FortisBC Holdings Inc. signs agreement with First Nation over B.C. LNG project


Fri, January 27, 2023 



SURREY, B.C. — FortisBC Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal with a First Nation in British Columbia over the Tilbury liquefied natural gas expansion projects.

The subsidiary of utilities company FortisInc. says it will collaborate with the Snuneymuxw First Nation on the expansion of the Tilbury LNG facility in Delta, B.C., and related projects.

FortisBC Holdings says it respects Snuneymuxw's rights in relation to the potential effects of the project and is committed to sharing project benefits with the First Nation.

It says Snuneymuxw has committed to supporting the projects and participating in the required regulatory processes.

The company says the Tilbury LNG facility expansion is intended to help strengthen FortisBC's gas system, while also serving the growing demand for LNG as a marine fuel.

FortisBC says switching from traditional marine fuel to LNG can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships by up to 27 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

The Canadian Press

PATRIARCHICAL PERMISSION 
Judge grants bail for Alberta spiritual leader charged with sexually assaulting 4 women

Fri, January 27, 2023 

College of Integrated Philosophy leader John de Ruiter has been charged with four counts of sexual assault. (johnderuiter.com - image credit)

John de Ruiter, the self-appointed leader of an Edmonton-based spiritual group, was granted bail Friday after being charged earlier this week with sexually assaulting four women.

Edmonton provincial court Judge Randal Brandt released the 63-year-old de Ruiter on strict conditions, including that he surrender his passport and provide a $30,000 cash deposit.

He is not to contact any of the complainants or their family members, either directly or indirectly through his followers.

He can't be within 100 metres of the complainants' places of worship, schools or workplaces.

The judge also directed that de Ruiter not be alone with any female person except for his wife, daughters or immediate family members unless under the supervision of a responsible adult who is not his wife.

That bail condition does not apply to a 49-year-old woman described as a roommate to de Ruiter and his wife at their rural home.

De Ruiter must also report to a bail supervisor regularly, live at residence approved by the bail supervisor, and remain in Alberta unless relocation is approved by the bail supervisor.

Edmonton police arrested de Ruiter on Jan. 21. Police allege he assaulted four women in separate incidents between 2017 and 2020. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Police believe there may be additional complainants. Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward.

"It was reported that the accused informed certain female group members that he was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them, and that engaging in sexual activity with him will provide them an opportunity to achieve a state of higher being or spiritual enlightenment," Edmonton police said in a statement Monday.

Oasis Group has hundreds of followers

Known by his followers simply as John, de Ruiter is the leader of a group known as the College of Integrated Philosophy, or the Oasis Group, which has been operating in Edmonton for decades. The group boasts more than 300 followers in Edmonton and others around the world.

On Friday, de Ruiter appeared from the Edmonton Remand Centre via CCTV.

He often looked directly into the camera with a piercing stare familiar to his devotees.

The hearing had to be relocated to accommodate spectators, including 33 people who identified themselves as de Ruiter's supporters. His wife and two sons sat in the front row of the courtroom.

Details of the bail hearing, and the complainants' identities, are protected under publication bans.

De Ruiter, who grew up in Stettler, Alta., worked as a shoemaker and a Christian preacher in Alberta before eventually transitioning to New Age practices and developing his own philosophy.

He soon began hosting meetings in his home and founded the college in 2006.

The group previously operated out of the Oasis Building in Edmonton. De Ruiter holds regular spiritual retreats at a former campground near Smith, Alta., a purchase supported by donations from group members.

Followers also attend regular meetings at an office building in St. Albert, outside Edmonton.

Intense group meetings often involve de Ruiter silently staring intently at his devotees for hours. His teachings promise that enlightenment and spiritual awakening can be achieved by letting go of egoistic desires and realizing deeper levels of consciousness.

On de Ruiter's official website, it says that by gazing into his followers' eyes, he is "establishing a connection with everybody in the room."

De Ruiter has acknowledged having sexual relationships with women outside of his marriage.

On his website, he details how he engages in "consensual sexual relations with women beyond the traditional scope of marriage," and characterizes these acts as "independent of desire."

In a statement to CBC Monday, a spokesperson for de Ruiter said he will continue to vigorously contest the charges in a court. "This situation is deeply impactful for those who know Mr. de Ruiter," the statement said.

De Ruiter's next scheduled court appearance is Feb. 24.

THE PROVINCE HAS BILLION$ IN $URPLU$

AB Government won’t fund Peace River, AB lift station for $289K

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Town of Peace River council received notice at its Jan. 9 meeting that nearly $300,000 would no longer be given to them from the Government of Alberta to complete Lift Station 7 in the community.

“The Province decided not to provide $289K at this time,” says Mayor Elaine Manzer, disappointed with the news.

“In part, this will cause the Town to postpone the lift station but other budget considerations are also the reason for the postponement until at least 2024. The Town hopes to have other grant opportunities to facilitate the work on Lift Station 7,” adds Manzer.

Currently, the new Lift Station 4 in Lower West Peace is doing the intended work that Lift Station 7 will do with wastewater of the West Peace Area and Shaftesbury Estates. Manzer says this was intended to be a temporary arrangement, as when Lift Station 7 is complete it will take the material from Shaftesbury Estates bypassing Lift Station 4.

“At this time, with the briefing presented to council on Jan 9 and other budget discussions, the Lift Station 7 has been removed from the 2023 budget,” explains Manzer.

“Other funding from water/wastewater capital reserve or other grants would be used to build the lift station in a future year.”

Manzer says that because Lift Station 4 can handle the material from both sides, the stall in building Lift Station 7 will not impact residents in the short term. The Town aims at having the job done within the next couple of years so that the entire water/wastewater system can be more efficient and move the materials more effectively.

“The engineering planning has been completed, so this is a shovel ready project,” she says.

“If other funding is acquired before 2024, council and administration would be discussing the project again in the shorter term.”

Peace River’s plan is to complete the project at the next availability of adequate funding.

Emily Plihal Local Journalism Initiative Reporter - South Peace News - southpeacenews.com

Big Tech layoffs are a problem of the industry's own making: Morning Brief

Daniel Howley
·Technology Editor
Sat, January 28, 2023

The tech industry is reeling from a seemingly nonstop parade of layoffs across Silicon Valley and beyond.

And we're not talking small numbers either.

Meta (META) started the mass layoff train, cutting 11,000 jobs in November. Then, on Jan. 4, Amazon (AMZN) piled on by laying off 18,000 employees. Two weeks later, Microsoft (MSFT) let go of 10,000 workers, and two days after that, on Jan. 20, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) laid off 12,000 employees.

And those are just the major announcements.

According to Layoffs.fyi, tech companies have cut 240,000 jobs since the start of 2021. Since the start of 2023? 68,149 jobs have been lost in the industry.

And there’s no sign that the bleeding will stop anytime soon. Just this week, IBM laid off 3,900 employees, while SAP said it will cut 3,000 jobs.

But the numbers of jobs lost are not the entire story.

The tech layoffs that have roiled the industry over the last two years are a disaster of the tech companies' own making. From over-hiring, to a belief that the world would remain perpetually online after the pandemic, the industry is contending with its own miscalculations.

And now the employees who pinned their futures on these strategic misfires are left to deal with the fallout.

So how did we get here? The easy answer is that the economy soured as the world started pulling out of the pandemic. Inflation rose, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, and that was that. At least that's how tech executives tell it.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: A man walks near Google offices on January 25, 2023 in New York City. The U.S. Justice Department and a group of eight states sued Google accusing it of illegally abusing a monopoly over the technology that powers online advertising. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)

Microsoft's Satya Nadella told employees that the consumers are looking to do more with less now after spending so much during the pandemic. Google's Sundar Pichai told employees that the company staffed up during the pandemic, but the economic situation has changed. And Amazon’s Andy Jassy said the uncertain economy and its decision to hire so many people during the pandemic is why the company is moving forward with layoffs.

The reality is, companies hired for a world in which they thought the growth experienced during the pandemic was permanent. We'd all stay inside, order goods online, and stream content.

Or to use the parlance of analysts and investors, the pandemic appeared to dramatically increase the TAM — or Total Addressable Market — these companies were going after. Using this logic, growing at all costs into a larger-than-expected market was not only reasonable, but necessary, to stay competitive.

From Q4 2019 to Q3 2022, Microsoft grew its headcount 53.5%, while Google added 57% more workers. Amazon and Meta brought on 93.5% and 94.3% more employees, respectively.

With revenue growing by leaps and bounds, and stock prices soaring, Big Tech was looking for a means to keep the party going, and adding more workers was seemingly the best way to do that.


And now that someone — read: Jay Powell — flipped on the lights and turned off the music, those same tech companies have to reckon with their shoddy decisions. And reckon with a sea change in how the industry will measure success going forward.

As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote when disclosing his own company's decision to cut 20% of its team earlier this month: "Over the past 10 years, we, along with most tech companies, became too focused on growing headcount as a metric for success. Especially in this economic environment, it's important to shift our focus to operational efficiency."

Even before the pandemic, we can remember Meta Platforms — then known as Facebook — talking up the investment it would need to make hiring to capture an ever-growing opportunity that seemed in front of them.

Those days, clearly, are gone for now.

But it's not just workers that Big Tech is cutting, either.

Firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are reevaluating their product portfolios to see what can stay and what can go. Amazon, which dramatically expanded its warehouse footprint during the pandemic, is looking for ways to sublet some of its warehouse space to third-parties.

Google just closed its Stadia game streaming service, though that's been in the works for some time. Meta, for its part, cut portions of its experimental product division, according to Platformer.

Despite these layoffs and moves, friend of Yahoo Finance Sam Ro points out the tech industry makes up just 2.8% of total U.S. employment. Moreover, the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in December and 4.5 million jobs last year.

And while the big name tech companies might be cutting jobs, other industries are adding.

Chipotle announced plans this week to hire 15,000 workers amid continued expansion plans. And Boeing said it would hire 10,000 workers in 2023 as production ramps up.

So while tech giants seemingly got out over their skis extrapolating short-term trends into the future, other industries see the current economic one as one calling out for expansion.

Which side of this divide is proven right long-term could have big implications for the economy in the years ahead. Or, perhaps, both positions will get to be right.

FAUX OUTRAGE FOR THE BASE
Alberta premier wants meeting with Trudeau before 'just transition' bill tabled
TOO WOKE FOR HER 
Smith also wants Trudeau to call the legislation the "Sustainable Jobs Act" and stop using the term "just transition,"

Thu, January 26, 2023 

The phrase

Alberta's premier has asked to meet the prime minister in advance of anticipated federal legislation guiding a transition away from high-pollution jobs.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made public on Thursday, Premier Danielle Smith asked for a February meeting to reach a joint agreement on proposed pieces of federal "just transition" legislation.

The Liberal government says the bill will lay out a path to help well-paid workers in emissions-intensive industries like oil and gas move to equivalent, greener jobs for the good of the environment.

"It would be premature and ill-advised to signal the end of a vibrant, thriving industry that has the ability to reduce Canada's and the world's emissions through technological innovation and increased exports of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and other clean burning fuels the world so desperately needs," Smith wrote in the letter.

In it, she makes five requests of Trudeau to extend good faith to Albertans, including a promise to incent job creation in conventional oil and gas — not just greener industries and carbon capture, utilization and storage projects.

Smith also wants Trudeau to call the legislation the "Sustainable Jobs Act" and stop using the term "just transition," which stems from Canada's commitment to the international Paris accord to reduce global emissions.

No portion of the act should be designed to reduce Alberta's oil and gas workforce, Smith writes. She also wants Trudeau to work with the province to expand LNG exports to Europe and Asia.

Alberta should also be part of the discussion to set "reasonable and meaningful" emissions reduction targets, she said. She wants Trudeau to pledge he won't impose any targets on any industry.

To prevent irreversible damage to the climate, the federal government aims to cut Canada's emissions 42 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.

It also aims to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30 per cent by 2030.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson posted a letter on Twitter, in response to Smith. The letter was from Wilkinson, Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan and Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault. The response thanked Smith for the letter and stated that "much of what you outlined is very much in line with what the federal government will bring forward."

The post says the federal government looks forward to work with the province, unions and other partners on sustainable jobs.

Smith's letter is a change in tone from earlier this month, when she cited a seven-month-old federal ministerial briefing note to claim the just transition bill was going to eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Smith said the plan was worse than she feared and left her with a "pit in her stomach."

The federal government says the job numbers in the document refer to current employment in various industries, and the premier misinterpreted them.

Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said the letter sends contradictory messages by seeming to offer an olive branch while also making demands of the federal government.

'It's a bit odd that the premier is asking the prime minister to work with her on a more co-operative and collaborative arrangement when she has spent much of the last few months telling the federal government to stay out of Alberta's lane and accusing the federal government of interference that is inappropriate," Williams said.

Williams said some of Smith's requests are steps the federal government is already taking, such as investing in hydrogen and carbon capture, and changing the language around the initiative.

Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said her organization would be happy to host the prime minister and premier to have that conversation before an audience of the people working on the nation's energy transition.

"We don't get very far when we want to yell at one another across the country," Yedlin said.

The industry is also waiting for news about the province's plans for investment in carbon capture, she said — and time is running out, as generous subsidies are attracting investors to the United States.

NDP leader Rachel Notley said in a statement Smith's change in tone won't bolster Albertans' faith in Smith to hold productive negotiations.

"Many of the objectives in today's letter are laudable, but Danielle Smith lacks credibility among working people and investors as a result of her combative and inflammatory positioning to date," Notley's statement said.

Notley has also previously said the federal government's emissions reduction goals are unrealistic for Alberta.

Review of oilsands cleanup funding program needs public input, says Alberta NDP

Fri, January 27, 2023



EDMONTON — Alberta's New Democrat Opposition says a government review of the program that's supposed to ensure oilsands companies can clean up their mines was conducted too privately and should have been done in public.

Environment critic Marlin Schmidt said Albertans now know even less than before the review of the Mine Financial Security Program began.

"Given how much money is at stake and how important this sector is to our economy, the fact the public was completely shut out of this process is really concerning," he said.

Alberta's United Conservative Party government wrapped up consultations this month on how industry financially backstops its cleanup obligations.

It held a yearlong series of meetings with industry and First Nations. No public input was sought.

Estimates of the environmental liability of the mines and their tailings ponds vary widely. Official figures peg it at $34 billion, while an internal estimate from Alberta Energy Regulator staff put it at $130 billion.

The government currently holds no more than four per cent of the security required for a cleanup. Even that level of public disclosure has now been obscured, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that during the program review, the government changed its rules on how companies must ensure their cleanup obligations can be met. Instead of relying on lines of credit or other forms of capital, the totals of which were made public, companies can now provide demand bonds from insurance companies.

The number of companies using such bonds and the size of the liability they insure against is not released, even on an aggregate basis.

"We need to have a simple accounting of how much money is available to cover liability," Schmidt said. "If the government and industry won't tell us how much of the liability these demand bonds cover, how will we know if the financial security program is working?"

Thomas Schneider, associate professor of accounting at Toronto Metropolitan University, said accepting insurance instead of requiring resources to be set aside allows producers to delay reserving the billions of dollars the cleanup would take even as some mines approach end of life.

The program review was called after two scathing reports from Alberta's auditor general. But First Nations consulted during the review have said the government's current direction holds on to most of the old program's mistakes and makes some new ones — including failing to account for changes in the oil market as countries move to low-carbon economies.

An analysis of the government's direction by University of Alberta energy economist Andrew Leach, who acted as a consultant to the First Nations, concluded the assumptions used in the government's modelling of the industry's future "provide a false and dangerous sense of security."

A spokesman for Alberta Environment and Protected Areas said the government expects to complete its review this year and begin implementing changes — "if any" — in 2024.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of why the review shut out the public.

Schmidt said the process needs to open up. Proprietary business information can be kept confidential, he said.

"We're generally good at what needs to be protected and what doesn't," he said.

"Every mine, at some point, will have to end its operations. We need to have a plan for making sure there's enough money in the bank to cover those liabilities.

"We can't make that mistake, especially considering how big the bill to taxpayers will be if we get this wrong."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

First Nations groups upset with exclusion from health-care funding talks

Thu, January 26, 2023 

Bobby Cameron is the chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents more than 70 First Nations in Saskatchewan. (Rob Kruk/CBC - image credit)

First Nations groups are criticizing their exclusion from an upcoming meeting between federal, provincial and territorial governments aiming to reach a funding deal to improve the country's ailing health-care system.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) in Saskatchewan said in a Thursday news release both it and the national Assembly of First Nations (AFN) are "dismayed" by the snub.

"Our people and their government were here before the provincial borders were even formed," said FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron in the release.

"There is no reconciliation for First Nations when we continue to be excluded from these crucial discussions and decision-making processes."

Trudeau announced this week he plans to host a first ministers' meeting in Ottawa next month to try and reach a much-anticipated deal. First ministers' meetings under Trudeau's Liberals have previously included Indigenous leaders.

Health-care delivery in Indigenous communities is jurisdictionally complex, and the federal government has promised to introduce Indigenous health legislation, though it remains unclear when.

The FSIN, which advocates for 74 First Nations, said provincial governments use First Nations populations to secure funding and yet First Nations still experience racism and inadequate care in health-care settings.

"Our people don't have access to services and care the same as non-First Nations. We expect and demand to be at the table every step of the way from beginning to end," said Cameron in the release.

The AFN didn't respond when asked if it had anything to add on top of the federation's statement.

The premiers have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government for a multi-billion-dollar boost of up to 35 per cent to the cash Ottawa transfers to the provinces for health-care delivery.

Asked to respond to the federation's release, the Prime Minister's Office referred the request to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, whose office supplied a statement.

"Indigenous Peoples face unique challenges when it comes to having fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health-care services, and we must continue to work in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to properly address these gaps," the statement said.

The statement said the federal government regularly engages with Indigenous communities on a suite of issues and has invested millions into culturally sensitive, Indigenous-led health initiatives.

It did not say whether Indigenous leaders will be included in the talks.

Senators Urge Biden on Mexico, Canada Trade Compliance

Eric Martin
Thu, January 26, 2023



(Bloomberg) -- The top senators on the committee that deals with trade urged President Joe Biden to pursue enforcement action against Canada and Mexico in areas where the nations aren’t complying with rules in their free-trade agreement especially around energy and agriculture policies.

“The Office of the United States Trade Representative must continue to pursue full implementation and, where necessary, robust enforcement” of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo, the leading Democrat and Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, wrote in a letter to the USTR Thursday seen by Bloomberg News. The pact’s “full potential remains unrealized,” they said.

The senators said the USTR “must ensure that the United States gets what it bargained for” and asked trade chief Katherine Tai to take “decisive action to ensure full compliance” with every chapter of the pact.

Wyden and Crapo highlighted Washington’s dispute with Mexico over the southern neighbor’s nationalist energy policy, as well as compliance shortcomings by Canada over tariff-rate quotas on dairy products, among other issues.

The letter comes a day after Deputy US Trade Representative Jayme White met with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in San Diego and emphasized the the importance of making meaningful progress in the ongoing talks over Mexico’s energy policy under the USMCA that went into effect in 2020, replacing the two-decade-old Nafta.

The US has repeatedly urged Mexico and Canada to follow through on their commitments under the USMCA, including through the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to enforce workers’ rights in Mexico and by requesting dispute consultations with Canada over its dairy policies, a USTR spokesperson said in a statement. The agency continues to seek resolution on those issues, including through White’s meeting this week, and will continue to implement the USMCA, the spokesperson said.

Discussions between the US and Mexico on energy have largely stalled due to the departures of negotiators from the Latin American nation’s side and its reluctance to make concessions, people familiar with the matter said in December.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policy privileges Mexican state-owned oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos and the electricity provider known as CFE over private companies in areas including natural gas distribution and power generation, including wind and solar companies. The US says this violates the USMCA, treats American companies unfairly, hurts US economic interests and discourages investment by clean-energy companies.

Lopez Obrador denies that his policies violate the pact, saying that the US must respect Mexico’s sovereignty. If a panel were to rule against Mexico, it might have to pay tariffs on as much as $30 billion in exports. The US first lodged the complaint in July, with Canada also protesting Mexico’s electricity policy.

“USTR must use the USMCA dispute-settlement process to push Mexico to abandon these discriminatory policies,” Wyden and Crapo said.

On the long-running dairy issue with Canada, the US in December requested dispute-settlement consultations for a third time over Ottawa’s quotas that many American producers say shuts them out of the Canadian market, saying it has found more areas of “deep concern” and that the nation’s measures are inconsistent with its obligations under the trade pact.

Wyden and Crapo commended Tai’s office for the follow-up and asked it to monitor Canada’s compliance.

The senators also pushed the USTR for resolution on Mexico’s imposition of export tariffs on white corn, environmental, and digital-trade issues.

Study: Enough rare earth minerals to fuel green energy shift

“Along with mining more, we should be using less."

Fri, January 27, 2023


The world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming, according to a new study that counters concerns about the supply of such minerals.

With a push to get more electricity from solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, some people have worried that there won’t be enough key minerals to make the decarbonization switch.

Rare earth minerals, also called rare earth elements, actually aren't that rare. The U.S. Geological Survey describes them as a “relatively abundant.” They're essential for the strong magnets necessary for wind turbines; they also show up in smartphones, computer displays and LED light bulbs. This new study looks at not only those elements but 17 different raw materials required to make electricity that include some downright common resources such as steel, cement and glass.

A team of scientists looked at the materials — many not often mined heavily in the past — and 20 different power sources. They calculated supplies and pollution from mining if green power surged to meet global goals to cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from fossil fuel.

Much more mining is needed, but there are enough minerals to go around and drilling for them will not significantly worsen warming, the study in Friday’s scientific journal Joule concluded.

“Decarbonization is going to be big and messy, but at the same time we can do it,” said study co-author Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth. “I’m not worried we’re going to run out of these materials."

Much of the global concern about raw materials for decarbonization has to do with batteries and transportation, especially electric cars that rely on lithium for batteries. This study doesn’t look at that.

Looking at mineral demands for batteries is much more complicated than for electric power and that’s what the team will do next, Hausfather said. The power sector is still about one-third to half of the resource issue, he said.

A lot depends on how fast the world switches to green energy.

There will be short supplies. For example, dysprosium is a mineral used for magnets in wind turbines and a big push for cleaner electricity would require three times as much dysprosium as currently produced, the paper said. But there’s more than 12 times as much dysprosium in reserves than would be needed in that clean energy push.

Another close call is tellurium, which is used in industrial solar farms and where there may be only slightly more estimated resources than what would be required in a big green push. But Hausfather said there are substitutions available in all these materials' cases.

“There are enough materials in reserves. The analysis is robust and this study debunks those (running out of minerals) concerns,” said Daniel Ibarra, an environment professor at Brown University, who wasn’t part of the study but looks at lithium shortages. But he said production capacity has to grow for some “key metals" and one issue is how fast can it grow.

Another concern is whether the mining will add more heat-trapping carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It will, maybe as much as 10 billion metric tons, which is one-quarter of the annual global carbon emissions, Hausfather said. Renewables require more materials per energy output than fossil fuels because they are more decentralized, he said.

But the increase in carbon pollution from more mining will be more than offset by a huge reduction in pollution from heavy carbon emitting fossil fuels, Hausfeather said.

Stanford University’s Rob Jackson, who wasn’t part of the study, said while multiple lines of evidence show there are enough rare earth minerals, balance is needed: “Along with mining more, we should be using less."

___

Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

___

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press

Donald Trump argues in wild court filing that New York can't sue the Trump Organization because it doesn't legally exist

Laura Italiano

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Donald Trump, right, sits with his children, from left, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hotel on July 23, 2014, in Washington.Evan Vucci/AP

• NY's Attorney General sued Trump, his family and his business in September over an alleged pattern of fraud.

• In a response late Thursday, the defendants repeatedly claimed the Trump Organization can't be sued.

• 'Trump Organization' is branding shorthand, not a legal entity, they said repeatedly in 5,000 pages of response.

Donald Trump, his real-estate company and his three eldest children have filed an extraordinary, nose-thumbing response to the $250 million fraud lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in September, stating that "Trump Organization" is branding shorthand — not a legal entity — so it can't be sued.

"To the extent a response is required, Defendant specifically denies the definitions of "Trump Organization" and "Defendants," reads Donald Trump's response to the lawsuit, one of 16 answers filed late Thursday night.

"While the shorthand "Trump Organization" is utilized by Defendants for branding and business purposes, no entity as such exists for legal purposes," Donald Trump's response continues, using language that is repeated throughout his 300-page filing and throughout the similarly-lengthy 15 filings of his fellow defendants.

Read Donald Trump's response to the New York attorney general's massive fraud lawsuit here.

New York's lawsuit names Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, former company CFO Allen Weisselberg and its former payroll executive Jeffrey McConney. It also names 10 entities under the Trump Organization umbrella — including "The Trump Organization, Inc.", a registered corporation in New York since 1981.

But even the response filed Thursday by Trump Organization, Inc., repeatedly makes the same argument: "While the shorthand 'Trump Organization' is utilized by Defendants for branding purposes, no entity exists for legal purposes."

New York's lawsuit does not specifically sue anything called "Trump Organization."

The lawsuit does, however, repeatedly make general reference to the Trump Organization, doing so more than 300 times as a "collective" name for the former president's $3 billion real-estate and golf resort company — and it's on this that Trump and his fellow defendants stake their protest.

The attorney general's many references to the umbrella company in her lawsuit "improperly group Defendants together, without regard to the nature or discrete legal identity of each Defendant," Thursday night's filings repeatedly complain, "without regard to the nature or discrete identity of each Defendant."

The nearly 5,000 pages of answers were filed just before midnight New York time to meet a Thursday deadline for responding to James' sweeping lawsuit alleging the former president engaged in a decade-long pattern of lying about his worth by billions of dollars on financial documents.

James alleges that Trump routinely lied about his assets in order to win favorable terms — and save hundreds of millions of dollars — from bankers, insurers, and tax authorities.

Thursday night's batch of responses briefly address these claims, repeating such blanket denials as "Defendant has not engaged in repeated fraudulent or illegal acts or otherwise demonstrated persistent fraud or illegality in the carrying on, conducting or transacting of business."

The attorney general's lawsuit seeks to permanently ban Donald Trump, his three eldest children, and his real-estate and golf-resort company from doing business in New York, where the business is headquartered and where the bulk of his commercial properties are located.

Lawyers for Trump, his family and his business, including Alina Habba, who filed the 16 responses online, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Ivanka Trump, Reid Figel, declined to comment.

Trump has been expected to fight hard against the attorney general's aggressive attack on his Manhattan-based business empire.

The suit, after all, seeks to cripple the company and would bar the Trump family from selling, collecting rent, or even borrowing money in New York.

Soon after it was filed, former assistant attorney generals told Insider  to expect Trump and his fellow defendants to argue James is out to get him, that no bank or other entity was harmed by the company, and that the defendants and the company relied on the expertise of others.

Thursday's responses do use these arguments — countering at one point that the attorney general has acted contrary to "ancient and customary norms" — along with some others.

The attorney general "lacks jurisdiction over Defendants to the extent that they are not or are no longer residents of New York," some of the responses say.

A trial has been set for October in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.

WE NEED A PROVINCIAL INSURANCE PLAN
Alberta freezes auto insurance rates for the rest of 2023

The pause on insurance increases reverses what Toews and the UCP government has insisted for years — that rate caps don't work and only put a Band-aid on deeper problems.

Thu, January 26, 2023 

(Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press - image credit)

The Alberta government will not approve auto insurance rate increases for the remainder of 2023.

Finance Minster Travis Toews and Affordability and Utilities Minister Matt Jones said in a news release Thursday the province will also look at short- and longer-term measures to get insurance rates in check.

Some rate increases will still go ahead if they were previously approved or if a driver incurs an at-fault claim or a ticket. Drivers can also see increases if they move to another address or insure a different vehicle.

The move comes several years after the UCP government decided not to renew the five per cent rate cap implemented by the previous NDP government.

These caveats prompted NDP finance critic Shannon Phillips to call the announcement a "fake freeze."

"The UCP lifted the rate cap brought in by our Alberta NDP government and insurance premiums skyrocketed," she said in a news release.

"Auto insurance rates went up as much as 30 per cent during the pandemic — a time when Albertans were driving and working less — and the UCP did nothing. "

The pause on insurance increases reverses what Toews and the UCP government has insisted for years — that rate caps don't work and only put a Band-aid on deeper problems.

Toews told reporters at the Alberta legislature Thursday that a temporary freeze isn't the same as a cap.

In December 2019, the government announced the creation of a committee to look at the root causes of the increases.

The report was made public in October 2020. It recommended the province abandon its tort system of insurance and move to a private, no-fault model.

While the government took action on several smaller, short-term measures, Toews said the government would study the more transformative recommendations.

Lula, Governors Discuss Fixes for Abrupt Drop in Tax Revenue

Simone Iglesias
Fri, January 27, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and governors are discussing a solution for an abrupt decline in state governments’ revenue, following a series of tax breaks spearheaded by the previous administration to ease inflation pressures.

Lula received all 27 governors in the presidential palace on Friday, saying the tax issue was “in everybody’s minds and needed to be discussed.”

The so-called ICMS is a value-added tax charged by states that accounted for up to 85% of their revenue. Former President Jair Bolsonaro, worried about the impact of inflation on his reelection bid last year, pushed for lower levies on fuel, electricity and public transportation, among other items.

While the federal government and many states voluntarily lowered taxes, in some cases completely scrapping them, congress also passed a law limiting ICMS at about 17%. That drastically reduces income for states such as Rio de Janeiro, which imposed a 32% ICMS tax on gasoline sales before the new rule.

Debt Service at Risk

“It’s clear that our goal is to recover ICMS revenue,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told reporters at the end of the meeting, saying his state has lost about 10 billion reais ($2 billion) in income a year, putting its ability to service debt at risk.

Last year’s tax breaks didn’t have an immediate impact on state budgets because public revenue was turbocharged by inflation that ran above 10% until July. With consumer prices increasing less than 6% a year now, government income is also taking a hit and governors are sounding the alarm bells.

The law capping ICMS did not establish ways for states to make up for loss of revenue. Governors have been in talks with the top court to discuss whether the cap is constitutional, and Lula decided to form a group led by Finance chief Fernando Haddad to follow the discussions, Institutional Relations Minister Alexadre Padilha said after the meeting.

BNDES Financing

In another attempt to help states, Lula told governors that Brazil’s development bank BNDES is ready finance key infrastructure projects in states.

The president asked governors to present a list of priority public works in their states, especially in the housing, health, education and infrastructure sectors. The government intends to help states conclude such projects with BNDES financing, public-private partnerships and concessions.

“The role of BNDES will again be that of a development bank, and the money it raises needs to be shared with small and medium-sized companies and state governments as well,” he said.

--With assistance from Bruna Lessa and Beatriz Reis.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slams Republican Who Urged Her To 'Educate' Herself

Ben Blanchet

Thu, January 26, 2023 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went after Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who called on her to “educate” herself during a debate Thursday over a bill on the House floor.

The Democrat responded to Duncan’s comments to her as the House considered a bill to require the federal government “to approve a plan to increase drilling on federal lands and waters” before drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in non-emergency cases, Roll Call reported.

Ocasio-Cortez, who proposed an amendment to the bill, argued in a speech on the House floor Thursday that leasing more land to fossil fuel companies wouldn’t guarantee a drop in gas prices and added that companies making profits won’t “pass along” the savings to consumers.

“What leasing more land does do, however, is guarantee that we will accelerate the devastating impact of climate change,” Ocasio-Cortez argued.

Duncan addressed Ocasio-Cortez and urged her to educate herself on how “America attained its low emissions.”

“You care about the air quality, you care about climate change. Natural gas is what got America there. Educate yourself on that,” the Republican said.

Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hold back when she responded to Duncan’s remarks.

“I understand in this body it’s not the first time that it seems as though the opposing side can’t seem to be able to debate the issue and so they must come after my character,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She added: “While I cannot control the fact that the other side seems to have made the assumption that I am uneducated, one of the things I can say... is while I may not work for Wall Street, that is true. I may not be here with the mission to increase profits for corporations, that is true. My mission here is for the well-being and dignity of our family and our planet’s future, for our children’s ability to live on this planet.”

Ocasio-Cortez later addressed Duncan’s comments on Twitter, writing that “fewer things are more predictable than Republicans having a meltdown when I’m clearing them in a debate.”

“In case you’re curious about why this man is so angry with me, it may be because I introduced an amendment to a GOP bill that would prohibit oil and gas companies who engage in stock buybacks from leasing federal lands,” she wrote, adding “Seems as though I hit a nerve!”

House GOP votes to rein in Biden's power over the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Ben Werschkul
·Washington Correspondent
Fri, January 27, 2023 a

After two days of floor action and consideration of over 100 amendments, the House of Representatives passed a bill Friday to limit the Biden administration’s powers when it comes to the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The final vote was on a largely party line basis of 221-205 on the Strategic Production Response Act, which seeks to link releases from the crucial energy backstop to U.S. domestic oil production. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), crossed party lines to vote in favor.

While the bill has little chance of being considered by the Senate and even less chance of reaching President Biden’s desk, the measure put the issue of SPR management at the top of Washington’s agenda for at least two days as the reserve sits at its lowest level since 1983.


House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) kicked off the debate Thursday, saying the bill was necessary to “ensure this vital American energy asset — and American security interests — will not be drained away for non-emergency, political purposes.”

Under the bill, other than during an emergency situation, a president wouldn’t be able to tap the reserve unless it simultaneously released a plan to increase oil production in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Democrats stood largely unified in opposition with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) releasing a statement immediately after the vote, saying it was called at the behest of oil companies and it would “raise gas prices and impede the President’s ability to continue lowering costs at the pump for working families.“

Private security contractors patrol the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Bryan Mound, Texas 

(REUTERS/Donna W. Carson)

'An effort to attack the president'

Numerous amendments were considered from both sides of the aisle. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) offered an idea to ban offshore drilling in her home state, but dismissed the overall process in an interview.

“The whole conversation starts in this place that I think is rather cynical and just an effort to attack the president," she said. Still, she acknowledged there is some value in discussing the SPR overall, but suggested little would come of it.

“I don't know that that's the most pressing conversation to have,” she said.

The Biden administration made its first big withdrawal from the SPR in November 2021 of 50 million barrels in response to high gas prices. It followed up with over 180 million barrels over the course of 2022 in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. Those were in addition to other scheduled regular withdrawals and cycling of the SPR.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) has taken over the influential House House Energy and Commerce Commitee. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Supporters of the administration's strategy say the moves in 2022 were crucial to reducing gas prices by over $1.50 a gallon in recent months. The national average for gas prices sits at about $3.50 per gallon, with some observers expecting the price to rise in the coming months possibly to over $4 a gallon as demand picks up in the spring.

Last month, the administration announced plans to begin replenishing the reserve, but rejected some initial offers because of pricing, with crude oil around $80/barrel.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters on Monday she is not worried about reaching the administration’s goal of buying 60 million barrels in the coming months, teasing an announcement that she promised “very soon.” Granholm added that Biden would veto the House GOP bill in the unlikely event it reaches his desk.

This week’s vote follows a Jan. 12 vote around the SPR and China, which received wide bipartisan backing, a feat that was not repeated this week.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

India's Gautam Adani: Asia's richest man in the eye of a storm

Shivam Patel, Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra
Fri, January 27, 2023 

 Indian billionaire Adani speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Gautam Adani, the school drop-out turned billionaire who rose to become Asia's richest man, faces possibly the biggest challenge of his career after a U.S. short seller cast doubts on his business practices, hammering shares in his companies and his reputation.

Adani, whose home state is Gujarat in western India, built his business empire from scratch after starting as a commodities trader. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from the same state and their relationship has come under intense scrutiny by Modi's opponents for years.

Adani's business empire grew rapidly and his wealth ballooned. His interests span ports, power generation, airports, mining, edible oils, renewable power and more recently media and cement.

He rose to become the world's third-richest person according to Forbes, with a net worth of $127 billion, trailing only Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk. Married to dentist Priti Adani, he has two sons, Karan and Jeet, both of whom are involved in the company businesses.

Despite his riches the 60-year-old, who comes from a middle-class textile family, was far lesser known than other billionaires in a country where many inherit their wealth.

His business style was described as "very hands on", according to one person with direct knowledge of his dealings.

As Adani's empire swelled, stocks of his seven listed companies surged - in some cases more than 1,500% in the last three years amid aggressive expansion. He denied allegations by Modi's opponents that he had benefited from their close ties.

In a 2014 interview with Reuters, when asked if he was friends with Modi, Adani said he had friends across the political spectrum, but avoids politics.

He has said no one political leader is behind his success and when asked about Modi's use of Adani corporate planes during the interview, Adani said Modi "pays fully".

In recent years, the $220 billion Adani Group empire has attracted foreign investment - France's TotalEnergies, for example, partnered with Adani last year to develop the world's biggest green hydrogen ecosystem.

More recently, Adani has taken a pro-active approach to building his public image, giving interviews to local and foreign media.

Appearing in a popular Hindi TV show this month called the 'People's Court', Adani sat in a mock witness box inside a courtroom setup and answered questions about his conglomerate - offering an unusual level of scrutiny. He described himself as "a shy person" and credited the rise of his popularity in part to the political attacks he has faced.

Modi's government has denied allegations of favouring Adani.

"People got to know who Adani (was) because of constant targeting by Rahul ji during the 2014 elections and after that," Adani said, during the show, referring to opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Three weeks later, shares of his group's listed companies plunged on Friday, taking their cumulative losses to $48 billion this week. Short seller Hindenburg Research on Wednesday accused Adani's businesses of improper use of offshore tax havens and flagged concerns about high debt. Adani has called the report baseless, and said he was considering taking action.

REPUTATION CHALLENGE

Adani Group's website says its vision is to balance "growth with goodness" as it aims to build assets of national relevance and transform lives through self-reliance and sustainability.

Adani is no stranger to controversies. The most recent was months of protest by fishermen against construction of a $900-million port in southern India's Kerala, in which he sued the state government and fishermen leaders. And in Australia, environmental activists for years protested against Adani's Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland on concerns of carbon emissions and damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

His latest challenge is how to deal with an unprecedented share price rout as the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises launched the country's biggest public secondary share offering this week, aiming to raise $2.5 billion.

The stock's price on Friday fell well below the offer price, casting doubts on its success.

Image guru Dilip Cherian told Reuters the Hindenburg Report - and its fallout - could carry reputational risk for Adani but he could take action to limit that damage and reassure investors of the group's financial and assets strength and ensure the share sale is a success.

"In terms of the kind of stellar rise he has had this is a hazard," Cherian said.

Adani told India Today TV in December that people who were raising questions about the group's debt had not done a deep dive into its financials, without saying who he was referring to.

As the market rout played out on Mumbai exchanges, Adani was seen heading to a meeting at the federal power minister's office in New Delhi. It is not known what was discussed and Adani Group did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Adani Group's consolidated gross debt stands at $23.34 billion, Jefferies says. While Hindenburg alleged key listed Adani companies had "substantial debt" which has put the entire group on a "precarious financial footing", the Adani Group has repeatedly said its borrowings are manageable and no investor has raised any concern.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel, Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Canada seeking project ideas to transport and store carbon pollution


Thu, January 26, 2023

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is accepting applications for research and development projects as part of a broader federal program supporting the advancement of carbon capture technology in Canada.

The department wants to see projects that focus on transporting and storing planet-heating carbon pollution. These projects might enable permanent CO2 storage near industrial areas that currently have no storage options, explore regions for possible storage locations, help plan CO2 transportation and hubs, and advance knowledge to support future regulations and standards.

NRCan is taking expressions of interest from now until April 17, the department announced Wednesday.

The success of Canada’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 is intertwined with the success of carbon capture technology. The federal government’s climate plan calls on the oil and gas industry to slash emissions 31 per cent relative to 2005 levels by 2030. To do this, about 13 per cent of the sector’s reductions would have to come from carbon capture technology. But the technology is expensive, and existing facilities regularly underperform.

The oil and gas sector is responsible for 27 per cent of Canada’s emissions, making it the most polluting sector.

This latest call for proposals falls under the Energy Innovation Program, which was created to advance clean energy technologies in pursuit of Canada’s climate targets and help the transition to a low-carbon economy. In Budget 2021, the federal government invested $319 million into research, development and demonstrations to advance the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies.

For-profit and non-profit organizations, companies, utilities, governments, academic institutions and Indigenous groups are all eligible to apply. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full project proposal to receive funding.

Some types of projects will not be accepted. For example, applicants can’t ask for funding to replicate existing carbon capture facilities or pipelines to transport CO2 — there must be a new, innovative component to the proposal.

Also not allowed are projects focused on non-permanent storage, including enhanced oil recovery, which is when compressed CO2 is injected into depleted oil wells to force out more oil. This is the most common use of captured CO2 worldwide. Selling captured CO2 to companies who use it to extract more oil helps pay for the costly technology, but also enables more oil production at a time when scientists warn the world must rapidly curb emissions and transition away from fossil fuels.

NRCan’s call for projects in August 2021 focused on CCUS engineering and design studies, and 11 projects were selected. A project-by-project funding breakdown is not yet available, but together they represent a total investment of up to $50 million, according to Natural Resources Canada. The selected projects aren’t guaranteed funding and still have to go through a finalization process to negotiate an agreement.

Only the project names are currently available. They show applications from oil and gas companies Cenovus, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, Enhance Energy Inc., NorthRiver Midstream Inc. and Strathcona Resources Ltd, among others, were selected. The City of Medicine Hat’s proposal also made the cut.

In July 2022, there was a call for research and development projects related to capture technology, and those applications are currently under review, according to Natural Resources Canada.

A third call for research and development proposals for utilization projects is expected to launch this fall, according to Natural Resources Canada’s website.

A March 2022 report by Environmental Defence found federal and provincial governments had provided an estimated $5.8 billion for CCUS projects since 2000, but the technology only captured 3.55 million tonnes of carbon per year — or 0.05 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. A month later, in Budget 2022, the federal government proposed an investment tax credit covering 50 per cent of equipment costs for CCUS projects. The tax credit is expected to cost the federal government $2.6 billion in the first five years of the program and up to $8.6 billion by 2030.

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer