Thai Cannabis Policy U-Turn a ‘Victory’ for People, Key Party Says

By Patpicha TanakasempipatJuly 25, 2024 

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s move to shelve a plan to re-criminalize cannabis in favor of tightening regulations is a “people’s victory,” according to the leader of a party that’s widely credited for spearheading a landmark decriminalization two years ago.

The government will consider several draft legislations after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin earlier this week gave in to demands to withdraw the plan to classify cannabis as a narcotic again, Anutin Charnvirakul, a deputy prime minister and the leader of Bhumjaithai Party, told reporters on Thursday.

“This is a people’s victory, not ours,” said Anutin, whose vocal disagreement with the premier on how to regulate the nascent industry had created tensions within the government.

Among the bills under consideration are Bhumjaithai’s version that was submitted to parliament last September and another draft proposed by former public health minister Cholnan Srikaew to the cabinet earlier this year, Anutin said.

Thailand’s cannabis industry has been operating in a legal vacuum after a military-backed government decriminalized marijuana in June 2022 before lawmakers could agree on how to regulate it. Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, which made cannabis decriminalization the centerpiece of its 2019 election campaign, couldn’t get its proposal passed before the 2023 general election.

The decriminalization led to the opening of about 8,000 dispensaries across the country and rampant recreational use in the absence of an explicit ban.

Srettha’s directive for a comprehensive law to control the industry has come as welcome news for the thousands of growers, dispensaries and users in Thailand, who were bracing for weed to be once again classified as a narcotics.

A new law is still likely to clamp down on the liberal use of cannabis and limit it to medical and commercial use. Officially, all major Thai political parties back cannabis only for medical purposes and as a cash crop that can boost farmers’ income.

It remains to be seen what lawmakers will agree on in regulating the industry. Cholnan’s draft sought to explicitly outlaw recreational use of marijuana, but Bhumjaithai’s version has been criticized for not going far enough to provide a safeguard against weed addictions among the youth.

Anutin said he was confident that a legislation will secure parliament approval. “I’m confident in my prime minister,” he said. “He already gave a command for it to happen.”

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Kenya’s New Finance Boss Now Has to Push Policies He Opposed

By David Herbling and Helen Nyambura
July 26, 2024 

Smoke in the Central Business District after police dispersed protesters against the proposed government tax bill in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

 (Kang-Chun Cheng/Photographer: Kang-Chun Cheng/Bl)

(Bloomberg) -- John Mbadi, the accountant that Kenya’s president nominated to head the Treasury, may lack international standing but analysts reckon he’s probably the right political choice to push through unpopular tax measures.

Mbadi is one of four opposition members President William Ruto picked when reorganizing his cabinet in a bid to quell deadly anti-government protests sparked by the tax plans.

All four represent large ethnic communities that are Ruto’s biggest critics. And while the move is unlikely to pacify the young, urban and mainly educated protesters — who’ve criticized the history of ethnic tensions in Kenyan politics and refer to themselves as tribeless — it got a thumbs-up from analysts.

“While some may argue Mbadi does not have the international financial credibility to handle the post, his local political pedigree is excellent and will do well to shepherd through parliament a new fiscal bill, albeit more inflationary than expected,” said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, chief analyst at Damina Advisors LLP.

The unrest that caused the deaths of at least 54 people forced Ruto to withdraw a raft of contentious tax measures that would have raised more than $2 billion in additional revenue. Ruto subsequently cut spending by about 3% and widened the fiscal deficit to reflect the lower income.

Mbadi, who’s chairman of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party, has been a lawmaker since 2008. In the National Assembly, the 53-year-old often criticizes the government over its borrowing.

“His submissions to parliament suggest he has little tolerance for high debt expense, and has been at pains to recommend that Kenya raise the share of concessional debt in its portfolio relative to expensive commercial borrowing,” said Michael Kafe, an economist at Barclays Plc. “This is all in line with the Ruto administration’s ongoing plans to deal with the country’s debt challenges, and his appointment may help bring some new ideas.”

Poisoned Chalice

By appointing him, Ruto’s handed a poisoned chalice to the opposition. Mbadi will have to implement the president’s manifesto, which he opposed during tightly contested elections in 2022.

Ruto’s so-called Bottom-Up economic model seeks to channel resources to industries that can generate the most jobs and drive growth. Pushing through the president’s pet projects — an unpopular low-cost housing program and plans to roll out a universal health program — are now Mbadi’s issues to deal with.

In December, the ODM party obtained a court order freezing the planned privatization of state-owned companies that the government has earmarked to raise cash for budget spending. A judgment on whether the sale can proceed is due later on Friday.

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Mbadi’s priority should be stabilizing the budget, Barclays wrote in a note to clients. In a budget last month, the previous Treasury secretary placed the fiscal deficit at 3.3% of gross domestic product. While changes to financing plans have since pushed that to 4.2%, the gap is still smaller than an estimated 5.6% in the past fiscal year.

“His position on implementing fiscal reforms through tax hikes will be scrutinized, having previously been a strong critic of tax increases,” BancTrust & Co. investment bank said in a research note.

Pain Points

Handling Kenya’s debt will be another pain point. During the election, his coalition party’s presidential candidate Odinga pledged to restructure and re-profile Kenya’s debt stock.

In the past fiscal year, Kenya spent about three-quarters of its tax income on repaying debt, which the International Monetary Fund classifies as at high risk of distress. The nation is at the tail end of a $3.6 billion IMF financing program that requires it to accelerate domestic revenue collection and curb borrowing. The Treasury had indicated it may seek a fresh deal.

Mbadi, a proponent for concessional loans, will have to see through the economic belt-tightening conditions that accompany such programs, while finding ways to generate about $5 billion for overdue pension payments and government bills.

He’ll also have to ensure a cost-of-living crisis doesn’t boil over. A year ago, Odinga staged paralyzing protests against the rising prices of basics such as food. Ruto also relinquished the energy ministry to the opposition, transferring the headache posed by constantly climbing fuel prices to his erstwhile rivals.

The shilling has lost more than 3% against the dollar in the six weeks of unrest. The yield on Kenya 2031 eurobonds is at 10.8%, the highest level since it was issued five months ago.

You can follow Bloomberg’s reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here.

(Updates with court ruling on privatization in 10th paragraph.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 101

Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million

By Sammy Hudes, 

The Canadian Press

July 25, 2024 


Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.

The class-action cases were brought against a group of companies that includes Loblaw and the Weston companies, Metro, Walmart Canada, Giant Tiger, Sobeys and bakery supplier Canada Bread Co.

They alleged the defendants conspired to fix the price of packaged bread in Canada, and were filed on behalf of all residents of Canada who purchased packaged bread after Nov. 1, 2001.

In a press release, George Weston said it would pay $247.5 million in cash, while Loblaw would pay $252.5 million, made up of $156.5 million in cash and credit for $96 million previously paid to customers by Loblaw under the Loblaw Card program.

Loblaw chairman Galen Weston, who is also chairman and chief executive of George Weston, said “this behaviour should never have happened.”

“On behalf of the Weston group of companies, we are sorry for the price-fixing behaviour we discovered and self-reported in 2015,” he said in a statement.

“We have the privilege of serving Canadians from coast to coast. That privilege needs to be earned each and every day. Reaching a settlement on this matter was the right thing to do in response to previous behaviour that did not meet our values and ethical standards.”

Loblaw president and CEO Per Bank added the grocer would seek to “earn (Canadians’) trust whenever and wherever they choose to shop with us.”

“We will continue to work hard to deliver on that commitment,” he said in the press release.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs said the payout, subject to court approval, is the largest antitrust settlement in Canadian history.

“This is a significant milestone in Canadian class action history and sends a strong message that conduct that harms consumers will not be tolerated,” said Jay Strosberg, managing partner of Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP, in a separate press release.

The lawyers said their focus will now shift to preparing for trial in the ongoing class actions against Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger.

The plaintiffs accused the companies of participating in a 14-year industry-wide price-fixing conspiracy between 2001 and 2015 leading to an artificial increase in packaged bread prices.

The Competition Bureau began investigating alleged bread price-fixing in January 2016. Weston Foods and Loblaw, both subsidiaries of George Weston at the time, had previously admitted their participation in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” and received immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operating.

At least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread during the 16-year conspiracy, the bureau alleged in court documents in 2018.

In June 2023, Canada Bread was fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing bread products under the Competition Act. The Competition Bureau called it the highest price-fixing fine ever imposed by a Canadian court.

In its statement of defence in the Ontario class action file last October, Canada Bread denied participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to fix the price of bread, and denied profiting from the alleged conspiracy or from the price increases it admitted to.

Metro submitted a statement of defence and cross-claim to the Ontario Superior Court late last year accusing Loblaw and George Weston of conspiring to implicate the rival grocer.

Metro denied being involved in bread price-fixing and accused the companies of trying to spread the blame across the industry and avoid public perception that Loblaw was the sole retailer involved in price-fixing.

Sobeys also filed a statement of defence and crossclaim in the class action and has said it was falsely implicated.

Walmart Canada has also denied conspiring to fix the price of bread or violating the Competition Act, while Giant Tiger said it did not participate or know about the alleged conspiracy.

With files from Rosa Saba

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2024.

Why Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Faces Hard Task ‘Coming For’ Labour

By Jacob ReidJuly 26, 2024 

(Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- When Brexit architect Nigel Farage announced he was standing for Reform UK in the July 4 general election, he was clear where his votes would come from. The Conservatives had betrayed the trust of voters, and “deserve to pay a price for that,” he said.

But after Reform took 14% of the vote, the populist leader adjusted his sights, with an eye to the next election in 2029: “We’re coming for Labour, be in no doubt,” he said.

Farage is “going to shake the tree and create chaos and havoc,” said Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, a professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics.

Nevertheless, Bloomberg analysis of the election results and interviews with voters in Northeast England, a region where Reform did well, suggest Farage may have maxed out on the party’s potential in traditionally Labour areas.

Factors weighing on the insurgent party include public perception that it’s a one-man band, Farage’s polarizing personality, and a policy program to shrink the state while Labour voters typically want more government investment in public services.

On the face of it, the bare statistics suggest Prime Minister Keir Starmer should take the threat seriously: Reform won just five constituencies in the House of Commons — but came second in another 98 — including 89 won by Labour. Moreover Farage now has a voice in Parliament, after finally winning a seat at the eighth attempt.

But drill down, and it’s less promising for Reform: In seats where they came second to Labour, the average margin was 25%, according to Bloomberg calculations. Farage’s party would likely need to chisel away more at Tory support — already at record low ebb in modern times — to make inroads into the governing party.

In interviews in Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and Gateshead, just two of the 25 voters Bloomberg spoke to who hadn’t voted for Reform said they’d consider doing so in the future. The other 23 said they’d never contemplate it.

Harry Stephenson, a Labour voter in Newcastle, described Farage as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Tom Smith — who didn’t vote — said “Farage is the last person I’d vote for.” In Gateshead, Green Party backer Keith Davidson dismissed the Reform leader as an “idiot.”

Those remarks are typical of the visceral reaction Farage provokes in many Britons, because of his role in the divisive Brexit referendum and his inflammatory anti-immigration rhetoric. Kelly Beard Golden, a Labour voter from South Shields said she thinks Reform UK is a party that attracts racist voters.

Yet Farage will need to win over those who didn’t vote Reform if he’s to encroach on Labour.

In the northeast, Reform came second in 18 of 27 seats, taking almost 20% of votes. That relative success is in part down to tapping into a sense of alienation among people in left-behind regions, according to Fiona Hill — a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former adviser to Donald Trump who hails from Bishop Auckland, a northeastern town where Reform polled well.

“We effectively live in two countries” divided by differing opportunities, Hill said by phone.

Key to Labour’s efforts to defuse Reform’s threat will be getting a handle on immigration. The Conservatives oversaw record levels of net immigration by legal routes — peaking at 764,000 in 2022 — and those arriving by small boat from France.

That made for a potent electoral boost for Reform: two thirds of their voters said it was their primary issue of concern, according to More In Common. Steven Averill, who works at a market in Newcastle, is a case in point, saying he voted Farage because he’d “sort out immigration.”

Hill said that places like Bishop Auckland may not have a large immigrant population, but there’s a perception that European migration to London has deprived northeasterners of opportunities to work in industries such as construction in the UK capital, while central government spending that might have gone to the region has instead been spent on services for the newcomers.

Mass “uncontrolled” immigration has increased demand for houses and therefore contributed to rising prices, according to Rhys Burriss, the Reform candidate in Bishop Auckland. “It’s on pages one, two and three of any economic textbook.”

Farage also taps into a sense that mainstream political parties have failed for decades to improve the lot of left-behind areas — a perception that also contributed to the Brexit vote.

“The Tories and Labour are all the same,” said Jane Dowling, a Reform voter who owns a sandwich shop near Newcastle’s quayside. “We’ve had Labour and Conservatives for god knows how many years and it’s killing us.”

Nevertheless, if Reform is really to pose a challenge to Labour, it needs to broaden its appeal by showing its policies are viable. Reform’s support this month is little more than the 12.6% of votes Farage’s UK Independence Party win in 2015 — illustrating how little his electoral coalition has changed since then.

In 2024, Reform’s election manifesto promised £140 billion ($182 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases — sums that “do not add up,” according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Farage’s views in other areas — he’s advocated for more private involvement in the National Health Service and blamed the West for provoking Russia — also dim his appeal in a country where health care free at the point of use is totemic.

Reform also lacks the party infrastructure needed to run a full-scale election campaign that mobilizes voters. During this year’s campaign, activists were filmed making racial slurs, some candidates were not properly vetted, and one even had to deny being imaginary.

“This is a party that has functioned essentially as a one-man band, with very little ground game,” said Eoin Sheehan, analyst at Redfield & Wilton.

While Farage has said he intends to leading Reform through to the next election, with ambitions to become prime minister, he was already absent from Parliament last week to be in Milwaukee for the Republican Party convention.

Perhaps the biggest danger to Labour is if Reform’s fortunes head in the other direction. Bloomberg analysis using Focaldata figures suggests 68% of Reform’s backers in 2024 voted Tory in 2019. If all went back, the Conservatives could reclaim 101 Labour seats.

Ultimately, Starmer’s best defense is delivery: he’s pledged to stimulate growth by getting Britain building. If he can do that while slashing immigration and cutting NHS waiting lists, he may go a long way to addressing the grievances fueling Reform’s success.

“If the economy improves under Labour, and if public services improve under Labour, it almost doesn’t matter who they are trying to win votes from because they will get more votes,” said Maria Sobolewska, a politics professor at the University of Manchester. “The fundamental truth of electoral politics is that voters will reward a successful incumbent.”

--With assistance from Michael Ovaska, Andre Tartar and Jeremy Diamond.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Biden stresses urgency of Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal in meeting with Netanyahu

President raises humanitarian crisis in Gaza, need to remove any obstacles to flow of aid and restoring basic services for those in need, says White House

Servet Gunerigok |26.07.2024 -  TRT/AA

US President Joe Biden (R) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at the White House in Washington DC, United States on July 25, 2024.

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden emphasized the need to close remaining gaps and finalize a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said Thursday.

During the meeting at the presidential mansion, the two leaders discussed developments in Gaza and ongoing negotiations on the cease-fire and hostage release deal in detail, it said in a statement.

"President Biden expressed the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza.”

Biden "also raised the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the need to remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restoring basic services for those in need, and the critical importance of protecting civilian lives during military operations,” it added.

"President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis," said the statement.

The White House visit is Netanyahu's first since Biden assumed office in 2021 amid repeated rifts between the allies. But international pressure for a cease-fire to end the bloodshed and destruction in Gaza has continued to mount as the death toll rapidly approaches 40,000.

The Israeli prime minister also met with Vice President Kamala Harris, during which she said she expressed concern about the situation in the Gaza Strip.

"I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there, with over 2 million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity," Harris told reporters after the closed-door meeting with Netanyahu.

The meeting came a day after Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress, where he claimed that the war in Gaza has "one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare."

Meanwhile, the war has badly dragged on Biden's favorability among Democrats, and if he is able to secure a cease-fire, that would be a boon for Harris as she mounts her own White House bid after the president chose to step aside and endorsed her to succeed him.

UNRWA

Israel parliament votes to label UN relief agency a terror organisation

July 22, 2024 

Palestinians and UN workers examine the destroyed makeshift tents and shelters after Israeli attack hits a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, killing and injuring many in Nuseirat Refugee Camp of Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 15, 2024. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]


The Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval on Monday to a bill that declares the main United Nations relief organisation for Palestinians a terrorist organisation and proposes to sever relations with the body, Reuters reports.

The vote against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is the latest step in an Israeli push against the Agency, which Israeli leaders have accused of collaborating with the Hamas Movement in Gaza.

The bill was approved in a first reading and will be returned to the foreign affairs and defence committee for further deliberation, the Knesset information service said.

The bill’s sponsor, Yulia Malinovsky, was quoted as describing UNRWA as a “fifth column within Israel”.

UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but relations have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded.

“It’s another attempt in a wider campaign to dismantle the Agency,” UNRWA spokesperson, Juliette Touma, said. “Such steps are unheard of in the history of the United Nations.”

Israel has said hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of terrorist groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but has yet to provide evidence to a UN-appointed review.

Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

Several donor countries halted funding to UNRWA following the Israeli accusations but many have since reversed the decision, including Britain, which said last week it would resume funding.

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli vote, and Hussein Al-Sheikh, a senior ally of Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, called on the international community to resist attempts to dissolve the Agency.

Australia imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers over violent assaults against Palestinians

Australia’s foreign minister said the violence includes beatings, sexual assault and torture and imposed financial and travel sanctions on the settlers.

The New Arab Staff
25 July, 2024


Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong called on Israel to "recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community" [Getty]


Australia’s foreign minister has announced that the country is imposing financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli settlers who have violently assaulted Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Penny Wong, the foreign minister, said the violence included beatings, sexual assault and torture resulting in serious injury and in some cases death and urged the Israeli government to "recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community".

She added that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law in her statement made on Thursday.

"The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities," she said.

"We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution."


The move by the Australian government comes after Britain, the United States, Canada and Japan sanctioned some Israeli settlers in response to the violence in the West Bank earlier this week.

Israel's embassy in Australia said the country condemned acts of violence against Palestinian communities.

"Israel is a state of law and will work to bring the extreme minority involved to justice," a spokesperson said in an email.

However, at least 554 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank ever since the Gaza war began in October 7 without trial, with thousands more detained, held without trial, and abused in prison.

The death toll is over three times higher than in 2022.

The sanctions on the Israeli settlers come after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week demanded Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories as rapidly as possible and make reparations for its “internationally wrongful acts".

Coal Share of China's Power Output Drops to Record Low

By Tsvetana Paraskova -

 Jul 25, 2024,

The share of coal in China's power generation has fallen below 60% for the first time ever.

Energy think tank Ember: The share of clean energy in China's power output hit a record high of 37.3% in the first half of 2024.

Hydropower and solar output from solar and wind farms played a crucial role in the reduction of coal-fired power generation in China.


Despite continued growth in coal-fired power generation, China reached a momentous milestone in clean energy in the first half of the year, as rising hydropower, solar, and wind output pushed down the share of coal in power generation to below 60% for the first time ever.

While it is too early to toast a successful Chinese energy transition, the decline in coal's share—largely helped by soaring hydropower after two years of drought—is the latest chapter in a trend in recent years. China's share of clean power has been rising, while the share of fossil fuels has been shrinking over the past decade.

The share of clean energy in China's power output hit a record high of 37.3% in the first half of 2024, according to data from energy think tank Ember cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.

Meanwhile, the share of fossil fuels fell to 62.7%, down from around 65% throughout last year. 

Why Coal Share is Falling

Of the fossil fuels share, coal held a 59.6% share of total Chinese power generation. That's very high compared to the world average, but a record-low share for China. It is the first time coal has held a share of below 60% of China's total electricity output.

Certainly, the decline in coal's share has been partly due to soaring output from solar farms and higher wind power generation. But it is hydropower that likely played the biggest role in the falling share of coal in China's total electricity output.

Following nearly two years of droughts and meager rainfalls in 2022 and 2023, heavy rains in the spring filled water reservoirs and lifted the capacity utilization of China's massive hydro dams.

China has the biggest hydropower capacity in the world, at a total of 425 gigawatts (GW), including the world's biggest dam, the Three Gorges. Even in 2022, when the drought shrank hydropower output, the country sourced 15% of its electricity from that segment, according to BloombergNEF. This was more than the share of wind and solar in China's energy mix.

Coal demand for power generation in China is set to be lower than previously thought due to high rainfall boosting hydropower production, China's Coal Transportation and Distribution Association said in May.

In contrast, during the first half of 2023, coal production, coal imports, and coal-fired electricity generation jumped and offset a significant decline in power output at China's massive hydropower capacity due to insufficient rainfall and drought. Rainfall in the Yunnan province in China dropped by more than 60% yearly during the first four months of 2023. Renewables helped to partially offset the crippled supply from hydropower generation last year, but coal saved the day.

This year, double-digit growth in China's hydropower output pushed coal's share of electricity generation down to below 60%.

Coal-fired output continued to rise, as did all other power sources amid growing electricity demand in China. But the rise in coal generation was outpaced by much higher increases in hydropower and solar output.

For example, thermal power generation increased by 3.6% in January to May compared to the same period of 2023, per data from China's National Bureau of Statistics. At the same time, hydropower generation jumped by 14.9%, and solar power output surged by 25.3%.

In May 2024 alone, clean energy generated a record-high 44% share of China's electricity, pushing coal's share down to a record low of 53%, despite continued growth in demand, Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), wrote earlier this month.

Renewables are Rising

Solar and wind combined saw a new record-high share, 23% in May, according to the analysis for Carbon Brief, based on official figures.

This compares with just a 7% share back in May 2016.

"Falling generation from fossil fuels point to a 3.6% drop in CO2 emissions from the power sector, which accounts for around two-fifths of China's total greenhouse gas emissions and has been the dominant source of emissions growth in recent years," Myllyvirta noted in the analysis.

As solar and wind capacity installations continue to set record highs, China has a chance to slow the growth in power sector emissions and even put them in decline by the end of decade, analysts say.

China continues to be the undisputed global leader in solar and wind capacity installations as it is currently constructing twice as much renewable power capacity as the rest of the world combined, think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said in a report earlier this month.

As many as 180 GW of utility-scale solar and another 159 GW of wind power are currently under construction in China—enough capacity to power all of South Korea, the authors of the research noted.

China now accounts for nearly two-thirds of all solar and wind power capacity in construction in the world. The second-largest capacity fleet under construction is in the United States, but at 40 GW, it is dwarfed by China.

Over the last year, China installed more solar than it had in the previous three years combined and more than the rest of the world combined for 2023, GEM said.

Still, while China is the world's largest investor in wind and solar, it is also investing heavily in hydropower and hydrocarbons as it pursues an "all of the above" approach to energy supply.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Jasper fire complex now estimated to be 36,000 hectares

The area of the wildfire complex is now estimated to be 36,000 hectares, though officials say mapping the fire has been challenging because of the fire, smoke, strong winds, and relocation of incident management personnel to Hinton.

Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
about 2 hours ago

Updated map of the Jasper Wildfire Complex.Jasper National Park

The area of the Jasper wildfire complex is now estimated to be 36,000 hectares, though officials from Jasper National Park say mapping the fire has been challenging because of fire activity, smoke, strong winds, and relocation of incident management personnel to Hinton. Smoke has also prevented aircraft from safely flying over the area and at times obscured satellite images.

Earlier today, officials revealed that the fires to the south and north of Jasper had been driven by high winds on Wednesday and merged. An updated map provided by Jasper National Park shows the estimated perimeter of the merged wildfire.

"Future maps will change when we can map the perimeter from the air. Because the perimeter of the two wildfires have met, we are now referring to wildfires in Jasper National Park as the Jasper Wildfire Complex," Jasper National Park officials shared in a wildfire update Thursday night.

The levels of fire activity within the 36,000 hectare complex varies widely, and there is no indication what infrastructure within that zone has been damaged, or to what extent damage has occurred.

"A complex refers to more than one wildfire. The Jasper Wildfire Complex now includes the combined North and South wildfires and the Utopia wildfire near Miette Hot Springs that started on July 19. The Utopia Wildfire was almost being held before the other wildfires started and will be reassessed on Friday, July 26," park officials said in the update.

Officials from Jasper National Park say today's 10-15 mm of rainfall and cooler temperatures have minimized fire activity and spread, and it is expected the precipitation will keep the fire conditions low for the next 72 hours.

"Crews will take advantage of this time to make as much progress as possible to suppress the wildfire and reduce further spread. While rain in Jasper is a welcome sight, warm weather is forecasted and will increase wildfire activity," park officials said.

The Jasper Wildfire Complex currently poses no danger to surrounding communities, according to the update.

Park officials say the Unified Command Post is now fully operating in Hinton, and the responsibility for the response is being shared between multiple agencies.

Wildfire engulfs parts of main town in Canada's Jasper National Park

by Jacob STONE with Anne-Marie PROVOST in Montreal

Map of western Canada showing active fires in the last 24 hours, as of July 25 at 0800 GMT.

An "out of control" wildfire has devoured up to half of the main town in western Canada's popular Jasper National Park, authorities said Thursday, with 400 foreign firefighters called in to help battle the blaze.

While the fire has so far caused no casualties, as many as 25,000 residents and tourists were evacuated from the area before the conflagration suddenly grew in size, overtaking firefighters.

"There is no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community," said Danielle Smith, Alberta province's premier, adding that damage to the town was estimated at between "30 to 50 percent."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called images of the damage "heartbreaking," and said his government had asked more than 400 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa to aid local authorities.

"Thank you for your courage, and for working non-stop to fight these wildfires," he said in a post on social media platform X.

A video circulating on social media showed the city of Jasper's streets covered in ash, with cars turned to charred carcasses and buildings reduced to rubble.

Mayor Richard Ireland wrote in an online post of a sense of destruction and loss that was "beyond description and comprehension."

On Thursday, firefighters were still hard at work in the town, with much-anticipated rain having "no significant impact" on the blaze, according to Jasper National Park authorities.

"Jasper National Park received a small amount of rain overnight. While the rain helped reduce fire activity slightly, it is not enough to have made a meaningful impact to the overall wildfire situation, which remains out of control," read a post on the park's X account.

In places, the flames reached a height of 120 meters (390 feet) and were moving at a speed of 15 meters per minute.

The fire entered the deserted town on Wednesday evening after advancing very rapidly late in the day, pushed by strong winds in a region hit by severe drought and which has seen record heat in recent days.

Jasper National Park, Canada's largest, is known for its mountains, glaciers, lakes and waterfalls, and attracts 2.5 million visitors every year.

'Devastation'

"Everyone has a total feeling of devastation," said Pattie Pavlov, a Jasper resident who drove for hours on Monday night to escape the advancing fire.

"Many people are feeling very helpless. Because there's nothing that we can do."

The general manager of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce said she had taken refuge with friends more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away from her home.

In tears, Alberta Premier Smith provided an assessment of the damage and recalled that "for many generations" the town and Jasper National Park were "a source of pride."

In recent days, numerous fires have been started by lightning in western Canada.

In Alberta province, more than 170 fires were active on Thursday, including more than a dozen in the Fort McMurray region, a hub of oil sands development.

British Columbia, Alberta's neighboring province, was grappling with 400 active fires, more than half of which were burning out of control.

Fifty-six fires have started in the last 24 hours alone, authorities said.

© 2024 AFP

Forest fire reaches town in Canada's Jasper National Park

 UK

VOTED TO END CHILD POVERTY

“A Disgrace” – unions & grassroots activists slam Starmer suspending the Seven

25th July 2024Leave a Commenton “A Disgrace” – unions & grassroots activists slam Starmer suspending the Seven

“This isn’t party management — it’s over the top diktat. The whip should be reinstated immediately.

Dave Ward, CWU General Secretary

By Bernie Torre, The Morning Star

Keir Starmer has been condemned by union leaders for suspending seven Labour MPs for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, as independents including Jeremy Corbyn vowed to work with them to offer a “real alternative.”

Leaders of fire, education, civil service, bakeries and mail unions hit out at the Prime Minister’s “disgraceful” and “completely wrong” decision as they joined thousands backing a grassroots petition calling for their reinstatement.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, ex-shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Zarah Sultana and Imran Hussain were kicked out of the Parliamentary Labour Party for six months for backing an SNP amendment calling for the cap to be scrapped on Tuesday night.

Ms Sultana, MP for Coventry South, suggested she was the victim of a “macho virility test” today.

“This isn’t a game … this is about people’s lives,” she added.

“I slept well knowing that I took a stand against child poverty that is affecting 4.3 million people in this country and it is the right thing to do and I am glad I did it.”

MP for Poplar and Limehouse Ms Begum said: “Labour’s own 11 affiliated unions support the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap; there’s popular support among the Labour Party membership to see the cap lifted.”

Ms Begum, who has been a victim of domestic abuse, added that it was “unacceptable” that Labour whips had offered her support on bills in that area if she voted with the government.

“It’s very heartbreaking to see such a draconian stand being taken by my party on the vote today which was not against the Labour Party plan or programme,” she said.

John McDonnell said: “The two-child cap on benefits was one of the cruellest policies of the Osborne era. The king’s speech amendment “was a plea to include this basic reform in the programme.”

He said Labour’s budget preparation “was under way quickly after the election; it is becoming increasingly apparent that the chancellor has left herself sufficient flexibility on estimates of growth and additional taxation measures to accommodate the measure.“

Former Labour leader Mr Corbyn and four other left independents signed a letter in solidarity to the seven MPs, saying the punishment was “beyond disgraceful” and “displays a shameful absence of moral leadership.”

Leading the calls for the MPs’ reinstatement, TUC president and Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “The UK is a rich country with ample resources for everyone to live a decent life.

“The seven MPs who voted to scrap the cap spoke for millions of trade union members and many Labour Party members. Keir Starmer must restore the whip to them immediately.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “It’s a shame that they haven’t agreed to get rid of the cap and I’m very proud of the MPs who have rebelled tonight.”

National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “There is no more important issue in this country than that of child poverty.

“What is deeply disappointing is that issue is now being reduced to some ‘Labour factional war.’ Every person I know who has actually worked with children thinks the two-child benefit cap should go at the earliest opportunity.”

Communication Workers Union general secretary Dave Ward said: “To see Labour suspending MPs who are fighting to end child poverty is completely wrong.

“This isn’t party management — it’s over the top diktat. The whip should be reinstated immediately.”

Public and Commercial Services general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Labour MPs should not be disciplined for fighting child poverty. Sign the petition to restore the whip.”

BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley added: “It’s disgraceful less than three weeks after telling the world ‘country before party’ that seven MPs have been suspended for taking that stance, we stand in solidarity with Apsana, Richard, Becky, John, Zarah and Ian and demand they have the whip reinstated.”

Labour national executive committee member Gemma Bolton added: “Keir Starmer and company still seem more obsessed with bashing the left than changing the country.”

The petition was initiated by the Labour Assembly Against Austerity and Arise — A Festival of Left Ideas.

Their spokesman Matt Willgress said: “These seven MPs were right to support a measure that would lift 300,000 children out of poverty — and would be a great start to undoing the social emergency caused by 14 years of failed Tory austerity.”

MPs voted 363 to 103 to reject the amendment after the Morning Star went to press on Tuesday night.

No Scottish Labour MPs joined the rebels despite their leader Anas Sarwar lobbying Sir Keir for the Tory-era cap, which restricts child welfare payments to the first two children born to most families, to be axed.

Today Sir Keir vowed to tackle child poverty “with the same vigour” as the last Labour government when challenged over his refusal to immediately axe the two-child benefit cap at his first Prime Minister’s Questions since entering No 10.

Defying the government over the King’s Speech “is a serious matter,” Downing Street said.

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• The petition can be signed here. Make sure to add your name in support of John McDonnell, Rebecca Long Bailey, Zarah Sultana, Richard Burgon, Apsana Begum, Ian Byrne and Imran Hussain.
• If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
• This article was originally published by The Morning Star on July 24th, 2024

'Shameful stuff': Labour suspends seven rebel MPs who voted to end two-child benefit cap

There were seven Labour MPs who had the whip removed after voting for an SNP motion to end the two-child limit on benefits. They say they were "taking a stand against child poverty"

ISABELLA MCRAE
24 Jul 2024

THE BIG ISSUE

Ending the two-child benefit cap was not included in the King's Speech.

 Image: Simon Dawson/ No 10 Downing Street/ Flickr

Labour MPs who voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap have said they were “putting country before party” by “taking a stand against child poverty”.

There were seven Labour MPs who rebelled against their party and voted for an SNP motion calling for an end to the two-child limit on benefits on Tuesday night (23 July).

They were John McDonnell, Zarah Sultana, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Apsana Begum, Imran Hussain and Rebecca Long-Bailey.

Scrap two-child benefit cap to end child poverty, Labour told: ‘Good intentions are not enough’

1.6 million children at risk of ‘losing their life chances’ because of ‘cruel’ two-child benefit cap

All have had their whip removed, meaning they will be suspended from Labour for six months and will sit as independent MPs.

MPs rejected the SNP amendment by 363 votes to 103, in one of the first major challenges for the new government.

Ahead of the vote, former shadow chancellor McDonnell said: “I don’t like voting for other parties’ amendments, but I’m following Keir Starmer’s example as he said put country before party.”

The two-child limit means that families claiming benefits such as universal credit or child tax credit who have a third child or subsequent children born after April 2017 are denied extra financial support. It works out at a loss of up to £3,500 per year in comparison to families whose kids were born sooner.

Charities estimate that scrapping the two-child benefit cap would lift 300,000 children out of poverty, and 700,000 children would be in less deep poverty.

In recent days, the Labour government has said it would “consider” scrapping the two-child limit on benefits and has set up a ministerial taskforce to look at ways to reduce child poverty in the UK.

Yet the government has so far refused to commit to ending the policy. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is co-leader of the child poverty taskforce, said the government will “look at all levers in terms of how we can lift children out of poverty”, including the two-child limit.

Zarah Sultana, who had the Labour whip removed last night, said on Good Morning Britain: “In my constituency of Coventry South, 10,000 children live in poverty. That is one in three children.

“When I’m talking to parents, and teachers, and volunteering at the food bank, I am hearing these stories of kids going to bed hungry at night. They are going to bed on an empty stomach. They are returning to cold homes. They are missing out on experiences that every child should enjoy.

“There are all of these impacts on children beyond the immediate impacts. This is on their health, their wellbeing and even their life expectancy. So those are all the stories I need to know when I’m voting in this particular way. I got elected and I’m in the Labour Party. I joined when I was 17 years old because I care about equality and social justice.”


Almost half (45%) of families say they struggle to pay their rent or mortgage because of the two-child limit, according to the Child Poverty Action Group. A similar proportion (46%) struggle to manage childcare costs.

Sultana added: “For me, taking a stand against child poverty, which is one of the biggest scourges in the country which affects 4.3 million children, is something that I’m very proud to have stood my ground on.

“I think the two-child benefit cap, alongside 11 Labour-affiliated unions, the TUC which represents six million workers, Gordon Brown, the archbishop of Canterbury, even Keir Starmer in his 2020 leadership pitch, we all think that it should be scrapped and that’s what voted on yesterday.”

More than half (52%) of all households impacted by this policy are single parents, but within the general population just 16% of households are headed by a single parent. The majority of lone parents are women.

Imran Hussain, the MP for Bradford East, who had the Labour whip removed, said on social media that he is “disappointed to have had the whip suspended over this vote”.

“But it was important for me to stand up for my constituents who are amongst the worst affected by a policy that every organisation fighting child poverty has urged the government to scrap,” he added.

“The two-child limit is one of the biggest factors driving the soaring child poverty rate that sees almost half of all children in Bradford East living in homes that are unable to make ends meet.”

Around 440,000 families across the UK are impacted by the two-child benefit cap, official figures show. That is 1.6 million children denied support.

Ian Byrne, who is MP for Liverpool West Derby, referenced End Child Poverty Coalition figures which show that more than 43% of children in his constituency are living in poverty.

He posted: “Experts say that the best way to immediately impact this is to scrap the two-child cap. This is why this evening I voted for the Kings Speech amendment to scrap the cap. #RightToFood.”

Taj Ali, the co-editor of Tribune Magazine, said: “Ian Byrne is one of the hardest-working people I know. He’s been campaigning against child poverty in Liverpool and across the country for many many years. He’s one of seven Labour MPs to lose the whip tonight for voting against the two-child limit. Shameful stuff.”

Shockingly, 3,100 women had to declare that they had been the victim of rape last year in order to gain an exemption to this policy.

Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said: “As an MP in an area where 45% of children live in poverty, one of the highest in the country, I simply believe that this strategy must include scrapping this measure. That’s something that many struggling families in my area have raised with me.

“Every child poverty expert says this is a key way of lifting children out of poverty and I encourage the new government to come forward with a plan on this, alongside its other initiatives, as so many other figures across the Labour Party and our wider trade union movement have called for.”

Unions which are affiliated with the Labour Party have called on the government to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Britain’s trade union for train drivers, Aslef said he gives his “full support to those who actually have a social conscience to end the two child cap”.

The general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), Daniel Kebede, agreed. He said: “I stand with all those MPs who voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap.”

Particularly, he stands with the Labour MPs who rebelled against their own party, he said. “Child poverty is a political choice not an economic one – and scrapping the cap would be the single most effective policy to alleviate such a crushing burden on children,” Kebede added.

Yet Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, who did not vote for the two-child limit to be scrapped, said: “None of the votes taking place tonight would have resulted in scrapped the cap. Continued efforts from those on the Labour government benches will.

“There will be an Autumn Budget soon and I know myself and other colleagues will be working constructively with the government to make scrapping the cap part of it.”

Torsten Bell, the Labour MP for Swansea West who was previously the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “People are rightly impatient to see progress, but the government has to be allowed to develop and bring forward that crucial strategy. Reducing child poverty means bringing together not just social security policy, but labour market, housing and many other important areas.”

Bell has previously called on the government to drop the two-child limit through his work at the Resolution Foundation, but he voted with the government last night.

“My case for optimism is that history tells us Labour governments do focus on child poverty and do deliver real change. I worked with Gordon Brown as child tax credits were rolled out and transformed lives – over half a million children were taken out of poverty.

“Plus you can already see how policies of this Labour government will make a difference. Too many low earners not getting the hours work they want is a big feature of low income Britain today, and banning exploitative zero hour contracts will make their incomes more secure.

“As an aside, you don’t often see big changes to social security outside of fiscal events because decisions have to be made in the round (underpinned by fiscal forecasts). I spent long enough as an HMT civil servant to know the alternative is chaos. We’ve had quite enough of that.”