It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Britain's military clarifies reports about possible closure of Alberta training base
Author of the article:
Postmedia News
Publishing date:
Nov 24, 2021 •
Article content
Britain’s Ministry of Defence says it will not be shutting down its southern Alberta training base.
A report published in The Telegraph said the British military’s training bases at CFB Suffield and CFB Wainwright would be shut down and moved to the Middle East.
However in a tweet, the Ministry of Defence denied the reports about CFB Suffield.
Advertise
“Canada is one of the UK’s oldest and closest allies,” reads the tweet. “Contrary to reports today, we are not closing BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield).
“It will continue to be a vital training base for the British Army.”
The tweet makes no mention of the army’s second, smaller Alberta training base at CFB Wainwright, which is near Edmonton.
Britain’s defence secretary Ben Wallace told a British news website that while BATUS is not closing, the activities that happen there will change.
“Of course, we’ll change what we do there because some of those forces we might use elsewhere but no we’re not closing BATUS,” he told Forces.net .
Area residents are likely to be particularly sensitive to fires on the base because a fire spread from CFB Suffield in September 2017 and burned about 90,000 acres of grassland, killed 160 cattle and forced some residents in its path to flee their homes.
Suffield Base in Alberta is the largest chemical biological weapons research centre in North America, and one of only three NATO CBW research projects world ...
FRANCE IS NUCLEAR POWER
Large Insurers Are Hatching a Plan to Take Down Coal
Thomas Buberl, the chief executive of the French insurance company AXA, wants the industry to stop covering mines and plants.
In 2015, AXA, lead by Thomas Buberl, became the first insurer to start divesting from coal.
This article is part of our latest DealBook special report on the trends that will shape the coming decades.
Insurers have a uniquely powerful role in addressing climate change — and one that may help determine the coal industry’s very existence in the next two decades, if not sooner. Insurers are not only among the largest institutional investors, their ability to withdraw insurance coverage can hinder a company’s operations.
Insurance companies also pay when climate change causes natural disasters, which cost the industry $82 billion last year, according to the insurer Munich Re.
AXA, the French insurance company, has eagerly leaned into its levers for reducing carbon emissions. In 2015, AXA became the first insurer to start divesting from coal, and it is now chair of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, a pledge signed by eight of the world’s largest insurers and reinsurers who have committed to have underwriting portfolios with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The majority of the signatories are European insurers. U.S. insurers, including AIG and Berkshire Hathaway, have not agreed to the terms. AXA’s chief executive, Thomas Buberl, has made it his mission to change that.
You were perhaps the first to embrace insurers’ role in climate change. What drove your decision?
We saw this whole question around climate transition very early on because as an insurer, you basically have two perspectives: You have the investment perspective, and you’ve got the underwriting perspective. And from the underwriting perspective, you also see, later on, the claims. And what we’ve seen from very early on was: Yes, investment in coal, and so on, seems to be quite an isolated and attractive investment — but then when you blend in the claims side, what happens to natural catastrophes and companies that we insure in terms of flooding, fires and so on? What happens to the patients that we have with their health? The equation doesn’t work.
AXA has worked towards reducing carbon emissions.
Credit...James Hill for The New York Times
Why do you believe that underwriting is the key to driving out the coal industry?
Even if all the insurers say, “We don’t invest in coal anymore,” even if all the banks say, “We don’t invest in coal anymore,” there is still private individuals who say, “I’ll give you the money for coal.” Whereas on the insurance side, if you don’t have the insurance, you will have no financing — whether it’s private, public, from an insurer, from an asset manager, whatever.
And so we said, “Look, by bringing the majority of this market together, because [there’s] only let’s say 12, 15 actors globally who do this business — if we get together and if we agree on principles of what to do we still insure and what do we not insure anymore — without violating any antitrust rules — we will create a very powerful coalition to really drive this market out.
There are a couple ways in which the government could step in on this issue. A regulator could integrate capital charges for unsustainable investments. Or it could take a taxonomy approach for green activities like it has in the European Union. Should, or will, that happen in the U.S.?
Look at other areas like diversity quotas. Why have they arrived? Because companies haven’t done their job early enough. Being proactive and making sure that there is enough diversity on their boards, on their management teams and so on. And so I’m always a believer of the basis that you don’t need government if you have sorted it out yourself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen. But in this case, we are still early enough I think, to sort it out ourselves.
You’ve met personally with executives of major insurers to encourage them to sign the pledge. When you talk to them, what is their biggest concern?
It’s a question of, if I exclude customers, what does it mean for my relationships, what does it mean for my business. Because it is true, all those industries in question on the insurance side, the underwriting side, are very large customers.
Mr. Buberl has been Chief Executive Officer and director of AXA since September of 2016.
Credit...James Hill for The New York Times
When we went out of coal investment — I had a whole speech from my investment team. “Are you crazy? You will never find investments that have the same yield.” When I look now, five years later, we have allocated over $20 billion — our aim is now to go even further to $24, $25 billion — we have allocated that money into green investments. The yield is not so different to what we would have seen in the coal sector. The same was true on the underwriting side. We had to let go of a significant amount of business by not ensuring corporate use anymore. But have you seen any dip in our gross numbers? No, you haven’t.
The DealBook Newsletter Our columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and his Times colleagues help you make sense of major business and policy headlines — and the power-brokers who shape them. Get it sent to your inbox.
In 20 years, will major insurance companies be underwriting coal?
You don’t need to wait 20 years for that.
Will they be out in five years?
No, but if you take us: We are completely out of coal in O.E.C.D [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] by 2030 and non-O.E.C.D. by 2040. I do believe that also, in non-O.E.C.D. countries, the pressure is rising every day. So those dates will probably be brought forward. I would say in 10 years from now, you will be mostly out.
Lauren Hirsch joined the New York Times from CNBC in 2020, covering business, policy and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Hirsch studied comparative literature at Cornell University and has an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. @laurenshirsch
B.C.’s sick leave law will provide workers five paid days minimum starting Jan. 1
Labour Minister Harry Bains says the five paid days are fair and were determined following a consultation period that generated 60,000 responses.
Author of the article:
The Canadian Press
Publishing date:
Nov 25, 2021 •
Article content
VICTORIA — Workers in British Columbia will be eligible for “fair and balanced” sick leave pay that provides a minimum of five days a year starting Jan. 1, Labour Minister Harry Bains said Wednesday.
Advertisement
Article content
The new sick leave policy affects all workers covered by the province’s Employment Standards Act, including part-time workers, he said.
“I firmly believe that no worker should have to choose to go to work sick or stay home and lose wages,” said Bains. “But about half of the B.C. workforce does not have paid sick leave. The workers without coverage are usually the most vulnerable in our society, those in low-paying jobs, often women and racialized people.”
The government says more than one million workers in B.C. don’t have paid sick leave.
Bains said a government consultation period gathering feedback on sick leave options of three, five or 10 days generated 60,000 responses.
“We promised to listen to everyone’s perspective and develop a fair and balanced regulation,” said Bains. “Not surprising, some have called for three days or less while others have asked for 10 days or more. Five days is a sustainable solution based on the challenges faced by many sectors.”
Advertisement
Article content
He said employer and employee data gathered during the survey from within and outside of Canada found the average amount of sick time workers used during a year amounted to 4.8 days.
But Laird Cronk, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, said the B.C. government’s data indicates that while workers may take an average of 4.8 sick days annually, countries like New Zealand, Australia, Sweden and Germany have 10 days or more.
“That’s really what it takes to make sure throughout the entire year workers have the economic ability to stay home when they are sick,” Cronk said in an interview.
Unifor president Jerry Dias said in a statement the B.C. government’s five-day policy is a “failure in leadership,” citing the federal government’s pledge to deliver 10 paid sick days for workers regulated by Ottawa.
Advertisement
Article content
In May, the province gave all workers up to three days of paid sick leave because of COVID-19 until Dec. 31.
Bains said the pandemic showed that when workers do not have paid sick leave, many end up going to work, which hurts co-workers and employers.
He said during a two-month period when pandemic cases surged, workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 led to the shutdowns of almost 200 businesses in the region covered by Fraser Health.
Surrey Board of Trade president Anita Huberman said her organization supports the five-day program because it protects employees and their employers.
“Your workforce is your most important asset,” she said. “That’s what the Surrey Board of Trade believes. Too many Canadians are going to work sick. Why, because they have no other choice.”
Advertisement
Article content
Fiona Famulak, president of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, said the concern with permanent paid sick leave is that it will create additional financial challenges for small businesses at a time when they are trying to recover from the pandemic.
“Unlike the temporary paid sick days program, the cost for permanent paid sick leave will be born solely by employers,” she said in a statement. “We have called, and continue to call, on the B.C. government to find ways to reduce costs for B.C. businesses.”
The Opposition B.C. Liberals said the New Democrats are downloading the costs of sick leave onto employers, while the Green party said the government should match countries with leave provisions of 10 days or more.
Extinction Rebellion defends David Suzuki's pipeline comments
The group insists that Suzuki's comments were not controversial, and are indicative of what is to come if the climate crisis is not addressed
Author of the article:
Mike Raptis
Publishing date:
Nov 23, 2021 •
Article content
Extinction Rebellion Canada is defending the comments made by Vancouver environmentalist David Suzuki, who said on Saturday that “there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
Advertisement
Article content
In a release issued late Tuesday night, the environmental group insists that Suzuki’s comments were not controversial, and are indicative of what is to come if governments do not address the climate crisis.
“Not only will pipelines be blown up, but we can be certain that world leaders will be put on trial for treason or worse — be killed,” said National Action & Strategy Coordinator Zain Haq. “Although Extinction Rebellion activists are non-violent, we cannot control the actions of those outside of this movement who may commit acts of violence.
“The same goes for the media. When the Canadian public realizes that the press has been misleading them about how the climate emergency is being addressed, you can be sure that some people will become violent.”
Suzuki was later asked whether or not he supported the bombing of pipelines and said, “of course not.”
On Monday, the David Suzuki Foundation distanced itself from his comments , saying Suzuki “speaks on his own behalf — not for the David Suzuki Foundation.”
Advertisement
Article content
David Suzuki co-founded the non profit in 1990 with his wife Tara Cullis as a solutions-based response to tackle the environmental crisis.
Extinction Rebellion says it is an international grassroots movement that uses non-violent direct action to mobilize the public to drive systemic change in the face of the climate and ecological crisis.
The group has occupied bridges in the Vancouver area, as well as intersections. 18 climate activists from the group were arrested last month for blocking a key intersection that leads to Vancouver International Airport.
Deere & Co.'s non-union workers are getting more money, too.
Following the end of a five-week-long strike by the United Auto Workers on Nov. 17 that resulted in pay bumps and enhanced retirement benefits for the union employees, the company announced Tuesday that its salaried staff will receive 8% raises.
"The future success of our company depends on our ability to retain and recruit the best talent in an increasingly competitive global marketplace," spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann said in a statement. "To do that, we’re committed to putting every one of our employees in a better economic position."
When the UAW's production and warehouse employees went on strike Oct. 14, the company sent salaried staff like supervisors, engineers and financial services employees on to the floors.
The company particularly focused on staffing the warehouses to keep parts shipments flowing to farmers with broken machines. Deere also put salaried workers in factories to make some higher-margin products, such as sprayers at the Ankeny plant.
The union workers returned to their old jobs as early as 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 17, about 2 1/2 hours after the UAW International announced that 61% of members ratified a new six-year contract with the company.
The contract gives workers an immediate 10% raise. Hourly wages for workers on the low end of the pay scale increased from $20.12 to $22.13. Among workers on the high end, such as electricians, the hourly pay went up from $30.04 to $33.05.
Deere also promised 5% wage increases in 2023 and 2025, as well as quarterly cost of living adjustments, an old element of the UAW contracts that the union conceded under the last deal in 2015.
The union received a better offer from the company after 90% of members rejected the first contract Oct. 10. At the time, Deere offered immediate 5% and 6% pay bumps, depending on the position. The company offered 3% increases in 2023 and 2025.
Workers received an $8,500 ratification bonus under the contract approved last week, up from an offer of $3,500 on Oct. 10.
Driven by high corn prices and a period of time in which many farmers needed to replace machines, Deere executives told analysts in August that they expect the company to earn $5.7 to $5.9 billion in the fiscal year — 62% above 2013 profits, Deere's previous record year.
The 10,100-worker strike across Illinois, Iowa and Kansas disrupted production. Executives will offer their first peek into how the walkout impacted Deere's bottom line Wednesday morning, when the company releases its annual report and shows how close it came to hitting its previous profit target.
But Wednesday's release will only show part of the strike's financial impact on the company. The walkout started with only two weeks left in the fiscal quarter.
Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com,
Deere climbs as end of monthlong strike eases sales concern
Joe Deaux, Bloomberg News
Workers hold signs during a strike outside the John Deere Regional Parts Distribution facility in McDonough, Georgia, U.S., on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. , Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg
Deere & Co. shares climbed the most in two weeks with the end of a monthlong strike at its U.S. plants easing concern about the company’s ability to supply farmers with equipment.
Late Wednesday, union workers United Auto Workers members voted 61 per cent to 39 per cent to ratify a new labor contract with the company, putting an end to their first strike since 1986. The deal will increase pay and boost retirement benefits over a six-year agreement. The union said the work stoppage “captured the mood of a nation” wanting fair wages and benefits for workers. The company said in a message that operations would resume Wednesday night with many reporting to the third shift.
The strike had thrown several of Deere’s businesses into turmoil. Software engineers and computer programmers left their desks to assemble sprayers and combines in manufacturing plants instead. Serious delays in replacement parts threatened farmers, who rely on functional machines and speedy repairs at the peak of harvest. Used farm equipment prices were hitting record highs amid shortages.
“What it does, ultimately, is reduce the uncertainty that was starting to emanate into the market,” Larry De Maria, an analyst at William Blair & Co., said in a phone interview. “Deere’s farming customers are clearly in need of parts and new equipment to be delivered as soon as possible.”
Deere shares rose as much as 3.5 per cent, the most since Nov. 1, and were up 2.2 per cent at 12:19 p.m. in New York. Deere outperformed the broader market, with the S&P 500 Index up 0.3 per cent.
The union action set “a new standard for workers not only within the UAW but throughout the country,” Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW, said in a statement.
The agreement brings an end to the work stoppage that took some 10,000 workers off the job for just over a month. The last time Deere workers picketed 35 years ago, it lasted 163 days. The strike is part of a broader worker movement in the U.S. with employees successfully pushing for higher compensation as the economy emerges from a pandemic-induced slump.
The deal, which follows two other failed ones, is a six-year contract that will increase worker wages by 10 per cent in the first year and then 5 per cent in the third and fifth years. A 3 per cent bonus will be paid in the even years of the contract based on prior-year earnings, and each worker will receive an US$8,500 signing bonus.
There are still no adjustments to a contentious two-tier compensation system, in which workers hired after 1997 receive less generous benefits than those who started working there earlier.
The strike was squeezing the company. Last week it sent an email to gauge the interest of even more salaried information technology workers to volunteer in factories if the situation continued.
“It says a lot about the new determination and solidarity of John Deere workers that they have forced the company - and top UAW leaders and negotiators - to return to the bargaining table time and again to resolve the strike with a better contract,” said historian Nelson Lichtenstein, who directs U.C. Santa Barbara’s Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy.
Nearly 30 years ago, Deere’s historic Midwest rival, Caterpillar, almost destroyed a union that picketed during a bitter battle.
“Those days seem past,” Lichtenstein said.
Tectonic shift in Southern Ocean caused dramatic ancient cooling event
New research has shed light on a sudden cooling event 34 million years ago that contributed to formation of the Antarctic ice sheets.
High-resolution simulations of ocean circulations show that the tectonic opening of Southern Ocean seaways caused a fundamental reorganization of ocean currents, heat transport and initiated a strong Antarctic surface water cooling of up to 5°C.
The study, conducted by an international team of researchers from the University of Leicester, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Norway, is published in Nature Communications. The results shed new light on a 50-year-old question about how and why the Antarctic ice sheets formed.
Dr. Katharina Hochmuth, International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Research Associate at the University of Leicester, and co-author of the study, said, "In the last week and in the lead up to COP26, we have heard a lot about modeling projections on our planet's future. In this paper, we show that it is crucial to include atmospheric CO2 conditions as well as appropriate geographies from the past to successfully model changing climates.
"A 600m change in the depth of an ocean gateway can cause a dramatic drop in coastal temperatures, and therefore, the fate of the Antarctic ice sheet."
The last land bridges connecting Antarctica with its surrounding continents, Australia and South America, broke off about 34 million years ago. This tectonic event did not only leave the polar continent isolated by other land masses; it also led to a major reorganization of ocean currents in the Southern Ocean.
A circumpolar current started to flow, preventing subpolar gyres from transporting warm surface waters to the Antarctic coast. At the same time, ice sheets started to build on Antarctica and the Earth underwent one of its most fundamental climate change events, transitioning from warm Greenhouse to cold Icehouse conditions.
The role of the opening seaways in the formation of Antarctic ice sheets versus decreasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, has always been strongly debated by scientists.
The study was led by Dr. Isabel Sauermilch, researcher at the University of Tasmania and Utrecht University, and shows that these events were much more closely linked than previously thought.
Dr. Sauermilch added, "When we started this project, I was surprised to see how much high-resolution matters in an ocean model. These simulations are sensitive to minimal changes in the depth of these seaways of a few hundred meters and react very differently than their low-resolution counterparts.
"On top, they resolve 'eddies,' turbulent ocean currents that are smaller than 100 km and which are crucial for the accurate temperature distribution in the Southern Ocean."
The authors' high-resolution ocean simulations show that only a small deepening of the Southern Ocean seaways by a few hundred meters led to a dramatic cooling of the Antarctic surface waters. Together with declining atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, this tectonic event played a crucial role in the first glaciation of Antarctica and in the Earth's transition into an Icehouse world.
The results presented in this study demonstrate the importance of tectonically-driven processes in the changing oceanographic and climatic conditions of the Southern Ocean.
Understanding these ancient climate stages is crucial in order to validate climate models that predict future climate conditions and to understand how the climate might behave under higher atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations.Current climate model simulations overestimate future sea-level rise
More information:Isabel Sauermilch et al, Gateway-driven weakening of ocean gyres leads to Southern Ocean cooling,Nature Communications(2021).DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26658-1
Canada considers tightening greenhouse gas targets for international shipping
By Bob Weber The Canadian Press Posted November 23, 2021 WATCH: Canadian company comes up with green solution for ships – Nov 5, 2021
Canada is considering an international proposal that would double the ambition of its greenhouse gas emissions targets from shipping — a plan observers say the country seems ready to support.
A committee of the International Maritime Organization, which sets the rules for the high seas, is debating a resolution this week that would set a net-zero target for all international shipping by 2050. The current target is to halve emissions by that date.
On Friday, Transport Canada officials briefed stakeholders on the positions its representatives would take at the meeting.
“In that stakeholder discussion, Canada said it would be supporting the resolution,” said Andrew Dumbrille of the World Wildlife Fund, who was in the briefing.
Canada, which has an overall target of net-zero by 2050, also spoke in favour of the resolution Monday as the meeting opened, Dumbrille said.
“They made a very clear and unambiguous statement,” he said.
Transport Canada wouldn’t confirm its position while the meeting was ongoing.
Supply chains under scrutiny due to climate impacts – Nov 8, 2021
“Canada reiterated its commitment to reducing emissions from international shipping, in line with the Paris Agreement,” spokesperson Sau Sau Liu said in an email. “Sending a clear and strong signal on ambition is essential as the full decarbonization of the sector will require significant efforts and investments.”
The resolution, proposed by a group of island states threatened by sea level rise, is expected to be discussed until the committee meetings close on Friday.
Dumbrille said decisions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee are usually made by consensus, but this resolution is contentious enough that it may go to a vote.
“It’s a very heated debate,” he said.
He said members including the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom have been sympathetic to the resolution.
Miako Ushio of the Shipping Federation of Canada said industry supports getting to net zero as soon as possible. She also said it’s important that regulations on the issue are international, rather than a patchwork from country to country.
Getting there, however, won’t be easy, she said.
“We need to acknowledge that enormous innovation, and investment in research and development are needed before carbon-neutral fuels and technologies will be ready for deployment by the oceangoing fleet on a global scale. Although zero emissions by 2050 are necessary to align with Paris Agreement goals, at this point it would be an aspirational target.”
Although shipping represents less than three per cent of global emissions, they increased by 10 per cent between 2012 and 2018.
“It’s quite a big deal,” said Dumbrille. “Action on climate change is a global concern and the target at the IMO has been considered weak for years.”
The language in the resolution is non-binding, saying only that current targets are inadequate and net-zero is “essential.”
Dumbrille said even that’s an advance, and would start to bring shipping in line with what other economic sectors are already pledging.
“When the world is marching toward zero by 2050 in other sectors, for the IMO to be saying 50 per cent is woefully inadequate.”
FULL EMPLOYMENT BY ANY OTHER NAME
Jobless claims hit 52-yr low
US jobless claims hit 52-year low after seasonal adjustments
The Canadian Press - Nov 24, 2021 / 9:21 am | Story: 352582
Photo: The Canadian Press
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year's coronavirus recession.
Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. But seasonal adjustments around the Thanksgiving holiday contributed significantly to the bigger-than-expected drop. Unadjusted, claims actually ticked up by more than 18,000 to nearly 259,000.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy.
Since topping 900,000 in early January, the applications have fallen steadily toward and now fallen below their prepandemic level of around 220,000 a week. Claims for jobless aid are a proxy for layoffs.
Overall, 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 13, down slightly from the week before.
“Overall, expect continued volatility in the headline figures, but the trend remains very slowly lower," Contingent Macro Advisors wrote in a research note.
Until Sept. 6, the federal government had supplemented state unemployment insurance programs by paying an extra payment of $300 a week and extending benefits to gig workers and to those who were out of work for six months or more. Including the federal programs, the number of Americans receiving some form of jobless aid peaked at more than 33 million in June 2020.
The job market has staged a remarkable comeback since the spring of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close or cut hours and kept many Americans at home as a health precaution. In March and April last year, employers slashed more than 22 million jobs.
But government relief checks, super-low interest rates and the rollout of vaccines combined to give consumers the confidence and financial wherewithal to start spending again. Employers, scrambling to meet an unexpected surge in demand, have made 18 million new hires since April 2020 and are expected to add another 575,000 this month. Still, the United States remains 4 million short of the jobs it had in February 2020.
Companies now complain that they can't find workers to fill job openings, a near-record 10.4 million in September. Workers, finding themselves with bargaining clout for the first time in decades, are becoming choosier about jobs; a record 4.4 million quit in September, a sign they have confidence in their ability to find something better.