ammontare complessivo di circa 500 milioni di euro, a supporto della trasmissione e distribuzione di energia elettrica e gas. A queste si aggiunge un finanziamento di circa 88 milioni di euro (75 milioni di sterline) per Southern Gas Networks, operatore attivo nella distribuzione di gas di proprietà di Scotia Gas Networks.

Unileverhas announced the completion of a £150m investment in its Port Sunlight site, home to brands including Persil, Comfort, Cif, TRESemmé and Lynx body wash. The investment includes manufacturing upgrades across its home care operations and a new advanced automated distribution centre, which will strengthen Unilever’s UK supply chain, from manufacturing through to delivery to retail customers. The investment includes high-tech manufacturing upgrades in the site’s Home Care factory, which makes the Persil, Surf and Comfort laundry brands, and a new advanced automated distribution centre, directly connected to Port Sunlight’s three factories. Together, these investments will support the next generation of Persil laundry capsules and strengthen Unilever’s UK supply chain, from manufacturing through to delivery to retail customers. At Unilever’s laundry capsule facility, new technology will increase laundry capsule production three fold while enabling the manufacture of smaller, more complex capsule formats. This supports thelaunch of Persil’s new advanced four-chamber capsules which feature new powerful cleaning technologies. This is a landmark moment for Port Sunlight. The completion of investments in Home Care manufacturing and the opening of a new flagship distribution centre will support the growth of our business and reinforce Port Sunlight’s role as a strategic hub for our UK and European operations.Marc Woodward, Head, Unilever UK A new distribution centre also connects directly to the factories on-site and will reduce the requirement for lorries to move goods between the factories and distribution centres in other locations, delivering sustainability and safety benefits. By taking hundreds of lorries off the road each week, it will deliver a significant estimated 27% reduction in primary logistics. By taking hundreds of lorries off the road each week, it will deliver a significant estimated 27% reduction in primary logistics – the lorries that transport Unilever products from factory to warehouse – saving an associated 827 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. It is powered by 100% renewable energy, with solar panels, heat pumps and solar reflectance painting. Founded in 1888 by William Lever, Port Sunlight remains a key UK hub for Unilever, combining advanced manufacturing and R&D, with around 2,000 employees across the site. Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Our region has a proud industrial heritage, and Unilever has been part of that story for generations – supporting thousands of jobs and helping to put the Liverpool City Region on the map as a centre for manufacturing and innovation. “This investment is a strong vote of confidence in our region as a place where global businesses can grow, innovate and create opportunity. It will help support high-quality jobs, apprenticeships and skills for local people, while strengthening our position as a leader in advanced manufacturing and R&D. “Just as importantly, this new facility shows how economic growth and sustainability can go hand in hand. By cutting hundreds of lorry journeys from our roads each week, Unilever is supporting our target to reach net zero by 2035, improve air quality for local people, and support ambitions for a cleaner, greener city region.” For more articles like this, visit ourLeadershipchannel

Eni CCUS Holding, a strategic partnership between Italy’s energy giant Eni and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, has expanded its financing sources to strengthen its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project platform. Eni CCUS Holding secured a financing facility of more than £500 million (around $670 million) from a pool of 13 international lenders encompassing Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, BPER, DNB, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca, Mizuho, MUFG, NatWest, SMBC, Societe Generale, and UniCredit, with BNP Paribas acting as sole financial advisor. The new facility is said to reflect the strong confidence that the financial market places in the firm’s strategic vision and execution capabilities, which are considered crucial to supporting industrial decarbonization. The transaction also highlights the long-term commitment of Eni and GIP as the company’s shareholders, confirming their full alignment on the strategic role of CCS in the energy transition. Following theproject financingofLiverpool Bay CCS (LBCCS), the backbone infrastructure of theHyNetindustrial decarbonization cluster in the United Kingdom, the market continued to show a strong interest in Eni CCUS Holding, with participation requests significantly exceeding the initially targeted amount, according to Eni. The LBCCS project reachedfinancial closewith the UK government in April 2025 and is currently under development as a transportation and storage network serving industries within the HyNet Cluster. More than 30% of construction works have already been completed, in line with the original schedule. With a storage capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year in its first phase, and the potential to reach 10 million tonnes annually during the 2030s, LBCCS is expected to become operational in 2028, in line with the timeline of industrial emitters within the HyNet Cluster. The project will safely and permanently store CO2 in depleted gas reservoirs located beneath the seabed of Liverpool Bay. The construction program includes the efficient repurposing of part of the offshore platform infrastructure and existing onshore and offshore pipelines, as well as the construction of new pipelines to connect industries across North West England and North Wales. “Eni is pleased to note that the operation finalized by Eni CCUS Holding represents a further example of success of Eni’s satellite model, able to create entities that attract strategically aligned capital for its businesses related to the energy transition, confirming its growth potential and value creation,”highlighted the Italian player. The multimillion-dollar financing will enable other initiatives within Eni CCUS Holding’s portfolio, which includeL10-CCSin the Netherlands, said to be one of the leading storage sites in Northwest Europe, and theBacton CCSproject in the United Kingdom, which has the potential to support the progressive decarbonization of industries in South East England and continental Europe. The company, which also holds the right to acquire the 50% stake currently owned by Eni in theRavenna CCSproject in Italy, may integrate additional projects over time, including investigation of new initiatives, as part of a broader medium- to long-term CCS platform. Take the spotlight and anchor your brand in the heart of the offshore world! Join us for a bigger impact and amplify your presence at the core hub of the offshore energy community!

(Teleborsa) - Eni e Global Infrastructure Partners ('GIP'), parte di BlackRock, partner strategici in Eni CCUS Holding, annunciano che Eni CCUS Holding ha allargato le fonti finanziarie per potenziare la propria piattaforma di progetti di Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS). Dopo il successo del project finance di Liverpool Bay CCS (LBCCS), l'infrastruttura portante del Cluster di decarbonizzazione industriale HyNet nel Regno Unito, il mercato ha continuato a dimostrare un forte interesse per Eni CCUS Holding, con richieste di partecipazione significativamente superiori all’importo inizialmente previsto. In questo contesto, Eni CCUS Holding si è assicurata una linea di finanziamento superiore a 500 milioni di sterline, concessa da un pool di 13 istituti di credito internazionali (Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, BPER, DNB, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca, Mizuho, MUFG, NatWest, SMBC, Societe Generale e UniCredit), con BNP Paribas nel ruolo di unico advisor finanziario. La nuova linea testimonia la forte fiducia che il mercato finanziario riconosce nel disegno strategico di Eni CCUS Holding e nella sua esecuzione, cruciale per contribuire alla decarbonizzazione industriale. L'operazione riflette l'impegno a lungo termine degli azionisti di Eni CCUS Holding, Eni e Gip, e conferma il loro pieno allineamento sul ruolo strategico della CCS nella transizione energetica. Il progetto LBCCS ha raggiunto la chiusura finanziaria degli accordi con il governo del Regno Unito nell'aprile 2025 ed è attualmente in fase di sviluppo come rete di trasporto e stoccaggio al servizio delle industrie nel Cluster HyNet. Oltre il 30% dei lavori di costruzione è già stato completato, in linea con i programmi originari. Con una capacità di stoccaggio di 4,5 milioni di tonnellate di CO2 all'anno nella prima fase, e il potenziale di raggiungere le 10 milioni di tonnellate annue nel decennio 2030, LBCCS punta a essere operativo nel 2028, in linea con la timeline degli emettitori industriali appartenenti al Cluster HyNet. Il progetto andrà a stoccare in modo sicuro e permanente la CO2 in giacimenti di gas esauriti situati sotto il fondale marino della baia di Liverpool. Il programma di costruzione prevede l'efficiente riutilizzo di parte delle infrastrutture delle piattaforme offshore e di condotte esistenti, sia onshore che offshore, oltre alla realizzazione di nuove condotte per collegare le industrie nella regione dell'Inghilterra nord-occidentale e Galles del Nord. Questo finanziamento consentirà inoltre di avviare altre iniziative all'interno del portafoglio di Eni CCUS Holding che includono L-10-CCS in Olanda, uno dei principali siti di stoccaggio dell'Europa nord-occidentale, e il progetto Bacton CCS nel Regno Unito, che ha il potenziale di sostenere la progressiva decarbonizzazione delle industrie nel sud-est del Regno Unito e nell'Europa continentale. Eni CCUS Holding, inoltre, detiene il diritto di acquisire la quota del 50% attualmente detenuta da Eni nel progetto Ravenna CCS in Italia, e potrà integrare ulteriori progetti nel corso del tempo, tra cui la valutazione di nuove iniziative, come parte di una più ampia piattaforma di attività CCS nel medio-lungo termine. Per Eni l’operazione finalizzata da Eni CCUS Holding rappresenta un ulteriore esempio di successo del proprio modello satellitare, in grado di creare società che attraggono capitali strategicamente allineati per i propri business relativi alla transizione energetica, confermandone il potenziale di crescita e la creazione di valore.

La creación de unCorredor Marítimo Verdeentre el puerto deSantandery varios puertos delReino Unidono solo es técnicamente viable, sino que podría generar un ahorro de hasta18 millones de eurosy reducir las emisiones en un 68%. Así lo revela el informe“Explorando el potencial de establecer un corredor verde entre los puertos de Santander y el Reino Unido”, elaborado por la consultora independienteRicardo PLCy comisionado por la embajada británica enMadrid. El estudio, presentado en el puerto deSantander, subraya que la transición hacia combustibles más limpios, como el bio-GNL, no solo es una necesidad medioambiental, sino una decisión estratégica con un claro retorno económico para los operadores logísticos a largo plazo. Durante la presentación del informe,Sarah Cowley, ministra consejera de la embajada británica, destacó el firme compromiso de su país con la sostenibilidad en el transporte marítimo. “Nuestra Estrategia de Descarbonización Marítima establece una hoja de ruta clara y ambiciosa: reducir las emisiones del sector en al menos un 30% de aquí a 2030, y un 80% para 2040”, afirmó.Cowleyañadió que los corredores verdes "no son solo rutas marítimas descarbonizadas, sino tambiénplataformas de cooperación internacionalque permiten concentrar inversiones, acelerar la innovación y generar escala en el uso de combustibles y tecnologías limpias”. Por su parte,César Díaz, presidente de laAutoridad Portuaria de Santander(APS), agradeció a la embajada británica la elección del puerto cántabro para este análisis.Díazreconoció la implicación de los operadores en la elaboración del estudio y destacó la idoneidad deSantanderpara este proyecto, enmarcado en el acuerdo de entendimiento firmado entreEspañay elReino Unidopara promover rutas marítimas de cero emisiones. El informe deRicardo PLCse centró en dos rutas clave que conectanSantandercon elReino UnidoeIrlanda: la ruta Ro-Ro (tráfico rodado)Santander-Pasajes-Portbury, y la de contenedoresSantander-Dublín-Liverpool. El análisis económico es contundente: la adopción debio-GNLen la ruta Ro-Ro representaría un coste acumulado de 382 millones de euros hasta 2050. Esta cifra, aunque elevada, es inferior a los 400 millones que costaría seguir operando con combustibles fósiles convencionales. La diferencia de 18 millones de euros a favor de la opción sostenible proviene de evitar las crecientes penalizaciones que impondrán la regulación europea y los marcos de laOrganización Marítima Internacional(OMI) sobre las emisiones de carbono. El estudio analiza seis tipos de combustibles alternativos, concluyendo que elbio-GNLes la solución óptima para estas rutas por tres razones fundamentales: Gracias a su liderazgo en mercancía rodada y su alta tasa de intermodalidad ferroportuaria en la fachada norte española,César Díazafirmó que estas cifras “nos hacen idóneos” para liderar estos corredores. El proyecto se complementaría con una autopista ferroviaria entre el puerto deSantanderyMadrid, con el objetivo de “consolidar un modelo sostenible de movilidad de mercancías de largo recorrido”. Entre las recomendaciones finales, el informe insta a iniciar un estudio completo de viabilidad en los próximos dos años y a formalizar un diálogo con operadores y puertos británicos e irlandeses para materializar el proyecto. Para las empresas exportadoras, este corredor representa una oportunidad para mejorar su competitividad. Operar a través de rutas descarbonizadas no solo podría reducir costes logísticos a largo plazo al evitar tasas de carbono, sino que también fortalece su posicionamiento en mercados que valoran la sostenibilidad (ESG), alineándose con las exigencias de clientes y reguladores europeos. El bio-GNL (Gas Natural Licuado de origen biológico) es clave porque es una tecnología madura que permite una reducción drástica de emisiones (hasta un 68%) con las infraestructuras actuales. Es la opción más rentable a largo plazo, ya que evita las penalizaciones económicas crecientes sobre los combustibles fósiles. Además, el Puerto de Santander ya dispone de capacidad para su suministro, lo que acelera su implementación. El siguiente paso es realizar un estudio de viabilidad completo en los próximos dos años e iniciar un diálogo formal con los puertos y operadores delReino UnidoeIrlanda. Para el sector logístico español, esto implica la necesidad de prepararse para una transición energética, adaptar flotas y procesos, y explorar oportunidades de inversión en infraestructuras y tecnologías limpias para no perder competitividad.