Venture Beat: Samsung Boosts Its Electric Car Credentials

Samsung is making bigger moves into the electric vehicle realm with news that its materials and energy subsidiary Samsung SDI has acquired the battery pack division of Magna International, an automotive supplier based in Ontario, Canada.

The Korean electronics giant is procuring the battery business from Magna Steyr, the Austria-based unit of Magna International, with more than 250 employees, all production sites, and contracts transferring over to Samsung SDI.

ABC: Solar Set to Become Cheapest Source of Energy Over Next Decade

Solar energy is set to become the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world within the next 10 years, according to a new report released by German think tank Agora Energiewende.

The report was commissioned by the independently funded organization, designed to steer Germany toward its 80 percent renewable energy target.

International Business Times: French Nuclear Power Company Areva Warns of $5.6B Loss

French nuclear power giant Areva expects a net loss of about $5.6 billion for 2014, the company warned investors Monday. The loss is significantly larger than Areva’s market value of $4.2 billion, suggesting that France will need to prop up the state-controlled company to maintain its operations, according to media reports.

Areva’s warning comes as its executives are preparing a new strategy to lower debt and restore profitability ahead of a March 4 meeting.

Washington Post: The Obama Administration Wants to Make Arctic Drilling ‘Safe’

Two years after an Arctic drilling barge went dangerously adrift in Alaskan waters, the Obama administration moved Friday to impose stringent safety standards on future offshore oil and gas exploration along the state’s northern coastline.

The Interior Department unveiled proposed rules that officials said would help guard against environmental damage while allowing controlled access to offshore fields estimated to contain billions of barrels of oil, as well as immense reserves of natural gas.

Guardian: IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri Resigns Over Harassment Allegations

The chair of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, resigned on Tuesday, following allegations of sexual harassment from a female employee at his research institute in Delhi.

The organization will now be led by acting chair Ismail El Gizouli until the election for a new chair, which had already been scheduled for October.

Pachauri, 74, is accused of sexually harassing a 29-year-old female researcher shortly after she joined The Energy and Resources Institute. Lawyers for the woman, who cannot be named, said the harassment by Pachauri included unwanted emails, text messages and WhatsApp messages.