Hello! We take a look at the "friendly competition" between the United States and the European Union in today's newsletter as President Joe Biden's administration announced more subsidies and incentives to boost decarbonization, while the EU struggles to keep up. And check out today's ESG Spotlight to find out how a company in Japan is turning rice into low-carbon plastic. U.S. President Joe Biden will propose a budget that would scrap oil and gas industry subsidies, according to a document seen by Reuters, reviving a perennial debate about whether fossil fuel companies should be receiving lucrative tax breaks. U.S. oil and gas subsidies include provisions ranging from incentives for domestic production, write-offs and deductions tied to foreign production and income, and approved accounting methods that can reduce the stated taxable value of assets. |
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U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm delivers a speech during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare |
While the proposal has little chance of making it through a divided Congress, it represents a political signal from the White House, which has repeatedly criticized Big Oil for raking in record profits at a time of high consumer energy costs since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration also said it is directing $6 billion in funding to speed decarbonization projects in energy-hungry industries like steel, aluminum and cement making that contribute nearly 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The Industrial Demonstrations Program will provide competitive grants to technology developers, industry, universities and others for up to 50% of the cost of projects that aim to cut emissions from industry that also includes production of chemicals, ceramics and paper, the Department of Energy (DOE) said. The program is part of President Biden's pledge to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the program will help cut pollution while ensuring the competitiveness of American manufacturing. But not everyone is pleased about the program as the billions of dollars in clean energy incentives might put the European Union's energy transition at risk by luring away money and talent, executives at the CERAWeek energy conference said this week. Europe can ill afford to see a slowing in the energy transition as the continent struggles with soaring gas and power prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Granholm called the U.S. incentives "10 years of IRA carrots you can take to the bank" and said more than 100 companies in the electric vehicle supply chain had announced investments in the United States since the law passed. "We don't want to stoke trade wars or anything like that," said Granholm. "We keep saying 'have at it – you should do the same thing' – a little friendly competition is all." European energy companies echoed the call for Europe to come up with its own new incentives. "It would be great to see the European Union policy move from stick to carrot," said Josu Jon Imaz, chief executive officer of Spanish energy provider Repsol SA. "We don't need banning technologies, we don't need restrictions, we need to be attractive." |
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Demonstrators take part in a protest to mark International Women's Day in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Ramos |
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- Global gender parity is going to take more than five generations to achieve, as women still lag far behind men in the economy and politics and surging inflation last year disproportionately hurt their financial health, findings by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and equality experts show.
- Britain has no clear strategy on how it plans to meet a target of decarbonizing its electricity system by 2035, threatening efforts to boost energy security, the country's climate change advisers said.
- When Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino found out she would be the only woman lined up for a photo call to promote the high-profile Madrid Leaders Forum last May, she walked out. "We can no longer consider it normal that 50% of our population is not present," said Calvino.
- A new board controlling Walt Disney World's special taxing district in Florida will meet for the first time, as Governor Ron DeSantis' hand-picked group gets ready to end the entertainment giant's "corporate kingdom."
- Breakingviews: Two decades after boardroom quotas were first introduced, women have advanced at listed firms. Yet despite making up 40% of US business founders, female entrepreneurs capture just 2% of venture capital cash. Governments and asset managers can help raise that proportion.
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Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive of UK charity Action for Race Equality, shares his thoughts on using positive action to tackle racism in the workplace: "It is important that employers make a commitment to engage directly with Black and Asian young people in their offices, in local colleges and at ethnic minority employment events. "Those employers that set recruitment targets and take the broadest approach to positive action are being rewarded with greater interest from talented ethnic minority young people. "We want to see our employers in our major cities connecting with local councils and ethnic minority employability organizations to take a sector based approach to tackle race disparities in employment.' "The Government will be publishing new Positive Action guidance for employers later this year, but they must explore ways of incentivising employers to use positive action. The government should explore a connection with the levy and positive action for ethnic minorities, women and disabled people in sectors where they are underrepresented." |
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The percentage of women holding general and limited partner roles in hedge funds in Europe has fallen to just 8% in 2023 from 17.4% in 2021, according to Preqin data. The proportion of women in the hedge fund industry elsewhere in the world has dropped too, to 16.30% from 18.8% in North America, and to 18.9% from 21.2% in Asia over the same period. Of the 10 countries with the highest percentage of women holding senior positions at hedge funds, Hong Kong comes top with 17.3%, while Brazil has the lowest proportion, with 7%. |
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| Jinichi Abe in a contaminated soil rice field, 7 km from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan Feb 28, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon |
Today's ESG Spotlight highlights Tokyo-based firm Biomass Resin, which opened a factory in Namie in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture to turn locally-grown rice into pellets. Elsewhere, residents of a central Philippine province helped clean up an oil spill from a tanker. Last November, Biomass Resin opened a factory in Namie to turn locally-grown rice into pellets. The town of Namie, still struggling to recover from the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, has a new hope: a venture that turns rice unsellable for consumption due to health worries into low-carbon plastic used by major firms across Japan. The raw materials are reborn as low-carbon plastic cutlery and takeout containers used in chain restaurants, plastic bags at post offices and souvenirs sold at one of Japan's largest international airports. "Without growing rice, this town can't recover," said Abe, 85, a 13th-generation farmer, who said the rice - unsellable due to rumours - had been used as animal feed, among other uses, in previous years. "Even now, we can't sell it as Fukushima rice." |
Volunteers clean up the oil spill from the sunken fuel tanker, on the shore of Pola, in Oriental Mindoro province, Philippines, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez |
Residents of a central Philippine province affected by an oil spill from a sunken tanker endured the powerful stench of petroleum as they cleaned it up using buckets and mugs while authorities raced to contain environmental damage. Wearing personal protective equipment and masks, residents of the town of Pola in Oriental Mindoro, with the help of Philippine coast guard crew, collected debris soaked in oil and wiped thick sludge from rocks along the shore. |
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"Gender inequality is still a problem worldwide and has many facets. One aspect is to end the financial and professional discrimination against women. A calculation by the U.N. shows that it would take almost 300 years to achieve full gender equality worldwide at the current rate of progress." Katharina Seilers, portfolio manager at German asset management firm, DWS |
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- March. 10, New York, United States - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway may release its proxy statement. The statement is expected to discuss compensation for CEO Warren Buffett and other executives, as well as shareholder proposals to be voted on at the company's May 6 annual meeting.
- March. 10, Washington, United States: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discusses clean energy and supply chains with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.
- March. 10, England: Reuters speaks to two junior doctors as they prepare to walk out for three days as part of unprecedented strikes by tens of thousands of junior doctors across England demanding better pay and working conditions.
- March. 10, London, Britain: BP publishes its 2022 annual report including details on CEO Bernard Looney's pay package and the group's emissions.
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