As world leaders gather for a United Nations conference in Glasgow to tackle the threat of climate change, attention is pivoting to one of the biggest risks involved in decarbonizing the planet: ensuring that the costs of the green transition don’t set off a populist backlash, the New York Times reported. The worries are especially acute in Europe, where policymakers are expressing growing alarm over the possibility of social unrest and a weakening of public support if the burden of shifting from cheap fossil fuels falls too heavily on poor and middle-income households.

England and Wales have seen a surge in company directors winding up businesses that are unable to pay their debts, taking so-called voluntary liquidations to their highest level since 2009 in the depths of the global financial crisis, Reuters reported. Total company insolvencies in England and Wales jumped in the three months to the end of September to their highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at 3,765, up 43% on a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

The European Parliament launched a lawsuit against the bloc's executive on Friday for failing to apply a new law that allows the freezing of EU payments to countries which do not respect rule-of-law principles, Reuters reported. Poland and Hungary are both under formal EU investigation for not respecting the rule of law and stand to lose tens of billions of euros if the law is successfully applied to them.

The U.K. Insolvency Service says that creditors of Pazhar Zvezdy Ltd, previously known as ASA UK Development Limited, may not be aware that the company is now in compulsory liquidation, the Construction Index reported. Pazhar Zvezdy Ltd traded as a residential and commercial construction company. Following complaints it was investigated by the Insolvency Service. It was finally wound up in the public interest in the High Court on 7th September 2021 and the official receiver, Catherine Hudson, was appointed as the liquidator.

A U.K. energy supplier to tens of thousands of small businesses is on the brink of becoming the 14th provider to collapse in the last three months, further underlining the scale of the crisis gripping the sector, Sky News reported. CNG Energy's retail arm - which only supplies commercial customers - is close to falling into the Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR) system operated by Ofgem, the industry regulator.

Europe would do more harm than good if it turns off its state-aid taps too soon in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the region’s top subsidy enforcer warned, Bloomberg News reported. Olivier Guersent, the head of the European Commission’s competition service, said that even firms that have weathered the storm without needing state handouts could still be dragged down if the rules are tightened before the crisis has abated.

Higher inflation and supply chain bottlenecks will last longer than expected in Europe, the head of the eurozone’s central bank said on Thursday, the New York Times reported. But Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, insisted that the price rises would be temporary, and she said suggested that financial markets were wrong to expect an increase in interest rates next year. “While inflation will take longer to decline than previously expected, we expect these factors to ease in the course of next year,” Ms. Lagarde told reporters.

Britain’s top finance official laid out a vision for the country’s post-pandemic economy on Wednesday as he announced plans to spend on education, the National Health Service and job skills. But his plans risk being overshadowed by the recent rise in inflation and supply chain disruptions that are weighing on the pandemic recovery, the New York Times reported. “Today’s budget does not draw a line under Covid; we have challenging months ahead,” Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the Exchequer, told lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday.

German consumers face a rise in prices for goods across the board as more and more companies in Europe's largest economy pass on higher production costs, driven by widespread supply shortages and a spike in energy prices, Reuters reported. While the development is helping firms to improve corporate margins after the coronavirus shock, consumers are feeling the pinch of higher prices, which could hurt household spending and ultimately domestic demand if wage growth is not keeping up.

Offshore driller Seadrill Ltd on Tuesday obtained court approval for its reorganization plan, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Offshore driller Seadrill Ltd yesterday obtained court approval for its reorganization plan, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston signed off on the plan during a virtual hearing. Under the plan, creditors will exchange $4.9 billion in debt for equity in the company. Seadrill will also raise $350 million in new financing.