Business

By Brendan O’Boyle and Gabriel Araujo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s annual inflation accelerated in June to a level not seen since early 2001, official data showed on Thursday, leaving the central bank little choice but to continue its monetary tightening to tame spiraling consumer prices.

Mexican consumer prices rose 7.99% in the year through June, the national statistics agency said, slightly above a 7.95% consensus forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

That was also far above the central bank’s target of 3%, plus or minus a percentage point, and marked the highest level since January 2001, when Mexico’s 12-month inflation stood at 8.11%.

The latest inflation figures are expected to lead Banxico, as the central bank is known, to keep raising rates after a record 75-basis points hike last month, when it warned it would hike rates again and by as much to curb inflation.

The bank, which has increased rates by 375 basis points since mid-2021, will announce its next monetary policy decision on Aug. 11.

“A 75bp hike in the policy rate in August to 8.5% looks almost certain, and the risks to our forecast that the policy rate will end the year at 9.5% increasingly look skewed to the upside,” said William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.

Consumer prices rose 0.84% in June, non-seasonally adjusted figures showed, ahead of a market forecast of a 0.81% increase.

The closely watched core index, which strips out some volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.77% during the month, below expectations of a 0.8% rise.

Minutes released Thursday from the central bank’s June monetary policy meeting showed that most of the bank’s five board members agreed that expectations for inflation for 2022 and 2023 had again increased considerably.

Analysts predicted inflation will stop rising before the year’s end, but will remain around their current high.

“We believe that inflation will peak in August or September, and should stay more or less stable around 7.5% and 8.0% for the rest of the year,” Adrian de la Garza, chief economist at Citibanamex, said in a call with reporters Thursday.

Andres Abadia, Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, called the data a bad end to the second quarter, with pass-through from higher commodity prices the key issue.

“That said, we still expect a gradual downtrend in inflation over the second half of the year, thanks to the lagged effect of tighter monetary policy, and the impact of recent government policies to put a lid on key prices,” Abadia said in a note to clients.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Diane Craft)

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DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s data privacy regulator moved a step closer to a ruling that could halt EU-U.S. data transfers by Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram when it shared an updated draft order with other EU regulators on Thursday, a spokesperson said.

Europe’s highest court ruled in 2020 that an EU-U.S. data transfer agreement was invalid, citing surveillance concerns. That prompted Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) to issue a provisional order to block the mechanism Meta uses to transfer data.

While the European Union and U.S. have since announced a preliminary data transfer deal in a bid to end the limbo, the DPC’s probe has continued in parallel and it informed its EU counterparts of the draft decision on Thursday, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson would not comment on the content of the draft decision.

Under EU privacy rules introduced in 2018, regulators around the bloc have one month to give their input before a final decision is reached. Any objections, which have regularly been lodged in such cases, could add months to the timeline.

The DPC is the EU’s lead regulator of Meta and many other of the world’s largest technology companyies due to the location of their EU headquarters in Ireland.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Conor Humphries)

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(Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis, a top executive at his brain-chip startup Neuralink, had twins in November 2021, Insider reported.

In April, Musk and Zilis filed a petition to change the name of the twins to “have their father’s last name” and contain their mother’s last name as part of their middle name, Insider said on Wednesday, citing court documents.

A court docket summary on the Westlaw legal research service showed a judge signed an “Order Changing the Names Of Multiple Children” on May 11 after the name change petition from Musk and Zilis made on April 25 this year.

On Thursday, Musk tweeted, “Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis.” He did not refer to the Insider report.

“A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far,” he said.

The twins bring Musk’s total count of children to nine. Musk shares two children with Canadian singer Grimes, and another five children with his ex-wife Canadian author Justine Wilson.

Musk and Grimes welcomed their second child via surrogate in December, a month after Musk and Zilis reportedly had twins.

The billionaire said that he and Grimes were “semi-separated,” according to a report by Page Six in September last year.

Musk and Zilis did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments.

The report, without citing a source, said Zilis has been floated as one of the people Musk could have run Twitter Inc after his $44 billion acquisition deal.

Zilis, 36, is identified on her LinkedIn profile as director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, which is co-founded and chaired by Musk, 51. She started working at the company in May 2017, the same month she was named a project director in artificial intelligence at Tesla, where she worked until 2019.

She also serves as a board member at artificial-intelligence research firm OpenAI, which was co-founded by Musk, according to her profile on LinkedIn.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Mike Scarcella in Silver Spring, Maryland; Editing by Sandra Maler and Howard Goller)

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By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar traded little changed against the euro and other trading currencies on Thursday, though sterling held on to gains after Boris Johnson said he was quitting as British prime minister.

Investors are waiting for U.S. jobs data on Friday and consumer price data next week that should signal the pace of inflation and whether the Federal Reserve continues to aggressively hike interest rates when policymakers meet on July 26-27.

“What’s being priced into the July Fed meeting is predicated on that inflation print coming in reasonably elevated. We suspect that it will,” said Bipan Rai, North America head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

The strength of non-farm payrolls on Friday should also point to how fast wages are increasing, while the U.S. central bank doesn’t appear to be as encumbered as other major central banks, he said.

“To us that suggests the U.S. dollar is still going to be the currency that outperforms,” Rai said.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six counterparts, fell 0.047% after Wednesday’s peak of 107.27, a level not seen since late 2002. The euro was down 0.07% to $1.0176 after sliding to a two-decade low of 1.01615 on Wednesday.

Investors are grappling with the risks of a recession and whether interest rate hikes will be paused as global demand is under pressure.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model estimates seasonally adjusted GDP growth on an annual basis in the second quarter was -2.1%.

Implied volatility remains near its highest levels since late March 2020 at 11.2%, reflecting a nervous market as investors contemplate parity between the euro and dollar.

“Parity is within reach, and one can expect the market to want to see it now,” said Moritz Paysen, currency and rates advisor at Berenberg.

According to George Saravelos, global head of forex research at Deutsche Bank, “if Europe and the U.S. slip-slide into a recession in Q3 while the Fed is still hiking rates, these levels (0.95-0.97 in EUR/USD) could well be reached.”

Commodity-linked currencies strengthened as copper prices climbed. Some investors returned to the market on Thursday after heightened recession fears sent the red metal to its lowest level in nearly 20 months.

The Australian dollar rose 0.7% to 0.6830 against the dollar after recently hitting its lowest level since June 2020 at 0.6762.

GRAPHIC: Australian dollar https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/lbvgnxqlzpq/Pasted%20image%201657190411529.png

The Swiss Franc eased from its seven-year high, with the dollar up 0.2% at 0.9727.

Sterling rose after Johnson said he would resign. It was last up 0.62% at $1.1993.

Analysts said the pound was mostly moving on broader economic concerns about a global recession, rather than Britain’s political turmoil.

Bitcoin last rose 0.86% to $20,723.85.

Currency bid prices at 10:17AM (1417 GMT)

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Dollar index 107.0000 107.0600 -0.05% 11.851% +107.1600 +106.7000

Euro/Dollar $1.0176 $1.0183 -0.07% -10.49% +$1.0221 +$1.0165

Dollar/Yen 135.7600 135.9000 -0.10% +17.94% +136.2200 +135.5500

Euro/Yen 138.14 138.39 -0.18% +6.00% +139.0700 +138.0800

Dollar/Swiss 0.9727 0.9710 +0.20% +6.65% +0.9741 +0.9685

Sterling/Dollar $1.1993 $1.1922 +0.62% -11.31% +$1.2023 +$1.1912

Dollar/Canadian 1.3004 1.3036 -0.24% +2.86% +1.3055 +1.2980

Aussie/Dollar $0.6830 $0.6783 +0.70% -6.03% +$0.6848 +$0.6765

Euro/Swiss 0.9897 0.9883 +0.14% -4.55% +0.9931 +0.9875

Euro/Sterling 0.8484 0.8536 -0.61% +1.00% +0.8554 +0.8482

NZ $0.6179 $0.6147 +0.50% -9.74% +$0.6195 +$0.6144

Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway 10.1015 10.1300 +0.10% +15.10% +10.1505 +10.0835

Euro/Norway 10.2824 10.3224 -0.39% +2.69% +10.3434 +10.2747

Dollar/Sweden 10.5414 10.5327 +0.05% +16.89% +10.5644 +10.4938

Euro/Sweden 10.7282 10.7230 +0.05% +4.83% +10.7483 +10.7165

(Reporting by Herbert Lash, additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski and Paul Simao)

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By Florence Tan

(Reuters) -Brent crude futures extended declines for a third session on Thursday, slipping under $100 a barrel, as fears of a potential global recession spurred concerns about oil demand.

Brent crude futures fell 94 cents, or 0.9%, to $99.75 a barrel by 0231 GMT after tumbling to a session low of $98.50 earlier. WTI crude futures slid 79 cents, or 0.8%, to $97.74 a barrel.

Both benchmarks closed on Wednesday at their lowest since April 11. The declines follow a dramatic fall on Tuesday despite tight global supplies. WTI slid 8% while Brent tumbled 9% – a $10.73 drop that was the third biggest for the contract since it started trading in 1988.

“Oil is getting decimated with little new information about production or consumption,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management.

“Still, with commodity traders turning very risk-averse due to growing demand and still hawkish (U.S.) Fed policy concerns, the recessionary headline risk is like an anvil around the market’s neck.”

Oil prices have slid alongside other commodities such as metals and palm oil as central banks across the world raised interest rates to battle inflation, fanning fears of recession that could dampen demand for commodities.

“It seems as though the market is starting to price in that scenario,” Warren Patterson, ING’s head of commodity research said, referring to recession.

However, he added that it’s hard to be overly bearish on oil prices as the Brent monthly spreads remain in wide backwardation, indicating tight supplies. Prompt prices are higher than those in future months in a backwardated market.

Traders are watching for possible oil supply disruption at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which has been told by a Russian court to suspend activity for 30 days. Exports at CPC, which handles about 1% of global oil supplies, were still flowing as of Wednesday morning.

In addition, investors awaited U.S. government data due on Thursday that will shed light on the state of domestic oil and fuel inventories.

Industry data on Wednesday showed that U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.8 million barrels last week, according to market sources. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by about 635,000 barrels. [API/S] [EIA/S]

(Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore and Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell & Simon Cameron-Moore)

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By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) – The euro hovered near a two-decade low against the dollar on Thursday as Europe’s energy woes cast a long shadow over the economic outlook.

The euro was about flat at $1.01845 after sinking as low as $1.01615 on Wednesday, for the first time since late 2002.

The dollar index – which measures the currency against six peers including the euro, sterling and yen – held close to a 20-year peak at 107.27 reached overnight, last changing hands at 107.03.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country must move faster in its green energy transition with Russia using energy as a political weapon amid the war in Ukraine.

“U.S recession risk will periodically undercut the dollar, but Europe’s energy cost squeeze is a greater threat to the Eurozone growth outlook,” Westpac strategists wrote in a client note.

“The DXY’s (dollar index’s) broader medium-term uptrend likely persists a while yet, with scope for further unwinding of pricing for ECB policy tightening.”

Thickening clouds over the European economy come just as the European Central Bank is preparing to raise borrowing costs for the first time since 2011.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been hiking rates aggressively, and minutes of June’s meeting – when policy makers tightened by 75 basis points, the most since 1994 – revealed their concern that worsening inflation would erase faith in the Fed’s ability to control it.

Investors had been paring bets for a prolonged aggressive tightening campaign since that meeting, as recession worries flared, but data overnight showed U.S. job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still tight labor market that could keep the Fed on the offensive.

The next major U.S. economic release will be Friday’s jobs report for June. Economists polled by Reuters expect employers to have added 268,000 non-farm payrolls during the month.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields slipped to 2.904% in Tokyo trading on Thursday from as high as 2.935% overnight, when the yield also tumbled to a more than one-month low of 2.746% due to conflicting signals over the policy outlook.

The dollar-yen rate, which is extremely sensitive to changes in long-term U.S. yields, eased 0.07% to 135.79 yen, consolidating around that level after pulling back from a 24-year high at 137.00 at the end of last month.

Analysts expect the pair to stay above 130 by year-end, although only seven of the 61 respondents expect it to be weaker than it is now, with four of those predicting a surge to 140, a Reuters poll showed.

Sterling languished near a two-year trough with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson fighting to keep his job amid a mounting rebellion within his party.

Investors also digested balanced comments from Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill, who said he was willing to step up the pace of rate hikes depending on the economic data, but preferred a “steady-handed” approach to “one-off bold moves,” which can “be disturbing.”

Sterling was little changed at $1.1924, after an overnight dip to the lowest since March 2020 at $1.1877. [GBP/]

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sonali Desai)

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By Uditha Jayasinghe and Swati Bhat

COLOMBO (Reuters) – The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) raised its key rates by a full percentage point on Thursday to tackle record high domestic inflation and to contain any build-up of underlying demand, it said.

The Standing Lending Facility rate was raised to 15.50% while the Standing Deposit Facility Rate rose to 14.50%, the highest in 21 years.

Inflation touched a record 54.6% year-on-year in June while food inflation accelerated to 80.1%.

“The Board was of the view that a further monetary policy tightening would be necessary to contain any build-up of adverse inflation expectations,” CBSL said in a statement.

The policy adjustment would help guide inflation expectations to be anchored around the targeted 4-6% level over the medium term and curtail any build-up of underlying demand pressures in the economy, it said.

The island of 22 million people is wilting under a severe foreign exchange shortage that has it struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel, fertilisers, food and medicine.

The CBSL had raised rates by a massive 700 basis points in April but held them steady at its previous policy meeting in May.

The central bank said domestic economic activity during the second quarter of 2022 is expected to have been severely affected by the continued supply side disruptions, primarily due to the shortages of power and energy.

There has been significant progress made in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a credit facility while negotiations are on with bilateral and multilateral partners to secure bridge financing, the CBSL said.

“Bond yields shot up on Wednesday on the expectations of about a 500 basis point increase but what is interesting is the central bank is anchoring it’s decision on Sri Lanka seeing dis-inflation in the second quarter of 2023,” said Udeeshan Jonas, chief strategist at equity research firm CAL.

“Given the global changes, including oil prices trending downwards, is clear the central bank is taking a measured approach and focusing on real interest rates and not matching cost-push inflation,” he added.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe and Swati Bhat; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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MOSCOW (AP) — A top Kremlin official warned the U.S. Wednesday that it could face the “wrath of God” if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia’s action in Ukraine, while the Russian lower house speaker urged Washington to remember that Alaska used to belong to Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, denounced the U.S. for what he described as its efforts to “spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of ‘true democracy.’”

“The entire U.S. history since the times of subjugation of the native Indian population represents a series of bloody wars,” Medvedev charged in a long diatribe on his Telegram channel, pointing out the U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan during World War II and the war in Vietnam. “Was anyone held responsible for those crimes? What tribunal condemned the sea of blood spilled by the U.S. there?”

Responding to the U.S.-backed calls for an international tribunal to prosecute the perceived war crimes by Russia in Ukraine, Medvedev rejected it as an attempt by the U.S. “to judge others while staying immune from any trial.”

“It won’t work with Russia, they know it well,” Medvedev concluded. “That’s why the rotten dogs of war are barking in such a disgusting way.”

“The U.S. and its useless stooges should remember the words of the Bible: Do not judge and you will not be judged … so that the great day of His wrath doesn’t come to their home one day,” Medvedev said, referring to the Apocalypse.

He noted that the “idea to punish a country with the largest nuclear potential is absurd and potentially creates the threat to mankind’s existence.”

The warning follows a series of tough statements from Putin and his officials that pointed at the Russian nuclear arsenals to warn the West against interfering with Moscow’s action in Ukraine.

Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president in 2008-2012 when Putin shifted into the prime minister’s post due to term limits, was widely seen by the West as more liberal compared with his mentor. In recent months, however, he has remarks that have sounded much tougher than those issued by the most hawkish Kremlin officials.

In another blustery warning to the U.S., Vyacheslav Volodin. a longtime Putin aide who serves as the speaker of the lower house of parliament, warned Wednesday that Washington should remember that Alaska was part of Russia when it freezes Russian assets. Russia colonized Alaska and established several settlements there until the U.S. purchased it from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million.

“When they attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back,” Volodin said during a meeting with lawmakers.

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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 145,000 U.S. borrowers have had the remainder of their student loan debt canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and officials say many more likely qualify.

The program, launched in 2007 to steer more graduates to public service, cancels student debt after 10 years of public interest work, or 120 payments. Teachers, librarians, nurses, public interest lawyers, military members and other public workers can all apply.

The U.S. Department of Education has relaxed the complex rules for applying for the program, but only until Oct. 31. Here’s what you need to know if you want to apply:

WHO QUALIFIES?

If you are or were previously employed at least 30 hours per week with the following types of organizations, you qualify:

— Government organizations at any level (U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal). This includes the U.S. military, all work in public education, and full-time volunteer work with AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.

— Any not-for-profit organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

— If you work for a not-for-profit organization that is not tax-exempt, you may still qualify for PSLF if the organization provides certain types of qualifying public services such as emergency management, legal aid and legal services, early childhood education, service to individuals with disabilities or the elderly, public health, including nurses and nurse practitioners, public library and school library services, and public safety such as crime prevention and law enforcement.

To demonstrate that your job in public service qualifies you for forgiveness, you’ll file an employer certification form with your servicer, listing jobs you’ve held.

You must have direct loans or consolidate other federal student loans into a direct loan. You must also make 120 qualifying payments or 10 years of payments.

You can apply before you have made 120 payments, and the Education Department encourages anyone who qualifies for the program to apply before the waiver period ends on Oct. 31, no matter how many payments have been made.

WHICH STUDENT LOANS ARE ELIGIBLE?

Any federal student loan received under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program is eligible.

If you have either a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or a Federal Perkins Loan, you’ll need to consolidate those into direct loans with your servicer.

Private student loans are not eligible.

HOW CAN I APPLY?

You must submit an application by Oct. 31. You can still apply after that, but the waived rules only apply until then.

HOW CAN I CONSOLIDATE MY DEBT INTO A DIRECT LOAN?

First, visit studentaid.gov to see if you have loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan or Perkins Loan Program. Those are the loans you’ll consolidate.

Next, apply online or by mail or fax with FedLoan Servicing. The process is free and takes about six weeks to complete, but you can submit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness form before or after consolidation is complete.

WHAT COUNTS AS A QUALIFYING PAYMENT?

A qualifying monthly payment is a payment that you made after Oct. 1, 2007, while you were employed by a qualifying employer.

Any months of paused payments during the pandemic count toward the payment total.

Forbearance periods of 12 consecutive months or greater, or 36 cumulative months or greater, count under the waiver.

Months spent in deferment before 2013 count under the waiver.

Additionally, the Education Department will include economic hardship deferment on or after Jan. 1, 2013.

The 120 qualifying monthly payments don’t need to be consecutive. For example, if you have a period of employment with a non-qualifying employer, you will not lose credit for prior qualifying payments.

HOW CAN I APPLY FOR THE LIMITED WAIVER PROGRAM?

There is no separate application process for the waiver program. The waiver’s exceptions will be active for applicants that go through the process up to the end of October.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROGRAM?

As of May of this year, 715,675 people have had completed forms processed for the program. According to the Education Department, 61.9% of borrowers work in the government, while the rest work at non-profits. The average amount of debt forgiven through the program is $64,968.

WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?

If you have a specific question about your application, it’s best to call or email a representative.

For general questions about student loans, the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) hosts a contact center that allows borrowers to live chat, call or email.

For specific questions about the program, applicants can contact FedLoan Servicing at 1-855-265-4038.

The Student Borrower Protection Center has compiled a list of resources available in every state around the country.

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

Government agencies and private organizations are currently hosting several events online and in-person to help applicants successfully go through the program.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness coalition hosts a webinar about the frequently asked questions about the program on the first week of every month. Applicants can also access past webinars on the coalition’s website.

AccessLex Institute hosts the webinar “How to Benefit from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Limited Waiver Opportunity” a couple of times every month. The 30-minute sessions walk applicants through the process and address frequent questions. This event is free.

The National Education Association’s YouTube has a couple of PSLF webinars that tackle how to apply to the program and common questions.

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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

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AMSTERDAM (AP) — Several environmental groups have launched legal action against Dutch airline KLM over advertisements that promoted flying as a sustainable form of travel.

Netherlands based campaigners Fossielvrij NL, supported by Reclame Fossielvrij and environmental lawyers from ClientEarth, said they think the lawsuit is the first to challenge alleged “greenwashing” by the airline industry.

The groups claim KLM violated European consumer law by misleading customers with ads and a carbon offset program that “give a false impression over the sustainability of its flights and plans to address its climate harm.”

“KLM’s marketing misleads consumers into believing that its flights won’t worsen the climate emergency. But this is a myth,” Hiske Arts, a campaigner at Fossielvrij NL, said.

The airline did not immediately response to an email seeking comment.

The groups notified KLM in May that they planned to file the lawsuit. It focuses on the airline’s “Fly Responsibly” campaign and its statement that KLM was committed to “the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement.”

“The lawsuit will argue that these claims are highly misleading, since KLM’s plan for continual increases in flying is at odds with the rapid and deep emissions reductions across all sectors which (a U.N. panel) says is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate breakdown,” ClientEarth said.

Governments agreed in Paris in 2015 to jointly cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The accords included a preferred target of limiting the worldwide temperature rise to 1.5 C (2.7 F).

As part of its campaign, KLM said customers could buy carbon offset coverage to fund reforestation projects and the purchase of biofuels. The environmental groups said the product promoted by the airline to reduce the climate impact of airplanes is illusory.

The groups said the aviation sector won’t reach net-zero emissions if its does not limit the overall number of flights.

“While climate experts warn we need to reduce air traffic to keep a just and livable world within reach, KLM and the airline industry are continuing to focus on growth at any cost and lobbying intensively against climate regulation,” ClientEarth lawyer Johnny White said.

In addition to the lawsuit filed with the District Court of Amsterdam, the environmental groups are seeking a ban on all fossil fuel advertising in the European Union.

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Follow AP’s coverage of climate issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate

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