Monday, February 17, 2020

How to effectively address illegal gold mining – study
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud | February 16, 2020 

Gold panning. (Reference image by Jean-François Gornet, Wikimedia Commons).

A study by researchers at the National University of Singapore found that increased enforcement and the offer of an alternative agriculture-based livelihood are unlikely to deter illegal gold miners in Myanmar.

“It is simply too profitable,” they wrote in a paper published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.

Even though Myanmar is known as the world’s largest producer of jade, gold mining -and illegal gold mining in particular- has been growing in recent years. This situation has pushed the government to launch a series of initiatives to drive people away from unregulated operations.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MINING TO MYANMAR’S ECONOMY IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE FOLLOWING THE OPENING OF THE COUNTRY TO GLOBAL INVESTMENT AFTER POLITICAL REFORMS WERE LAUNCHED IN 2011

But NUS scientists were curious about the costs imposed by enforcement, the level of enforcement required to make informal gold mining unprofitable, and the potential benefits associated with alternative agriculture-based livelihoods. Thus, they interviewed 226 people involved in the gold mining industry in the Homalin township in northern Myanmar. These miners operate along the Chindwin River and the Uru River basins, many on sites abandoned by the formal sector.

The idea behind the survey was to understand their motivation to participate in mining, assess the profitability of informal mining, and estimate losses associated with law enforcement. Participants included mine owners and workers in both the formal and informal sectors and local farmers.

The researchers found that while police inspections impose costs associated with wasted time and loss of equipment, informal gold mining is so profitable that miners can rapidly recoup these costs. So much so that there is even room for them to pay fees and taxes to local authorities and communities instead of formally to the government.

They also found that many of the miners already balance mining with agriculture, so government plans to provide agricultural land are unlikely to deter them.

Furthermore, as many of the miners were internal migrants and willing to migrate again for economic opportunities, policies to replace informal mining might simply shift it to new regions within Myanmar.
 
Illegal gold mining site in Myanmar. (Image by Graham Prescott, courtesy of the National University of Singapore).

However, according to the researchers, some solutions can be implemented. “Given that most informal miners operate on mine sites abandoned by the formal sector, one approach could be to allow informal mining on these sites and focus instead on preventing the expansion of informal mining to forests and wetlands,” Graham Prescott, the lead author of the paper, said in a media statement. “Technologies that eliminate mercury emissions, such as the use of mining retorts could also be introduced to the informal mining communities.”

In the experts’ view, such an approach represents a win-win situation because informal gold miners would benefit from the legitimization of their livelihood, protection against eviction and better health and safety practices, while society could benefit from the compliance with environmental regulation to prevent the expansion of mining in environmentally sensitive areas and reduced mercury emissions

MINING.COM
Posted by at No comments:

Is This The Tipping Point For Coal Production?


After a Jekyll and Hyde year in 2019, and a decade characterised by China’s disruption of the met coal trade, participants can be forgiven for being sick of change. But research firm Wood Mackenzie believes a shift toward consistency and stability is probably too much to ask for in 2020 as China continues to play powerbroker over the seaborne market and spot pricing.

Woodmac says 2020 is likely to be a pivotal year for those miners who struggled through the second half of 2019.

Under the global microscope, coal suppliers looking to grow will continue to face creeping resistance, grappling with an unfriendly permitting environment, and a climate-induced shift in capital. The pressure has even forced some miners to turn their back on coal. But opportunities for growth will still exist this year, and we expect the emergence of some potentially game-changing technological developments to keep the market particularly interesting.

China crude steel production, hot metal, coke and coking coal demand

If 2019 taught us anything about the inner workings of Chinese markets and policy, it is that controlling imports to a finite number is almost impossible. The 2019 import quota policy failed to suppress trade volumes. Coal imports breached 2018 levels by 11% as demand, lower prices, and trader risk appetite pushed imports higher, says the firm.

For 2020, Woodmac assumes a repeat from 2019 with soft targets being just that – targets. With record steel production and peak hot metal demand forecast in 2020, Chinese coal imports will reach similar levels as 2019 – pushing coal up against any import restrictions.

Imported coals from Australia, unofficially, faced increased customs scrutiny with clearances regularly pushing over 40 days. Woodmac anticipates the same treatment in 2020. The expectation is Chinese officials will continue this practice in an effort to balance domestic and import supply over the year. Despite these efforts, the large Chinese coastal mills require access to premium Australian HCC and will continue to trade heavily in 2020. Seaborne metallurgical coal traders can’t discount that China will remain a major source of coal price volatility with the various market instruments at its disposal.

As the year progresses and quotas shrink, be on the lookout for ports actively beginning to restrict imports. Woodmac says the last quarter should see China tightening imports despite record steel production, but impromptu limits will probably occur throughout the year. The demand will be there although nothing spooks coal traders more than not being able to complete a transaction in a timely fashion.

The situation in Q4 2020 will likely repeat 2019 as buyers will drive pricing necessary to incentivise trades on potentially riskier transactions. Expect import restrictions to suppress international spot pricing especially as the year comes to an end.

Supply growth to become more challenging

Like all miners, metallurgical coal producers face mounting pressure as the global lens continues to focus sharper on the industry. The spectre of new external threats highlighted by recent Australian bushfires, and growing water stress, will add to the challenges for those trying to bring new supply to market, Woodmac asserts. The risk of direct impacts from drought and fire on operating mines has also increased, although we expect mitigation measures to successfully minimize potential disruption. Water levels in southern Bowen basin dams are an area to watch, starting the year at very low levels, and placing greater pressure on groundwater sources.

Vale hit the pause button at its Moatize HCC mine operations in late 2019, and they face a tough decision at an important operation. The company will use the first two quarters of 2020 to revamp the mine and coal processing circuit in a bid to increase flailing production and diminished coal quality. Pay attention to Vale as they look to bring the mine fully back on-line in the second half of 2020. The loss of Moatize tonnes will have considerable consequences for the premium hard coking coal market.

Australian mine safety will be in the spotlight in 2020 as 2019 saw a rash of mine fatalities rock the industry – nine workers across the mining industry with five related to coal mines. Not even a month into the new year, a Queensland miner lost his life at the Curragh coal mine. Calls for increased regulations have not gone unheard. The Queensland government is set to introduce legislation in 2020 to make mining industrial manslaughter an offence. The government is near passing legislation to establish an independent resources health and safety authority.

Projects face heightened environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations from all facets of society including investors. Environmental review delays are the new norm for mine applications as regulators ratchet up their scrutiny. Don’t be surprised if some large projects don’t meet their preferred milestones this year.

And expect approval conditions to continue to tighten, as we saw last year in Australia, where development consent was given for the United Wambo mine on the condition that coal was sold only to countries that were signatories to the Paris climate agreement. Metallurgical coal projects looking for major approvals this year include Riversdale Resources’ Grassy Mountain, Olive Downs and Futura’s Wilton and Fairhill.

World’s first widescale autonomous haulage fleet

In a first for the coal industry and a sign of the future, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) will introduce an autonomous haulage fleet at its Goonyella Riverside operation. The Queensland operation will see a total of 86 trucks commissioned over the next two years with the first set due in the first half of 2020. According to BMA, beyond safety, the autonomous fleet is expected to deliver more consistent cycle times while increasing haulage hours.

All eyes in the mining world will be on the operation to leverage learnings and improvements as other companies consider the leap into the driver-less world. Woodmac expects the new fleet could offer up to 15-20% haulage savings over a traditional haulage fleet.

While new to coal, Komatsu has close to 150 trucks operating autonomously in 9 mine sites. Woodmac expects that Komatsu has “skin in the game” and will be keen to see their product succeed at BMA’s operation with the goal for future installs. Stay tuned to BMA as they roll out their new driver-less fleet in 2020.

By Mining.com
Posted by at No comments:

Nigeria: Chimamanda Adichie Named 'Woman of the Decade'


Photo: Malaria Summit London
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sharing a personal malaria story at Global Malaria Summit, London.

4 FEBRUARY 2020 Vanguard (Lagos) By Nwafor View

For Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, another decade of breaking records and shaping global conversations is just beginning. With her numerous awards, honours and arguably the most influential Nigerian celebrity of the past decade, Adichie continues to conquer even as the new decade unfolds.

The groundbreaking writer was named “Woman of the Decade” Editor’s Choice by ThisDay Newspapers in celebration of their Silver Jubilee Anniversary. The award ceremony held on the 20th of January at the Eko Hotels Convention Centre, VI, Lagos and Adichie who could not make it for the event, was recently presented her award at a reception held in her honor at the ARISE office.

The “Woman of the Decade” Award was presented to Adichie by veteran poet and playwright, Prof John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (J.P Clark). Adichie took to her Instagram page to share her thoughts saying “JP Clark’s poetry means a lot to me – and to my character Obinze in AMERICANAH! Thank you to Thisday Newspapers for naming me ‘woman of the decade’. I was delighted to have the award presented by JP Clark” she wrote.

A total of 24 winners were selected with 2 persons honoured with an award in the People’s Choice and Editor’s Choice in each category. “Winners of the awards were picked both by the public and ThisDay editors from a pool of personalities and corporate organisations in a voting process that lasted one week,” ThisDay revealed of the selection process. “The board noted that whereas the editor’s choices were based on the strength of industry knowledge and professional advice, the readers’ votes were mostly based on their perception”

Alongside Adichie, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations; Ms. Amina J. Mohammed was also named “Woman of the Decade” based on the people’s choice. Other recipients of the ThisDay Newspapers’ awards for the decade include President Muhammadu Buhari (People’s Choice) and his predecessor; Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; Aliko Dangote, Segun Agbaje, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Herbert Wigwe, amongst others.

Prior to this award, Adichie became the first recipient of the Belle van Zuylen Ring for “her contribution to humanity through her literary works and her public engagements” on the 11th of January by the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU), Netherlands.

Earlier in January, Chimamanda Adichie was also named one of the 20 women who will shape the year 2020 by ThisDay Newspapers, with the title ‘More Honours Trail Her’. The paper made mention that, “In the last few weeks of 2019, Chimamanda was accorded more honours, echoes of which will reverberate through 2020”.

Vanguard




Read the original article on Vanguard.
Posted by at No comments:
Nigeria: Rights Group Calls for War Crimes Probe Against Nigeria's Military

Photo: VOA News
Nigerian soldiers

14 FEBRUARY 2020
Voice of America (Washington, DC)


A prominent human rights watchdog has called for an investigation into possible war crimes against Nigeria's military in its fight against jihadists, which has resulted in the burning of entire villages and the displacement of residents.

Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, has called for the probe.

"These brazen acts of razing entire villages, deliberately destroying civilian homes and forcibly displacing their inhabitants with no imperative military grounds, should be investigated as possible war crimes," Ojigho said. "They represent a longstanding pattern of the Nigerian military's brutal tactics against the civilian population. Forces allegedly responsible for such violations must be suspended immediately and brought to justice."

The rights groups said it interviewed a dozen women and men who were forced from their homes in the restive northeast early last month. Their accounts were backed up by data from remote satellite sensing, Amnesty said, which indicated that the villages of Bukarti, Ngariri, and Matiri were burned and razed. The investigation also revealed burning in nearby communities, according to the rights group.

The Nigerian military has repeatedly denied similar allegations of possible war crimes.
Posted by at No comments:
Nigeria: 2020 Could Be Shell's Year of Reckoning - Amnesty International

Photo: Amnesty International
Boats in Bodo Creek in 2011. Amnesty says that Nigerian regulations lay down that a clean-up should start within 24 hours of an oil spill, but that three years on, the people of Bodo are still waiting.

11 FEBRUARY 2020
Amnesty International (London)

In 2020 Shell will face unprecedented legal scrutiny over decades of human rights abuses in Nigeria, Amnesty International said on Monday, as the oil giant braces itself for conclusions in a string of European court battles.

Allegations range from complicity in unlawful executions to systemic pollution and environmental damage in the Niger Delta.

Amnesty International, in a press statement issued on Monday, said it has been researching Shell's activities in the Niger Delta for more than 20 years, compiling compelling evidence of the company's role in human rights abuses. In a report released today, the organisation highlights the various cases that are finally putting Shell's harmful operations in Nigeria on trial.

"Shell began the year with another attempt to greenwash its role in the climate crisis, trying to present itself as the future of energy even as the planet burns. This expensive PR effort must not divert attention from the fact that Shell is facing a year of unprecedented legal scrutiny over its business in Nigeria," said Mark Dummett, Amnesty International's Head of Business, Security and Human Rights.


"Shell's business model has allowed it to benefit from weaknesses in Nigeria's justice and regulatory systems, wreaking havoc on Nigerian lives and livelihoods while profits continue to flow to its European headquarters. A just transition to clean energy also means holding polluters to account for the harm they have caused in the past."

For the new report, Amnesty researchers interviewed people from several Niger Delta communities about the ongoing impact of pollution and oil spills.

Shell denies all claims.

Read the full statement below.

Nigeria: 2020 could be Shell's year of reckoning

In 2020 Shell will face unprecedented legal scrutiny over decades of human rights abuses in Nigeria, Amnesty International said today, as the oil giant braces itself for conclusions in a string of European court battles. Allegations range from complicity in unlawful executions to systemic pollution and environmental damage in the Niger Delta.

Amnesty International has been researching Shell's activities in the Niger Delta for more than 20 years, compiling compelling evidence of the company's role in human rights abuses. In a report released today, the organization highlights the various cases that are finally putting Shell's harmful operations in Nigeria on trial.

"Shell began the year with another attempt to greenwash its role in the climate crisis, trying to present itself as the future of energy even as the planet burns. This expensive PR effort must not divert attention from the fact that Shell is facing a year of unprecedented legal scrutiny over its business in Nigeria," said Mark Dummett, Amnesty International's Head of Business, Security and Human Rights.

"Shell's business model has allowed it to benefit from weaknesses in Nigeria's justice and regulatory systems, wreaking havoc on Nigerian lives and livelihoods while profits continue to flow to its European headquarters. A just transition to clean energy also means holding polluters to account for the harm they have caused in the past."

For the new report, Amnesty researchers interviewed people from several Niger Delta communities about the ongoing impact of pollution and oil spills.

King Okpabi, customary ruler of the Ogale community, expressed a widely-held frustration at Shell's failure to take responsibility for its actions:

"Shell spoiled our water and destroyed our livelihoods. It is now spending millions to protect itself and tell the world that it has no responsibilities towards the people of Ogale, rather than addressing the wrong it did to us."

The claims against Shell

Due to the difficulties of bringing legal claims in Nigeria, individuals and communities affected by Shell's operations in Nigeria are bringing cases in the Netherlands and the UK where Shell is headquartered. These could set important precedents for holding polluting multinationals to account in future.

Kiobel v Shell: In the first of this year's legal milestones, in March a court in The Hague will hear witness statements from four women who accuse Shell of complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands by the Nigerian military in 1995. The women are claiming compensation and a public apology from Shell. The executions were the culmination of a brutal campaign by Nigeria's military to silence protests against Shell's pollution.

Four Farmers Cases: In May 2020, a final hearing is expected in a case brought against Shell by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth in 2008. They are seeking compensation from both Netherlands and UK-based Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) and its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), for alleged damage to fish ponds and land caused by oil spills.

This case is the first time that any Dutch company had been sued in a Dutch court for the operations of its subsidiaries overseas.

Okpabi and Others: In June 2020, the UK's Supreme Court will hear an appeal brought against RDS and SPDC by two Niger Delta communities, Ogale and Bille. They claim that over several years they have suffered systematic and ongoing oil pollution because of Shell's operations. The court will decide whether it can proceed on the critical issue of whether RDS is liable for the actions of SPDC.

This case is illustrative of the way that Shell's corporate structure has shielded it from scrutiny and justice.

"Shell's activities in Ogale have poisoned water and brought farming to a halt, but jurisdictional wrangling over whether RDS or SPDC is responsible for this damage means that Shell has never had to answer for this in a UK or Dutch court," said Mark Dummett.

"Shell claims that RDS is not responsible for the actions of its subsidiary even though it owns 100 percent of SPDC and receives the profits that it makes.

Bodo: In 2008 there were two massive oil spills, caused by poorly maintained Shell pipelines, in a creek close to the Bodo community. Crude oil continuously leaked into the water for five weeks on each occasion. Shell settled with the community in 2014 but has yet to clean up Bodo's devastated waterways. If the pollution is not cleared by mid-2020, the case will be referred back to the UK High Court.

Pastor Christian Kpandei, one of the community's most vocal activists, says he lost everything when the oil spills killed the fish in his ponds. He told Amnesty: "The lack of clean-up has deeply affected us. The soil, the water and the air are all still contaminated."

States are also scrutinising Shell's operations.

The "OPL 245" bribery case: Prosecutors in Italy are bringing a criminal case over the alleged involvement of Shell, and the Italian oil multinational Eni, in a 1.3 billion US dollar bribery scheme connected to the transfer of a Nigerian oil licence. If found guilty, the individual defendants could go to jail.

"It shouldn't require legal action to get Shell to fulfil its human rights responsibilities. Shell has an obligation to respect the human rights of people in the Niger Delta, including by taking all reasonable steps to prevent spills and then remediate contaminated land and water," said Mark Dummett.

"It has consistently, over many decades and in some truly horrifying ways, failed to do this."

Amnesty is calling on Shell to improve its operational practices in the Niger Delta, at a time when the role of Shell and other fossil fuel companies in the climate crisis is coming under increasing scrutiny.

Data from Shell's own spill incident reports reveal that from 2011-18 the company reported 1,010 spills along the network of pipelines and wells that it operates in Nigeria. Spills have a variety of causes - from third-party tampering, to operational faults and corrosion of aged facilities. Shell blames most spills on theft and pipeline sabotage. But research by Amnesty and its partner organization the Centre for the Environment Human Rights and Development shows that the company's facts and figures emerge from a flawed process for identifying the volume, cause and impact of oil spills. The research also shows that this process often lacks both independence and oversight, partly because the government regulators are so weak. As a result, Shell's findings cannot be trusted.


Read the original article on AI London.


Previous Story
Next StoryIs Bodo Oil Spill Triggering Epic Number of Funerals?


Is Bodo Oil Spill Triggering Epic Number of Funerals?
Next Story
MORE ON THIS

Nigerian Community's Oil Spill Battle Not Over Yet
UK Court Halts Shell's Bid to Stop Bodo Community's Suit Over Cleanup
Bodo Community Claims Win Over Shell After UK Court Ruling

Oil Spill Dispute With Nigerian Villagers Back in UK Court
Shell Oil Vs Nigeria's Bodo Community - UK Court to Deliver Judgment Friday
Shell's Oil Spill Dispute With Villagers Back in UK Court
Shell Clears Air On Bodo Oil Spill Pollution Clean-Up
Crude Oil Spillage Wrecks Havoc in Odimodi Community
Shell Arrests Judgment in N122bn Debt Suit

Is Bodo Oil Spill Triggering Epic Number of Funerals?
Contaminated Lands, Water - New Major Inquiry Into Oil Spills in Niger Delta
Posted by at No comments:

Africa: Female Genital Mutilation - Not Just an Emotional and Health Impact On Women but a $1.4 Billion Dollar Cost to CommunitiesShare

13 FEBRUARY 2020
By Samira Sadeque
United Nations — When society doesn't act to prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) it has a massive economic cost -- over $1 billion -- on communities globally. And while the practice is starting to become less common over time, experts say a large number of women and girls still remain affected.
"By calculating the costs of FGM to women and society, this study shows that inaction has an economic cost and that investment in prevention will reduce costs in the long-term," Elizabeth Noble, Information Officer of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Unit of the World Health Organisation (WHO), told IPS.
She was referring to last week's release of FGM "Cost Calculator" by the WHO, that highlights the massive economic costs societies have to go through as a result of the practice that's considered a human rights violation by advocates.
The interactive tool, available here, was launched on Feb. 6 to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
Currently, the economic burden of treating health complications arising out of FGM practices across 27 countries included in WHO's dataset, stands at a staggering $1.4 billion annually.
Taking into account population growth, the amount can increase by 50 percent in the next 30 years, given that the prevalence of FGM remains as it stands today, explained Noble.
However, abandoning the practice would lead to a projected decrease in 60 percent of that cost, she told IPS.
The calculator, she says, "allows the user to visualise the costs of treating the health complications of FGM, by country, over a 30 year period, while also showing the costs averted by preventing FGM".
An official from Plan International told IPS that there are currently 200 million girls and women alive today who have been affected by FGM.
"It is believed that by mutilating the girl's genital organs, her sexuality will be controlled and her virginity before marriage will be guaranteed. This has severe consequence for girls' sexual and reproductive health and rights," Alex Munive, Head of Gender and Inclusion of the Girls 2030 Programmes at Plan International Global Hub, told IPS.
He also detailed the long-term and short-term effects of the practice: infection, haemorrhage, psychological trauma and even death as seen in the immediate aftermath of the practice, and chronic pain, chronic urinary problems, obstetric complications including fistula and sexual problems seen in the long-run
Munive says the practice, while becoming less common overtime, still has a large number of girls and women affected when taking into account population growth.
Beyond health, it also affects girls in their education.
"FGM is seen as initiation rite preparing girls for marriage," Munive told IPS. "Once a girl is cut, they are married off quickly and are taken out of school. They are treated like adult women and lose all their child rights."
Education itself can be means to address the concerns, he says.
"We recognise that education is a powerful tool for preventing FGM," he said. "Girls who benefit from a quality education are less likely to marry while they are still children."
It's also pertinent to take into account that FGM is often done as part of cultural practices, which means advocates have to tread softly when approaching communities to address this issue.
To this, Noble of WHO said "strategies towards abandonment must take into consideration the underlying social and cultural beliefs about the practice."
"It is therefore important to engage with opinion leaders in practicing communities," she told IPS. "WHO is also working with nurses and midwives and other health care providers to strengthen their role as opinion leaders in abandonment of the practice."
Read the original article on IPS.
Posted by at No comments:
Joseph Shabalala, who created the world-famous South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, has died.

 South Africa: President Declares Special Official Funeral for Mr Joseph Shabalala 

Photo: GovernmentZA/Flickr

16 FEBRUARY 2020
The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa (Pretoria)

PRESS RELEASE

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 2 in honour of Mr Joseph Shabalala, the late founder of choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Mr Shabalala, aged 78, passed away on 11 February 2020 following extended illness.

The Special Official Funeral Category 2 entails ceremonial elements provided by the South African Police Service. The funeral will take place on Saturday, 22 February 2020.

President Ramaphosa has ordered that the National Flag be flown at half-mast at every flag station in the country until the evening of 22 February 2020. Regulations require that no other flags should be displayed when the National Flag is flown at half-mast.

President Ramaphosa has reiterated his sincerest condolences to the Shabalala family, members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and members of the arts and culture fraternities in South Africa and globally with whom Ladysmith Black Mambazo has collaborated for the better part of six decades.

In 2008, this world-renowned and widely awarded choral group received the National Order of Ikhamanga for putting South African cultural life on the world map through contributing to the field of South African indigenous music.



Posted by at No comments:
Zimbabwe: Army Generals Running Mining, Fuel Cartels - Report


plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose



17 FEBRUARY 2020
New Zimbabwe (London)

By Lawrence Paganga

The influence of the military in Zimbabwean politics is reported to be on the ascendancy in politics, economy and government while the army generals have also been reported to be heavily involved in mining and fuel sectors as they increase their control under President Emmerson Mnangagwa's rule.

This is an assessment contained in a study titled: "Assessing Continuity and Change After Mugabe", authored by Alexander H. Noyes and released this month by the US-based Rand Corporation.

Former strongman President Robert Mugabe died last September, a year after he had been toppled from power by deputy, Mnangagwa in a coup backed by the military in November 2017 after 37 years in power.


In the study, Noyes looks into Mnangagwa's two year rule and according to the author, the military's influence in politics, economy and government was on the increase under the rule of Mnangagwa.

"Although the military has always played a prominent role in Zimbabwe's political economy, its influence has increased under Mnangagwa. The military remains heavily involved in the economy, particularly in the mining and fuel sectors," said Noyes.

"Two of the main figures behind the 2017 coup, former generals Constantino Chiwenga and Sibusiso Moyo, are vice president and foreign minister, respectively, and remain powerful players representing military interests in Zimbabwe's cabinet.

"With the old guard and the military still firmly in power, both benefiting from their perches atop the highly cartelised and patronage-based economy--genuine reform is unlikely in the next one to three years in the lead-up to national elections in 2023. Zimbabwe is likely to continue down a path of political polarisation, protests, political violence at the hands of the State, and economic deterioration."

Noyes said although, Mnangagwa had repeatedly deployed flowery rhetoric, his administration's piecemeal actions belie any movement toward genuine political or economic reforms.

Repression has increased and the economy continues to sink while Mnangagwa is protecting his and close allies' political and economic interests.

He noted that politics and economics were inseparable in Zimbabwe, and the country would be unable to recover unless the two sectors are addressed in tandem.

"To help the country repair from years of mismanagement, corruption, and State violence, international actors - including the United States - would be wise to push the government in a coordinated fashion to implement genuine political, economic, and security," he wrote.

Noyes said Mnangagwa had taken some modest steps that could be seen as an indication of progress, particularly on the economic front.

But there was a wide gap between government's reform rhetoric and the reality on the ground.

"There is a wide gap between the government's reform rhetoric and the reality on the ground. The government's well-rehearsed slogans appear to be largely political theatre targeted at the international diplomatic community and potential investors.

"Even where limited progress has been made, such steps appear to be largely cosmetic, a mere box-ticking exercise. In other words, Mnangagwa is attempting to have his cake and eat it too, paying lip service to reforms in the hope of securing international support but staunchly refusing to implement any measures that might harm his and his closest supporters' political and economic interests," said Noyes.

He said Mnangagwa's pledges have fallen short, as genuine reform had been sluggish and repression had increased under his rule.

"A serving Member of Parliament characterised Mnangagwa's reform efforts as putting 'mascara on a frog'. On the political front, reform promises are severely lagging, with very few tangible steps toward reconfiguring Zimbabwe's autocratic system.

"A senior diplomat said that none of the ten major legislative reforms that the government had promised had been fully implemented. The government has taken steps to repeal and replace two repressive pieces of legislation, the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

"However, the Mnangagwa government continues to prevent and violently suppress political protests and the media remain heavily biased in favour of the ruling party, as do the justice and electoral system," said Noyes.

He said on the economic front, Mnangagwa's administration had taken steps toward a few piecemeal reforms in several areas, but progress had lagged in others.

"The fundamentals of the economy remain poor and the results of these patchwork reforms have not been promising thus far. Despite a brief government surplus and the introduction of a new currency aimed at curbing inflation, the economy is again close to collapse, with fuel, food, and electricity shortages reminiscent of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis in the mid- to late 2000s."

Many interviewees in the study, emphasised their distrust of the government, particularly in regard to the management of the economy.

"After decades of monetary and fiscal mismanagement, record levels of inflation, rampant corruption, and slashed savings accounts, Zimbabweans have approached the recent switch back to a national currency with extreme trepidation. Wildly fluctuating exchange rates and a robust parallel market have also led to widespread currency arbitrage, with those who have access to foreign exchange--often government officials--reaping large profits," Noyes said.
Posted by at No comments:

Fossil Automakers Abandon US Monthly Sales Reporting


I’ve been creating monthly auto sales reports for a long time. Last year, I faced a bit of a conundrum. All US automakers (Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) decided they didn’t want to report monthly sales any longer and were going to switch to quarterly sales reports only. Fine. Okay. That sucked, but I worked around it. Now, 2020 has rolled around and a bunch more automakers have decided to ditch monthly sales reporting. Nissan (& Infiniti), Jaguar Land Rover, and Volkswagen (including Audi and Porsche) announced the change with press releases. Others didn’t seem to announce it but just stopped publishing the monthly numbers (Mercedes, BMW, and Toyota).
Perhaps they got tired of sites like CleanTechnica reporting the numbers and showing millions of people (on CleanTechnica alone) that their sales were not looking hot. (See: “Non-Tesla US Auto Sales Down 177,839 In 2019.”) Perhaps they’re concerned about what’s to come. Perhaps they just saw the US automakers do this and thought they’d like to follow suit to avoid month-to-month noise in favor of more relevant quarterly numbers and discussions.

No matter the reason, my monthly sales spreadsheets are now barren and sad. I’ve got numbers from Honda (including Acura), Hyundai (including Genesis), Kia, Subaru, and Volvo — mostly companies that have been doing better than their competitors. Coincidence? I doubt it. Useful? Not so much.
Clearly, I’ll have to switch to quarterly auto sales reports now. Since we’re here, though, here are some top-line January 2020 vs. January 2019 stats takeaways from those 7 auto brands still sharing monthly data:
  • Acura: Down by more than 500, or 5%.
  • Genesis: Up by a couple hundred, or 14%.
  • Honda: Down by nearly 4,000, or 4%.
  • Hyundai: Up by 2,000, or 5%.
  • Kia: Up nearly 3,000, or 8%.
  • Subaru: Up by a couple hundred, or 0.5%.
  • Volvo: Up by a few hundred, or 5%.
Here’s how the US auto industry was standing —
brand by brand — at the end of 2019 compared to 2018:

Yellow cells indicate the brand’s December sales were estimates
based on official quarterly sales.

Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
Posted by at No comments:

Australian Research Council Members Condemn Lack Of Climate Action

January 30th, 2020 by 

CLEANTECHNICA.COM

The mission of the Australian Research Council is “To grow knowledge and innovation for the benefit of the Australian community through funding the highest quality research, assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research and providing advice on research matters.”
In the wake of Australia’s disastrous bushfire epidemic, which is still going on, 80 of the ARC’s most prominent members have penned an open letter urging the Morrison government to take reasonable and realistic action to lower the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. The ARC laureate fellows are a small group of researchers selected by the ARC as the top researchers across all fields in Australia, according to The Guardian.
The government of prime minister Scott Morrison is having none of it, however. According to a report by Reuters, Morrison and his emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, maintain that Australia is already doing all that it should or can do and that limiting emissions further will damage the country’s economy, which is heavily invested in exporting fossil fuels. Last year, Australia became the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, surpassing Qatar for the first time.
“In most countries it isn’t ­acceptable to pursue emission ­reduction policies that add substantially to the cost of living, ­destroy jobs, reduce incomes and impede growth,” Taylor wrote in The Australian, a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, on December 31. “That’s why we won’t adopt Labor’s uncosted, reckless, economy destroying targets that will always result in a tax on ­energy, whether it is called that or not.” Any resemblance to similar language emanating from the US government, which preaches that becoming the largest fossil fuel exporter in the world is a matter of national security, is not accidental.
The ARC laureates see things differently. “The scale and ferocity of the recent fires are unprecedented since European settlement of this country. They arrived at the end of a year with the lowest average rainfall and the highest average temperatures ever recorded across Australia. Climate change has arrived, and without significant action greater impacts on Australia are inevitable…..While much remains to be learned about the impacts of climate change, more than enough studies have been conducted to tell us we have a serious problem that requires urgent changes to be made.”
The open letter continues with these strong words.
The current impacts are happening with just 1 Celsius of global temperature increase, but we are set for the best part of another degree even if very strong international action is taken to reduce emissions. This means further increases in extreme fire risk, heat waves and flooding rains; ecosystems degraded and wild species forced to migrate or vanish; agricultural activities moved or abandoned, challenging our food security; and so on. If strong action is not taken, environmental degradation and social disruption will be much greater and in many cases adaptation will no longer be achievable. It would be naive to assume that such a world will still support human societies in their current form and maintain human well-being.
This dire outlook demands stronger mitigation of carbon emissions. Many argue that actions to achieve this would be economically destructive. This claim has no basis, nor is it consistent with Australia’s traditional optimism and ingenuity, nor with historical experience. Similar objections were raised in the past against government policies to limit air pollution, environmental toxins and ozone-destroying chemicals, but we collectively found ways to achieve mitigation at manageable cost, and with net benefits to society that are clear in hindsight.
A transition to lower, and eventually net zero emissions, is a huge task but is achievable and far less risky and irresponsible than allowing unmitigated warming. This transition requires determination on the part of leaders, as well as empathy, aid and forward planning for communities disadvantaged by the transition. Large transformations in the face of comparable challenges have been successfully achieved in the past, such as the development of road and mass transportation systems, waste-water and sewage handling to minimise diseases, and many others. These transformations created new jobs and whole industries, and will do so again.
The laureates’ letter concludes, “Much research has already been done to identify the policies and technologies that can move us to where we need to go. What is lacking is the courage to implement them on the required scale. (Emphasis added) We call on all governments to acknowledge the gravity of the threat posed by climate change driven by human activities, and to support and implement evidence-based policy responses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in time to safeguard against catastrophe. We owe this to younger generations and those who come after them, who will bear the brunt of our decisions.”
The claim by the Australian government that the country has already reduced its carbon emissions below the level required by the Paris climate accords is a lie. It is based on credits attributable to the Kyoto climate agreement that predated the Paris accords. In other words, the Morrison government is cooking the books to avoid its legal obligations to its citizens and the people of the world. Such a government deserves only one thing — to be voted out of office and as quickly as possible. 
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)