Good morning,
COP26 and Climate Goals
Since the industrial revolution our world temperature has risen 1.2 degrees and we are on target to be close to 2.7 by the end of the century. Seas are rising, heat waves have become the norm, and fires rage, and people are forced to abandon their homes and move to higher ground.
World leaders are trying to meet a target of keeping the average world temperature below 1.5 degrees by 2050. Their meeting in Glasgow Scotland this week called COP26, a UN climate conference, appears doomed to fail even before the begin.
China’s President won’t attend as his nation builds more coal plants then ever before and doesn’t recognize 2050 as a net zero target.
Russia argues 2050 is no magic number and won’t agree on European targets, although experts say there is a realization in the Kremlin, that energy needs will swiftly shift away from Russia’s carbon based economy rapidly in the next decade or so. Putin will address the conference by video from Russia.
Prince Charles, a huge environmental activist has called COP26 “the last chance saloon” saying the “future of nature and humanity are at stake”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell the conference today “the world is at one minute to midnight” as the world is running out of time to address the climate.
At the G20 economic conference in Italy, the 20 largest economies met and decided on Sunday that they would no longer finance new coal operations overseas.
But China, India and Australia were especially hesitant to stop coal mining in their economies, and it’s the dirtiest fossil fuel.
U.S. President Biden will tell the conference he has made the environment his central policy platform but he has been forced to walk away from a plan for force electricity companies to abandon fossil fuel burning, and his 555 billion dollar spending bill in clean energy tax credits and incentives would only cut half as much from emissions.
Still Biden is seen as hugely better on the environment than former President Trump who lived in some fantasy land, denying global warming and leading America to abandon the Paris accords.
There will be no miracle at COP26, and the World needs one!
On my Back Story podcast, the Director of Washington’s Center for Climate and Security Erin Sikorsky, walks us through how intelligence and military planners now see climate as the number one security threat to nations because the second half of this century will be a nightmare. Have a listen and subscribe if you haven’t already.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/climate-catastrophe-and-security/id1512445640?i=1000539995470
Rich Corporations and Taxes
This weekend President Biden convinced the G20 to a new tax regime against big corporations, which some say play a kind of ‘tax headquarters shell game’ by registering their offices in different tax havens. With 140 nations signing on, to finally tax big Corporations like Apple, the new agreement would impose a minimum 15 percent corporate tax rate in nearly every country in the world and punish the few holdouts who refuse to go along. The O.E.C.D. estimates the accord will raise $150 billion per year globally from tax-fleeing companies.
But Biden has so far been unable to raise corporate taxes in the U.S. to 28 percent from 21 percent which was a campaign promise. Former President Trump, had lowered the rate from 35 percent allowing the gross profits of big corporations to reach record levels while the gap between rich and poor Americans has widened.
Dangerous Escalation Ukraine
Russia is once again seen to be building up its forces along the Ukraine border and there are fears President Putin is contemplating a military assault in Eastern Ukraine.
Russia which carried out a military exercise with Belarus did not send those troops back to bases, but instead redirected thousands of forces to the Ukraine border.
President Putin has said possible NATO membership for Ukraine represents “a redline” for the Kremlin, and condemned comments by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who during a visit to Ukraine this month described Russia as an obstacle to peace and Austin said no nation had a right to veto membership referring to Russia.
Ukraine has recently deployed drones known as the Bayraktar TB2k purchased from Turkey to assault pro Russia artillery positions in the Donbas, and the Kremlin has said the use of drones is escalating the fighting in the region.
On Back Story I recently interviewed the Head of the U.S. OSCE Mission on blocked international observer patrols and the fighting in Ukraine. It’s a great back grounder on whats happening on the ground in Ukraine and it’s 8 year war with Russia.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/9367344
French/British Fishing War
It started last week when France seized a British fishing trawler, and since then both sides have hurled accusations against the other. Britain it appears, after leaving the European Union, won’t give the same number of fishing licenses to French trawlers.
France believes Britain is abandoning trade pledges after BREXIT and demands Europe penalize Britain.
Johnson said Britain's position was unchanged but added he had been "puzzled" to read a letter from Paris to the European Union asking "for Britain to be punished for leaving the EU".
"I don't believe that is compatible either with the spirit or the letter of the Withdrawal Agreement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and that's probably all I'll say about that," he said, referring to the Brexit trade deals.
Macron, also speaking at a post-summit news conference, said he wanted a deal. "I don't want escalation. We need to be serious," he said in Rome. "I don't want to have to use retaliation measures, because that wouldn't help our fishermen."
But this week the dispute appears destined to escalate.
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We have a busy news week ahead of us. Have a great day everyone and we appreciate your paid subscription choice to support this newsletter. (If you paid?)
Dana
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russian-troop-movements-near-ukraine-border-prompt-concern-in-us-europe/2021/10/30/c122e57c-3983-11ec-9662-399cfa75efee_story.html?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=twitter
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/climate/climate-change-biden-cop26.html
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20211031-macron-johnson-to-meet-as-post-brexit-fishing-spat-intensifies