Daily Digest for

The UK Government announced the expansion of the Electric Car Grant (ECG) to include 17 eligible EV models, adding 13 new models from Nissan, Renault and Vauxhall to 4 Citroën models announced earlier this week.

• Confirmed actions: 13 new models (Renault Alpine A290; Renault Megane; Renault 4; Renault 5; Renault Scenic; Nissan Micra; Nissan Ariya (available from 13 August 2025); Vauxhall Corsa Electric; Vauxhall Combo Life Electric; Vauxhall Astra Electric; Vauxhall Mokka Electric; Vauxhall Frontera Electric; Vauxhall Grandland Electric) join the ECG alongside 4 Citroën models (ë-C3, ë-C4, ë-C5, ë-Berlingo). £1,500 discount per eligible car, applied automatically at point of sale; eligibility effective from 9 August 2025 (Ariya availability from 13 August 2025). Grants are capped at cars costing up to £37,000 and further models will be assessed against scheme sustainability standards.
• Planned initiatives & funding: ECG expansion is part of a £650 million programme within a broader £4.5 billion government investment to accelerate EV adoption; a separate £63 million charging package includes measures to make home charging cheaper (running an EV for as little as 2p per mile). The government reports 82,000 public chargepoints now available and over 100,000 on the way. Guidance for manufacturer applications has been published; this sits alongside the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate and recent trade actions with the US, India and the European Union.

The Department of Finance Canada (Ministers François-Philippe Champagne and Anita Anand) announced Canada intends to lower the price cap for seaborne Russian-origin crude oil.

• Action announced: Canada intends to lower the seaborne Russian-origin crude oil price cap from US$60 to US$47.60 per barrel, in coordination with the European Union and the United Kingdom; regulatory changes in Canada are targeted for the coming weeks. This is a confirmed policy intention by the Government of Canada.
• Related confirmed facts: The Price Cap Coalition (G7 plus Australia and New Zealand) originally implemented the mechanism on December 2, 2022; price caps for refined products remain US$100 (high-value) and US$45 (low-value). Canada remains a member of the Price Cap Coalition, maintains a ban on direct imports of Russian oil (in force since March 10, 2022), and has committed nearly $22 billion in support for Ukraine since 2022.

The Government of Canada (Natural Resources Canada) announced an investment of $2.5 million from the Energy Innovation Program (EIP) to support Ottawa-based TerraFixing in developing made-in-Canada carbon management technology.

• Confirmed actions: The EIP has provided $2.5 million to TerraFixing Inc. under the EIP’s CCUS RD&D call; the project will scale up CO2 capture beds using structured zeolite packing, with a design target to fit a 1,000-tonnes-per-year capture unit into a shipping container and achieve costs below $100 per tonne of CO2 at large scale. The release also confirms TerraFixing has built a lab, doubled its team, and is moving IP toward a pilot production line in an Ottawa warehouse.
• Planned initiatives & program context: The investment is funded through the EIP (part of a broader $319 million Budget 2021 RD&D commitment over seven years for CCUS) and sits alongside Budget 2024 measures including $93 billion in investment tax credit incentives by 2034–35, which include a CCUS Investment Tax Credit. These are described as government policy and funding commitments rather than project completion guarantees.

The IAEA launched the publication “Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa” at a G20 side event co-organized with the Clean Energy Ministerial and the South African authorities.

• Confirmed actions: IAEA released the report “Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa” and is collaborating with the G20 under South Africa’s presidency; South Africa (only African country with nuclear power) operates Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (~2 gigawatts). The report states about half a billion people in Africa lack reliable electricity and that fossil fuels account for >70% of electricity production. The IAEA projects nuclear capacity in Africa could increase tenfold by 2050 (high case) and grow fivefold in the low case. Egypt is building its first nuclear power plant; Ghana and Kenya are working with the IAEA on infrastructure development. The publication highlights SMRs as suitable for Africa’s grid and notes uranium mining opportunities in Namibia, Niger, and South Africa.

• Planned initiatives / timelines: South Africa is partnering with the IAEA during its G20 presidency to focus on implementation of nuclear new build programmes in Africa. The IAEA is developing a report on coal-to-nuclear transition (covering repurposing former coal sites) that is scheduled for release just ahead of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting in October in South Africa.

The governments of Canada and Alberta, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, increased the low yield allowance so farmers can use poor crops for livestock feed.

• Program change and implementation: Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) has adjusted the low yield allowance under AgriInsurance; if an appraised yield falls below the established threshold, AFSC can reduce the appraisal to zero, and the appraised yield will be used to calculate subsequent indemnities. AFSC will conduct a field inspection and producers must contact AFSC at least 5 days in advance of harvesting to arrange inspections and share details.
• Policy and funding context: The change is delivered under AgriInsurance, a federal‑provincial‑producer cost‑shared program supported by the governments of Canada and Alberta through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP); AFSC (a provincial Crown corporation) will work with clients to complete inspections as soon as possible. Confirmed actions: policy threshold adjustment, inspection and appraisal procedures, and producer contact requirement. Planned/operational items: AFSC inspections and indemnity calculations following appraisals.

The WTO updated its global merchandise trade forecast on 8 August, raising 2025 growth to 0.9% and highlighting the impacts of US import frontloading and recent tariff increases.

• Forecast update (8 August): 2025 world merchandise trade growth revised to 0.9% (previously -0.2% in April; pre-tariff estimate 2.7%). Key quantified items: US imports +11% y/y in H1 2025; Q1 +14% q/q (seasonally adjusted) followed by Q2 -16% q/q; North America imports now expected -8.3% in 2025 (was -9.6% in April); Asia exports +4.9% (up from 1.6%); Europe’s exports -0.9% and imports +0.4% in 2025.
• Tariff developments & outlook: Higher “reciprocal” tariffs that came into force on 7 August are expected to weigh increasingly on trade, pulling next year’s expected trade volume growth down to 1.8% (from 2.5% previously). The WTO cites temporary positive effects from US-China and US-UK agreements and will monitor impacts on the share of trade under MFN principles; these are confirmed policy changes and ongoing monitoring actions by the WTO Secretariat.

The IAEA launched a new publication, “Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa,” at a side event co-organized with the Clean Energy Ministerial and the South African Department of Electricity and Energy on the margins of a G20 energy transitions meeting in South Africa.

• Publication launch (confirmed): The IAEA released Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa; the report surveys Africa’s energy landscape, projects nuclear capacity could increase tenfold by 2050 in the high-case and fivefold in the low-case, and highlights that South Africa’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has two units supplying nearly two gigawatts of electrical capacity. It identifies Egypt as building its first nuclear power plant, and notes Ghana and Kenya are working with the IAEA on infrastructure development. It also names Namibia, Niger and South Africa among top uranium producers.
• Partnerships and planned activities: South Africa is partnering with the IAEA during its G20 presidency to focus on implementing nuclear new build programmes in Africa and interest in small modular reactors (SMRs) due to grid suitability and lower capital costs (confirmed). The IAEA is developing a publication on the coal-to-nuclear transition and is set to engage at the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting scheduled for October in South Africa; that report is planned for release just ahead of the ministerial (planned).