NATO NATION BUILDING;HOW'S THAT GOING

Libya floods: warlord using disaster response to exert control, say observers

Khalifa Haftar and Libyan National Army militia said to be overseeing humanitarian relief arriving in city of Derna

Ruth Michaelson

THE GUARDIAN

Sun 17 Sep 2023 

As search and rescue teams continue to hunt for bodies trapped underneath the mud and rubble of their homes in the Libyan coastal city of Derna, observers say the warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons are using the disaster response as a way to exert control rather than ensure vital humanitarian relief reaches civilians.

At least 11,300 people have died and more than 10,000 are missing, according to the Libyan Red Crescent, after two dams burst during a powerful storm last week.

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‘Towns were erased’: Libyan reporters on the ‘horrifying, harrowing’ aftermath of floods

The resulting floods have completely destroyed almost 900 buildings in Derna, according to the country’s National Unity government, based in the north-western city of Tripoli. More than 200 buildings were partly damaged and almost 400 others were completely submerged in mud, it added, meaning that a quarter of all buildings in Derna had been affected by the flooding.

Desperate rescue efforts continued in an attempt to find any remaining survivors as bodies continued to wash up on the shoreline. First responders on the ground often worked while surrounded by militants from the Libyan National Army, a sprawling military coalition loyal to Haftar, amid what observers described as efforts to keep an iron grip over vital assistance arriving in the crisis-stricken city.
An aerial view of the devastation of Derna, Libya, 17 September 2023. Photograph: Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Public access to the centre of Derna, worst-affected by the flooding, has been shut off, and the city has been officially declared a disaster zone. Derna’s citizens are struggling to survive without access to electricity, safe drinking water or food.


‘The waters carried my son away in front of my eyes’: anguished Libyans mourn lost loved ones

Late last week, the head of Libya’s parliament based in the east, Osama Hamad, said the authorities were considering sealing off the entire city, which once housed 100,000 people, fearing the spread of water-borne diseases.

“Essentially there is a military presence that is creating bottlenecks rather than being conducive to the provision of relief,” said Emadeddin Badi, an analyst on Libya with the Atlantic Council. “The main thrust of relief efforts was not facilitated by the military leadership, which had a vested interest in appearing in control while skirting responsibility and victim-blaming, but instead by volunteers, medical teams, Red Crescent, boy scouts and foreign search and rescue teams.”

Haftar, who has spearheaded a military campaign to unilaterally control much of eastern Libya since 2014, toured Derna on Friday. He praised the actions of first responders as well as members of the LNA, a coalition of militias overseen by the ageing former CIA asset and US citizen, whom critics accuse of running areas under his control akin to a military dictator.

“On the public relations side, they are leveraging their pre-existing propaganda channels to appear in control, while being the main interface for administering crisis relief and being the custodians of the city,” said Badi. “But again, that’s creating bottlenecks everywhere. Haftar’s visit was a microcosm of this issue, everything was frozen for an hour for a PR stunt.”

Khalifa Haftar (right) met the chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces, Lt Gen Osama Askar, in Benghazi on 12 September. Askar arrived with a military delegation and emergency disaster relief aid, according to the Egyptian defence ministry. 

Photograph: Egyptian defence ministry/AFP/Getty Images

Haftar’s sons, each of whom also controls their own broad networks of financial and sometimes military interests in eastern Libya, have responded to the humanitarian crisis in Derna by seeking to further exert control over the disaster response. On the same day that disaster struck Derna, Khalifa Haftar’s eldest son, Elseddik, declared his interest in running for president of Libya in long-delayed elections.

Observers said 32-year-old Saddam Haftar, often seen as the likely heir despite his brothers’ efforts, quickly used his role as the head of Libya’s disaster response committee to legitimise his international standing while keeping a tight grip on aid.

Saddam Haftar heads the Tariq Ben Zayed brigades, a militia that is part of the LNA and was recently accused by Amnesty International of “inflicting a catalogue of horrors, including unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, and forced displacement – with no fear of consequences”.

Jalel Harchaoui, a specialist on Libya and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, pointed to Saddam Haftar’s efforts to demonstrate control over international aid teams arriving in Derna and how this has slowed vital disaster response in a time of crisis: “Everything is concentrated in the hands of the Haftar family. I wish I could tell you that there are other power centres in eastern Libya, but there’s no such thing.”

For much of the past decade Libya has remained fiercely divided between eastern and western factions with their own patchwork of military interests, after a military intervention by Nato forces to support an uprising against the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Harchaoui said the Haftar clan’s control over response efforts, particularly the prominent role of Saddam Haftar, provided little hope that any domestic or international investigation into the loss of life in Derna could fully scrutinise their roles as the officials in charge, as well as any others responsible.

The Libyan prosecutor general, al-Sediq al-Sour, promised to investigate the collapse of both dams in Derna, as well as the allocation of millions of dollars in funding intended to maintain the structures, which were built in the 1970s. While pledging to investigate local authorities in Derna and previous governments, al-Sour also met with Saddam Haftar. Local television reported that Derna’s mayor was suspended pending investigation on Saturday.

“Saddam is positioning himself as the boss. You need to physically access victims and the city, and to do that they depend on his goodwill,” said Harchaoui. “Slowly things are orienting towards one conclusion, which is that only mid-level officials can be blamed. A large part of the conclusion is excluded from the start, it’s not an open investigation.”

Marxists.org

https://www.marxists.org/archive/bordiga/works/1951/murder.htm

Murder of the Dead by Amadeo Bordiga 1951 

Murder of the Dead. First Published: Battaglia Comunista No. 24 1951; Source ... death, as in Diodorus Siculus. The appetite for surplus labour (Capital Vol ...

Populists are bad for our economic health, yet they’re still a hard habit to break

They are annoyingly good at politics but terrible at economics – GDP and living standards plummet in countries led by them

Torsten Bell
Sun 17 Sep 2023 

Global politics might not feel quite as grim as it did a few years back, but there’s still a lot of populism around: about a quarter of countries are led by populists. Silvio Berlusconi may be dead, but Giorgia Meloni is running the show in Italy. Donald Trump wants back into the White House (it’s cosier than jail), and are we really confident that arch-centrist Emmanuel Macron in France won’t be followed by Marine Le Pen? Even the pope is worried about a libertarian former sex-coach taking power in Argentina.

I raise this because it should encourage anti-populists to focus on addressing the bad economic outcomes that help drive populism. If you need further encouragement, it should come from recognising the scale of bad economic outcomes that follow populists actually coming to power.

Fascinating/depressing German research tracked 51 populist presidents/prime ministers from 1900-2020 in 60 countries. They are defined as those whose central argument is one of the “true people” v “dishonest” elites, and the bad news is their number has been on the rise for three decades. Worse, once they get into office they tend to stay for twice as long as non-populists. They are annoyingly good at politics, but very bad at economics. The researchers find that having a populist leader hits a country’s GDP per capita and living standards by about 10% over 15 years as the economy turns inward, institutions are undermined and risks are taken with macroeconomic policy. And there’s a specific warning for the likes of the US: once you’ve had one in power, populist leaders repeat on you (Argentina and Ecuador have had on-off populist leaders for decades). So populists are like cigarettes. It’s not the first one that does you in, but getting addicted to them that kills you.

Torsten Bell is chief executive of the Resolution Foundation. Read more at resolutionfoundation.org

Who lives and who dies in the world’s next pandemic should not depend on where they live

Aids and Covid had the worst impact in poorer countries and communities; a new health accord must address this

Michael Marmot
THE GUARDIAN 
Sun 17 Sep 2023 

The Covid pandemic was an equivocator with global unity – to misquote the porter in Macbeth. We were united in being affected by the pandemic but both its effects and the responses to it were grossly unequal. More, inequality worsens pandemics, not only current pandemics such as Aids and Covid but those yet to come.

Governments are looking to address one side of this equivocation through their negotiations on a pandemic accord that will be discussed during the UN general assembly in New York this month. Such a development is welcome and much needed. It is the other side, inequality, that is missing from the draft pandemic treaty and from governments’ pandemic preparedness plans. If lessons are learned, the next pandemic can be made less tragic in its effects.

It is to bring the lessons from the Aids response and other pandemics that UNAids took the initiative to convene a Global Council on Inequality, Aids and Pandemics. I am co-chairing it with Monica Geingos, first lady of Namibia, and Joseph Stiglitz, the economist and a professor at Columbia University in New York, with a diverse group of leaders from civil society, academia, government and international organisations, to review the evidence and propose new action.
The greater the inequality within a country, the higher the death rate from Aids and Covid

The global council will seek to influence pandemic preparedness efforts by showing the evidence of three ways in which inequality can be considered: how it drives pandemics; in access to diagnostics, vaccines and treatments; and exclusion of marginalised communities from engagement in designing their own welfare. Solutions must be found to all three.

Say the word “health” in the context of action and a common reaction is to think of the healthcare system. But social determinants are crucial in driving health inequalities. A new paper, led by John Ele-Ojo Ataguba, executive director of the African Health Economics and Policy Association, building on work on income inequalities and health, examined the relation between income disparities and HIV incidence and Aids mortality in 217 countries, and excess deaths linked to Covid in 151 countries.

In Africa, where HIV prevalence and Aids deaths are particularly high, and in the rest of the world, there was a link between income inequality and health: the greater the inequality within a country, the higher the HIV incidence, Aids mortality and Covid excess deaths. It is important to understand how this link comes about. One possibility is that the greater the inequality, the greater the deprivation, covering the spectrum from nutrition to education to life chances. Second, greater inequality is linked to lower social cohesion and trust, which make social action to deal with pandemics much more difficult. Third, inequality is linked to a politics that serves special interests against the interests of the whole population, especially marginalised communities.

More generally, we want the treaty to address the social determinants of health. Countries that are taking the social actions necessary to reduce health inequalities are likely to be those that are better prepared to handle the pandemic. In the US and the UK, for example, Covid mortality was higher in subgroups of the population that already had higher risk of ill health. Covid amplified these pre-existing inequalities.

A second major strategy to address inequality between countries is to make commitments to fix the vastly unequal supply of treatments and vaccines available globally. Among the most important of these commitments would be for the governments of the powerful states to attach conditions to the public financing they give pharmaceutical companies for research and development so the resulting technology can be shared around the world. Without these conditions, we are likely to repeat history: a situation in which a government invests more than $10bn in Covid vaccine research, resulting in the development of vaccines that are the private monopolies of pharmaceutical corporations, which are then neither shared with the world, nor even priced fairly for those who paid for them. Actions by governments to limit pharmaceutical monopolies have saved millions of lives in the Aids pandemic by requiring that technology and generic medicines be shared around the world. Following this model could ensure that it is not the geographical location or the fiscal capacity of a state that determines who lives and dies in a pandemic.
Lower-income countries, already deep in economic crisis from the pandemic, could be even less prepared for the next

Financing pandemic preparedness and response is a key factor in a world where countries have highly unequal resources, whether for buying tests and vaccines or for the upgrades in health infrastructure that can deliver them to people. We are in a world in which lower-income countries, already in deep economic crisis from the pandemic, could be even less prepared for the next, with no plan to address their levels of debt, let alone access more funds to strengthen their health systems and tackle Aids and tuberculosis. Two serious efforts are needed: a clear commitment to a pandemic response fund that would be triggered when a pandemic is declared; and a major effort to address unequal access to financing – in the short term to remove the massive debt burden hampering many countries’ ability to invest in preparedness and in the long term so that lower-income countries have equal access to affordable credit in times of crisis.

A third part of a strategy to deal with inequalities is to learn from the Aids pandemic the importance of including marginalised communities in responses; and to engage everyone in decision-making. It is important to fund community-led services to reach populations that the state cannot. Key commitments should include ending punitive laws including criminalisation of marginalised groups and developing strategies for greater equity related to gender, disability and sexual orientation.

We have a real challenge to global cooperation. High-income countries may be reluctant to make the financial guarantees necessary and their pharmaceutical industries reluctant to do what is needed. In the absence of such commitments, low- and middle-income countries may be reluctant to cooperate in sharing vital data that is necessary for managing a global pandemic. Addressing inequality is an opportunity to make real progress. This pandemic treaty is an opportunity for tangible steps towards a fairer world, with potential benefits for the health of people everywhere.

Michael Marmot is professor of epidemiology at University College London, director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, and past president of the World Medical Association

Epigenetics and evolution: ‘the significant biological puzzle’ of sexual orientation

The ‘gay gene’ some touted as explaining widespread homosexuality in humans has not been found. Might epigenetics hold the answer?

Benjamin Oldroyd

THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA

Sun 17 Sep 2023 

Last century, when things were a whole lot worse for gay people than they are today, there was a widely held notion that human homosexual behaviour was a choice, and that a homosexual person could change their ways and become heterosexual. For this reason, the occasional report of a “gay” gene was welcomed by many progressive people. The existence of such genes would show that homosexuality was not a choice but an inevitable consequence of development and genetics. Indeed, gay genes were perhaps the only example where many left-leaning people heartily embraced genetic determinism.

Awkwardly, like cold fusion, reports of genes that “cause” human homosexuality (and many other human behaviours) have failed to stand up to scrutiny – there is no “gay gene” in the sense that no one has identified genetic markers or genes that reliably predict sexual orientation in humans. Moreover, since homosexuality would generally be reckoned to reduce reproductive output of an individual, an allele (a gene variant) that directly causes homosexuality is unlikely to spread in a population.

Epigenetic inheritance remains a tantalising possibility

Nonetheless, human homosexuality in both sexes is widespread, as it is across the animal kingdom. One study estimated that 3.2% of the Australian human population identifies as gay or lesbian, a frequency that is typical across the world. Despite the lack of genetic markers that are predictive of human homosexuality, the trait is highly heritable in the sense that siblings are more similar in their sexual orientation than expected by chance. However, the level of concordance between identical twins is surprisingly low.

Here’s an anecdotal example. I once had a friend who was the president of Gay Liberation in Victoria as a young man during the 1970s. “Fred”, now deceased, had a prominent scar on his forehead, a legacy of being beaten up in a country town where he had been invited to speak about his cause. (The burghers of the town were waiting to pick him up at the station, with evil intent.) Yet Fred’s identical twin was not gay. So much for genetic determinism. If homosexuality was solely genetically determined, identical twins should have identical sexual orientation.

The widespread occurrence of homosexuality in humans and other animals, together with its high heritability but unpredictable genetics and lack of genetic markers, is a significant biological puzzle. There are three leading hypotheses for the common existence of homosexuality in human populations, one based on kin selection, one on sexually antagonistic alleles, and one on epigenetic inheritance.

Briefly, the kin selection idea is that a gene that promotes homosexual behaviour can spread in a population if homosexual people contribute significantly to the reproduction of close relatives. Although this idea is plausible, the lack of any genetic marker that is reliably associated with sexual orientation is a strong argument against it.


Epigenetics, the misunderstood science that could shed new light on ageing

The “antagonistic alleles” idea is that there are certain genes that are selected in different directions, that is, positively selected in males, but negatively selected in females and vice versa. Hypothetically, because no such gene has been identified, a gene that promotes testosterone production could be at a selective advantage in males if it promoted traits such as muscle development, risk taking, opposite-sex sexual attraction and increased sexual attractiveness to females. But if the same gene were expressed in the same way in females it might be disadvantageous for reciprocal reasons. This means that selection could pull in different directions in males and females, maintaining different gene variants in a population. By that I mean, gene variants that have different selective advantages in males and females can potentially coexist in a population because neither is unambiguously better. If so, sexual orientation may be more fluid than one might expect based on biological sex alone. (Well, “der”, I suspect you are now thinking, but please don’t shoot your even-handed messenger.)

Finally, we have an epigenetic hypothesis. Epigenetics is the transfer of genetic information between generations, which is not coded in DNA. In most mammals, male sexual development is determined by SrY, a gene on the Y chromosome. SrY codes a protein that interacts with other genes to reverse the default development of an embryo’s gonads from an oestrogen-producing ovary into a testosterone-producing testis. Thus, the short story of mammalian sexual development is that if a foetus is bathed in oestrogen produced by its default ovaries, it develops a female body. But if it is bathed in testosterone from its newly converted testes, it develops as a male.

Well, that’s a nice cut-and-dried story of genetic determinism, isn’t it?

I cheerfully taught it in my first-year biology classes for more than two decades, in full knowledge that the story is more complex. For example, if an individual’s testosterone production is defective, a genetic male (based on their possession of a Y chromosome and SrY gene) will develop as a female. Indeed, such individuals may be hyper-female, since they do not produce or respond to testosterone, whereas genetic females do both.

Even more extraordinary is a rare syndrome caused by a deficiency of the enzyme 5α-reductase. This enzyme converts testosterone to a more potent male-determining hormone. These kids, who are chromosomally male, are born with female-like genitalia and are often raised as girls. They then change to the male phenotype at puberty with its associated release of testosterone. Not only do male foetuses produce more androgens than female foetuses, they respond to it more strongly due to sex-specific epigenetic marks in genes that code for androgen receptors. Conversely, female foetuses produce less androgen and have reduced responsiveness to it. It is even possible for a genetically female foetus to have levels of circulating androgens in the male range but still develop as a female. So, while the primary cause of male bodies from female bodies is indeed SrY, other genes on the sex chromosomes can modify its effects.

Beyond DNA by Benjamin Oldroyd. 

Photograph: Melbourne University Press


The epigenetic hypothesis for the widespread occurrence of human homosexuality is based on the possibility of epigenetic inheritance of adjustments to a foetus’s testosterone sensitivity. Like most other epigenetic marks, sex-specific epigenetic marks are established anew in the early embryo following fertilisation.

Thus, most of the sex-specific epigenetic marks on genes that are involved in testosterone sensitivity are scrubbed off and re-established in a reliably sex-specific pattern well before the gonads become differentiated into either testes or ovaries. However, not all epigenetic marks are completely erased during embryo development, and it is therefore possible that there is some transgenerational transfer of epigenetic settings for testosterone sensitivity. This could affect sexual phenotype, sexual identity and sexual attraction.

This is a potentially important idea because it may explain the strong tendency for twins to have similar sexual preferences, but for this tendency to be no stronger between identical twins than it is between non-identical twins. This suggests epigenetic inheritance from one or other parent, but not genetic inheritance. If it were solely genetic, we would expect identical twins to be much more likely to share their sexual preferences than non-identical twins.

So, to the extent to which human homosexuality is the question, epigenetic inheritance remains a tantalising possibility.

This is an edited extract from Beyond DNA – How Epigenetics is Transforming our Understanding of Evolution, by Benjamin Oldroyd (MUP).


Benjamin Oldroyd is emeritus professor of behavioural genetics at the University of Sydney

WAR PROFITEERING

Halliburton equipment worth $7.1m imported into Russia in past year, customs records show

Exclusive: US oil multinationals face questions over trade with Russia amid pressure to cease operations

Daniel Boffey 

Chief reporter

THE GUARDIAN

Sun 17 Sep 2023 

US oil and gas multinationals are facing fresh questions over their trade with Russia after customs records revealed that more than $7.1m (£5.7m) worth of equipment manufactured by Halliburton has been imported into the country since it announced the end of its Russian operations.

Last September Halliburton, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services for oil and gas exploration, sold its Russian office to local management amid pressure on all US companies to cease their trade after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian customs records seen by the Guardian show that despite this move to sell up on 8 September, Halliburton subsidiaries exported equipment of a value of $5,729,600 to its former operation in Russia in the six weeks that followed the sale.

The equipment was largely shipped from the US and Singapore although the records show it originated in a range of countries, including the UK, Belgium and France.

The bulk of exports from the subsidiaries ended on 6 October but the last shipment to Russia from a Halliburton company, recorded as Halliburton MFG in the records, was of a sealing element priced at $2,939.40 on 24 October 2022 from Malaysia to a firm called Sakhalin Energy, a consortium that is developing the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in eastern Russian. Its investors include Gazprom. Shell disinvested from the consortium after the invasion of Ukraine.

After a short pause, imports of Halliburton equipment to Russia then resumed in December 2022 from two companies unrelated to the US multinational.

The products were imported from Turkey, bringing the total value of exports of Halliburton equipment to Russia since the company closed its operations to at least $7,163,317.

Of all the exports to Russia made since last September, 98% were supplied to Halliburton’s newly independent former operation, known as BurService, whose clients have included Gazprom, Rosneft, TNK-BP and Lukoil.

According to customs records, exports to Russia of Halliburton equipment, which range in type from pumps, to wrenches for the drilling of wells, and cement additives, continued until at least the end of June this year. More recent records are yet to be made available.

There is exasperation in Ukraine at the lethargy of many large industrial players in the west in extracting themselves from the Russian economy.


The findings illustrate the difficulties multinational companies have had in unpicking their trading relationships and in controlling the distribution of their products via third parties.

Some of the world’s largest US oil and gas field service companies are already facing questions over their conduct. The Kremlin is heavily dependent on its oil and gas sector for the revenue that funds its military.

Earlier this month, the head of the US Senate foreign relations committee, Bob Menendez, wrote to Halliburton and their competitors SLB and Baker Hughes, after reports that the companies had continued to trade with Russia to various degrees after the invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Menendez, in letters to the chief executives of the three companies, said he was “extremely disturbed” by an AP report that sales had continued in 2022. He accused the management of seeking to “make a profit” rather stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

Baker Hughes sold its oilfield services business in Russia nine months after the invasion. SLB, which reportedly had 9,000 employees working in Russia, announced only in July this year that it would stop exporting technology to Russia.

There is no suggestion that any of the companies breached the sanctions regime of the US or its western partners.

It is understood that the sale date of Halliburton’s operations in Russia was not fixed until late in the day, which may account for those shipments from its subsidiaries that left for the country shortly before and soon after 8 September.

A spokesperson for Halliburton said: “Halliburton was the first major oilfield services company to exit Russia, in full compliance with sanctions. It has been more than a year since we have conducted operations there.

“Halliburton wound down its Russia operations and completed the sale of its Russia business in less than six months while prioritising safety and securing the necessary government approvals, including for shipments to Russia. Halliburton no longer conducts operations in Russia.”

Halliburton, which was led by the former US vice-president Dick Cheney, posted a gross profit for the 12 months ending 30 June 2023 of $4.052bn, a 63.19% increase year-on-year despite writing off $300m on the sale of the Russian operation.

Glib Kanevskyi, chief executive of the Kyiv-based thinktank StateWatch, said that western governments needed to do more to persuade their large companies to better control the distribution of products which could be useful to the Russian economy.

He added that companies such as Halliburton should be encouraged to be transparent about how they are ensuring their products are being kept out of the Russian market.

Kanevskyi said: “When we talk about the Halliburton case, we need to understand that it cannot be effective if, for example, the USA or other countries will try to punish some company involved in this scheme to ship Halliburton equipment to Russia. It cannot be effective in my opinion.

“If the international community will collaborate and involve businesses then it can be helpful. It’s not easy. What countries can do today is dialogue with its own businesses. If we talk about Halliburton it is a serious player in the world and the US government can have a conversation with it and see how it can better control its distribution process”.

Climate crisis

Tens of thousands in NYC march against fossil fuels as AOC hails powerful message

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the crowd must become ‘too big and too radical to ignore’ as Biden came under fire for oil projects

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the rally at the finish of the march to end fossil fuels in New York on 17 September 2023. Photograph: Bryan Woolston/AP

Dharna Noor and Aliya Uteuova in New York

THE GUARDIAN

Sun 17 Sep 2023 

Tens of thousands of climate activists took to the streets of New York City on Sunday in a “march to end fossil fuels”, with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez telling the crowd that the movement must become “too big and too radical to ignore”.

To cheers from the crowd, the progressive Democrat criticized the US continuing to approve fossil fuel projects, something which the Biden administration did earlier this year with the controversial Willow project in Alaska.

“We are all here for one reason: to end fossil fuels around the planet,” Ocasio-Cortez told a rally at the finish of the march, which ended close to the UN headquarters where world leaders will gather this week. “And the way we create urgency is to have people around the world in the streets.”

She said: “The United States continues to be approving a record number of fossil fuel leases and we must send a message, right here today,” adding that despite record profits the support for the fossil fuel industry was “starting to buckle and crack.”

Climate action requires a democratic restructuring of the economy, she said. “What we’re not gonna do is go from oil barons to solar barons.”

Organizers estimated that between 50,000 and 75,000 people attended the march in Manhattan and had anticipated it would be the biggest climate march in the US in the past five years. The NYPD said it did not comment on crowd numbers.

People march to end fossil fuels in New York City on 17 September 2023. 

Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

“This is an incredible moment,” said Jean Su of the Center for Biological Diversity, who helped organize the mobilization. “Tens of thousands of people are marching in the streets of New York because they want climate action, and they understand Biden’s expansion of fossil fuels is squandering our last chance to avoid climate catastrophe.”

She said the action was the largest climate protest in the US since the start of the pandemic.

“This also shows the tremendous grit and fight of the people, especially youth and communities living at the frontlines of fossil fuel violence, to fight back and demand change for the future they have every right to lead,” she said.

The march came as world leaders gather for this week’s UN general assembly, and a UN climate ambition summit on Wednesday, which the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described as a “no nonsense” conference meant to highlight new climate commitments.

On Friday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Biden was not currently scheduled to take part in Wednesday’s UN climate summit. Biden has been praised by climate activists for last year passing a historic $369bn climate law but criticized for allowing oil drilling projects and the expansion of gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

A decision for Biden to stay away from the UN climate ambition summit is “unacceptable”, said Su of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The time is now for Biden to lead on the world stage, and show he means it when he calls climate change the existential threat to humanity.”

During the march, the Rev Lennox Yearwood, head of the Hip Hop Caucus, likened today’s climate movement to the US fight for racial justice. “We’re at our lunch counter moment for the 21st century,” he said. A native of Louisiana, he said he was excited to see demonstrators support environmental justice activists’ fight to end petrochemical buildout in the south-west US. “We need to end fossil fuels in all forms,” he said.

Indigenous leaders gathered to defend the climate.

Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate, from Uganda, said: “When we say that we want climate justice, we’re not just talking about transitioning to solar panels. We are talking about leaving no one behind when you’re talking about addressing the injustices that come with the climate crisis.

Actor and climate activist Susan Sarandon opened her speech by congratulating the students of New York University on the news of their university divesting from fossil fuels after years of pressure, as the Guardian first reported last week. Addressing the crowd, she said, “You guys give me hope,” adding: “What we have to do is take responsibility and press those that are at the top to finally step up.”

Veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben travelled to New York City to attend the march.

“I think it’s a real restart moment after the pandemic for the big in-the-streets climate movement,” he said. “It’s good to see people get back out there.”

The crowd, he said, reflected the diversity of New York City. “I’m glad to see there’s a lot of old people like me here,” said McKibben, who founded Third Act, an activist group aimed at elders. “We’ll be marching in the back because we’re slow!”

More than 650 global climate actions took place earlier this week; earlier on Sunday activists sprayed orange paint on to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

Youth-led organizations, including Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future, played leading roles in organizing the mobilizations.

Additional climate protests will be held throughout the following week, including at New York City’s Zuccotti Park on Monday morning.

UK

GOOD NEWS
‘Limited’ evidence that pay rises are to blame for inflation of goods, ONS says

Daniel O'Boyle
Fri, 15 September 2023 

There is “limited” evidence that rising wages are responsible for the higher cost of goods, the ONS said today, though it warned that pay may be to blame for rising costs of certain services (Evening Standard composite)

There is “limited” evidence that rising wages are responsible for the higher cost of goods, the ONS said today, though it warned that pay may be to blame for rising costs of certain services.

Fast-rising wages have been a major subject of concern for the Bank of England, which fears the public’s pay is rising too fast to bring inflation back down to the 2% target.

In the spring, the Bank’s chief economist Huw Pill urged the public to not ask for raises. Since then, the pace of pay rises has only surged faster, to 8.5% year-on-year in the three months to July.

Yet the ONS’ latest analysis, based on the Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey, and the Producer Price Inquiry, suggested that wages are not driving prices up for goods, though they may be for some services.

The official statistics body said that there is “usually there is no correlation between output price growth and wage growth” within manufacturing of goods. Although it noted that there did appear to be a correlation for a large part of this year, that followed a negative relationship between the two, and “dissipated” more recently.

“Despite wage increases, there are enough products where the output price has stopped growing or started falling so that we do not see a correlation,” the ONS said. It added that “industry output price growth has appeared to be mainly caused by other factors”.

For many services, though, where labour tends to be the main expense, the ONS said “labour costs have likely been passed through [to customers] completely”.

“In accountancy, law, management consultancy, advertising, architecture and engineering, technical testing, security and office administration, output prices have increased almost exactly in line with the theoretical scenario impact of labour costs,” it said.

But the ONS added that those sectors”still have relatively low price increases”. On the other hand, sectors such as hotels, warehousing and air transport, where price rises have been steepest, saw less of an impact from wages.

UK
Ban on no-fault evictions to be delayed as landlord MPs push back

Ruby Hinchliffe
Fri, 15 September 2023 

Conservatives hope Michael Gove’s Renters Reform Bill will be a vote winner with ‘generation renters’ - Justin Tallis/AFP

Michael Gove’s bill to protect renters is unlikely to see the light of day before the year is out, as backbench MPs continue to push against it and parliamentary sitting days become fewer and fewer.

The levelling up secretary’s team has said a “second reading will follow shortly”, and sources say the department is confident it will happen before the King’s Speech at the beginning of November.

But industry sources say Number 10 is “less confident”. One said Downing Street is concerned about the lack of available sitting days before the King’s Speech on November 7.

If the second reading does not happen before this date, then the bill will not be able to be granted royal assent. It would then be carried over into next year.

Swathes of backbench MPs are also fervently opposed to the bill. One told the Telegraph: “There’s incredible resistance from certain MPs. Until such time as everyone is assuaged, it’s not going to get very far.”

Asked how many politicians are opposed to the bill at present, the MP said the number was “huge” and has been growing since the bill was first published.

Renters’ Reform Bill: 10 key changes

Some 87 MPs declared income from 167 English homes earning over £10,000 in rent this year, according to research published by not-for-profit 38 Degrees earlier this year. This equates to around 20pc of Conservative MPs.

Landlords fear Gove’s bill – which promises to get rid of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and introduce rolling tenancies – could put too much power in the hands of non-paying tenants, leaving them at the whim of an already overburdened court system to gain back control of their properties.

The Financial Times reported that five of the 16 members in the government whips’ office, which decides what bills are tabled for further readings, own rental property.

With a general election looming next year, prime minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to deliver on his party’s manifesto commitments – the Renters Reform Bill being one of those.

Conservatives are hoping that the legislation, which was introduced to Parliament in May, will be a Generation Rent vote-winner.

A cornerstone of the legislation is the scrapping of Section 21, or ‘no-fault’ evictions, which will make it harder for landlords to remove tenants who refuse to pay rent or trash the property.

Backbench Tory MPs fear the new laws could prompt swathes of landlords to exit the market, which they say would constrain rental housing supply and lead to a full-blown housing crisis.

The National Residential Landlords Association has called on a separate judicial court to be set up just to deal with the housing sector. But government sources say this is simply not on the cards.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “The Government remains absolutely committed to delivering a fairer private rented sector for tenants and landlords through the Renters Reform Bill.

“The bill which delivers our manifesto commitment is progressing through parliament and second reading will follow shortly.”

Number 10 declined to comment.

BAT SHIT IS NASTY

Can the British American Tobacco dividend keep growing for decades?


Christopher Ruane

Motley Fool UK 2023
Fri, 15 September 2023 

Image source: Getty Images

A couple of decades ago, one of the attractions of buying shares in British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) was the company’s juicy dividend, funded by massive cash flows. Fast forward 20 years and what has happened to the British American Tobacco dividend?

It has risen every single year over the past 20 years.

The most recent increase was this year’s 6% boost. Not only that, but the 8% yield is close to record highs.

The current weak share price (down 28% in five years) and high yield may suggest that many investors have doubts about the long-term outlook for the debt-laden producer of a product facing structural demand decline.

An alternative view is that, just as the dividend has grown annually for the past two decades, it could keep doing so.

As a British American Tobacco shareholder with skin in the game, I actually think the dividend could be set to keep growing. Here’s why.
Intent and capacity

The current management has signalled its commitment to raising the dividend annually (something known as a progressive dividend policy).

The recent increase demonstrates that in practice, while management comments on earnings conference calls are explicit about the intention.

Indeed, the company’s chief executive could not have been clearer on this point during the most recent such call. He told analysts, “We remain committed to continue our 25-year track record of consistent dividend growth, rewarding our shareholders through all economic cycles”.

But few managements stay in place for 20 years — and priorities can change.

Even if the intent remains consistent, sustaining dividend growth will require financial capacity.

Declining demand for key profit driver

In any given year, the company could simply borrow to fund dividend growth. Its adjusted net debt of £37bn makes me uncomfortable, but it is a reminder that the highly cash generative business can typically borrow money easily if it wants.

Longer term, though, sustaining dividend growth will depend on the company’s free cash flows. British American Tobacco has consistently targeted paying out around 65% of its earnings as dividends. That is a self-imposed target so it could be changed.

On one hand, declining cigarette sales are a key risk to the company’s ability to generate the free cash flow and earnings needed to keep growing its dividend. Cigarettes remain by far the biggest contributor to the company’s earnings. But the company sold 5.7% fewer cigarettes in the first half than the prior year period.
Reshaping income streams

On the other hand, the company still sells billions of cigarettes every week.

Its portfolio of premium brands gives it pricing power, helping to offset declining volumes. It is also possible to buy growth opportunities in a declining market through acquisitions, like British American’s takeover of US tobacco business Reynolds six years ago.

The company has been growing its non-cigarette business quickly. New category growth in the first half was in the double digits year on year and British American has only scratched the surface of the vaping market.

A lot can change in a short time, let alone decades. The company faces sizeable financial challenges, from managing its debt to dealing with declining cigarette sales. But I see at least a possibility that the British American Tobacco dividend could keep growing for decades.

The post Can the British American Tobacco dividend keep growing for decades? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

C Ruane has positions in British American Tobacco P.l.c. The Motley Fool UK has recommended British American Tobacco P.l.c. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; MONETIZING DATA

TikTok fined record £300m for putting children’s privacy at risk

The fine is TikTok’s largest ever financial penalty and its first under European data rules.

Matthew Field
Fri, 15 September 2023

tiktok app

TikTok has been fined €345m (£296m) by European regulators for failing to protect children’s privacy and putting them at risk of “online exploitation or grooming”.

The Irish Data Protection Commission, the data watchdog responsible for TikTok under the bloc’s rules, found the social media network had left children’s accounts exposed to the public by default, rather than implementing stricter privacy settings for younger users.

When signing up, all TikTok users, including those under the age of 16, were able to skip an option that would have made their account more secure. Instead, by default, their account would be broadcast “to a global audience of millions”.

The fine is TikTok’s largest ever financial penalty and its first under European data rules.

In its ruling, the regulator accused TikTok of using so-called dark patterns to nudge users towards lowering their privacy settings when using the app.

The regulator said TikTok’s settings left children’s videos exposed online to “bad actors” and “dangerous individuals”. The fine related to TikTok’s policies between July 2020 and December 2020.

Helen Dixon, Ireland’s data protection commissioner, also investigated TikTok’s “family pairing” feature, introduced in April 2020, which allowed an adult user to pair with the account of a child. To do so, they had to scan a QR code on the child’s phone.

While intended to be used by parents or guardians, the data regulator found TikTok did not verify the user was a relative.

Once they were paired with another TikTok user, that user could then remotely enable direct messaging on the child’s account, provided their account said they were over the age of 16.

A TikTok spokesman said: “We respectfully disagree with the decision, particularly the level of the fine imposed.”

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, said changes had been made to the app to improve childrens’ privacy prior to the investigation. All accounts used by under 16s have been set to private by default since January 2021.

The video sharing app has been under pressure over its use of user data and been accused by US officials of posing a security risk, something TikTok denies.

The app is also facing an ongoing investigation by Ireland’s privacy watchdog that it allowed European data to be transferred to China in violation of the bloc’s data regulations.

Europe has further tightened up its rules on Big Tech giants, announcing its new Digital Services Act which adds further responsibilities to the world’s largest technology companies, including TikTok.

The European fine follows a £12.7m fine levied by Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office. The regulator said between May 2018 and July 2020 TikTok had offered its services to children under the age of 13 without parental consent. TikTok said it disagreed with the decision.

Elaine Fox, TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe, said: “We will not hesitate to make significant changes to product features and processes to ensure TikTok meets the high standard of European safety and privacy regulation.”

The data watchdog also found TikTok had not done enough to properly assess the risk of users under the age of 13 gaining access to its app and having their data exposed.

‘We build those cars’: US workers on Ford picket line demand a fair share


Tom Perkins in Wayne, Michigan
Sat, 16 September 2023 

Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Under blue skies in Wayne, Michigan, a half-hour outside Detroit, the mood was festive but defiant as hundreds of autoworkers settled in for the first weekend of picketing at the entrances to Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant.

Ford’s workers were among the first to go out in a series of targeted strikes that marked the beginning of the largest industrial action taken by US car workers in over a decade.

Related: Auto worker strike explained: the pay gap, the talks and what Biden is doing

A chorus of horns blared in support from Michigan Avenue, a busy highway running through the nation’s automotive heartland. Strikers turned away semi-truck after semi-truck trying to deliver parts to the plant, which produces the Ranger and Bronco. “Hell no, you’re not coming in here, keep it moving,” a worker yelled.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) president, Shawn Fain, called the strike after failing to reach new union contracts with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis before a midnight Thursday deadline.

The strikers’ message: they’re no longer accepting the automakers’ “corporate greed”. They point to the companies’ record profits in recent years and huge stock buyback programs that are enacted as workers struggle to make ends meet.

Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, briefly stopped by to meet with picketers. Several workers near retirement weren’t particularly impressed by the gesture. He made $29m a year, they noted, while hourly workers were “fighting to get money to survive after we leave here”, said plant worker Stu Jackson. “How many years do we even have left to live after we retire? Ten years?” asked Jackson, who highlighted the toll factory work exacts on workers’ bodies and health.

“Did you see Farley in his tailored European suit? Wasn’t he sharp?” Jackson asked. “He looks like the $29m man. Those nice shoes.

“And look at us,” Jackson added with indignation, motioning to the small group dressed in jeans, T-shirts and sweatpants. “This isn’t fair.”

As Fain has pointed out repeatedly, CEO pay has soared as the car companies have recovered from the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Pay for the big three companies’ bosses jumped by 40% between 2013 and 2022. The GM boss, Mary Barra, took home $29m in 2022. Meanwhile, auto manufacturing workers have seen their average real hourly earnings fall 19.3% since 2008, according to the Economics Policy Institute.

Domonique Hicks, a young mother of three who lives in Detroit, said the $16.67-an-hour wage she received was not feeding her children.

“We’re here to take back what Ford took from us,” Hicks said. “They didn’t want to bargain with us so we’re making a statement – if you can make millions and billions, then we deserve something. We build those cars.” The strike will go on for as long as Ford “wants to keep their checkbook in their pocket”, she added.

Among other issues, the union is calling for a 40%-plus pay increase, an end to two-tier wage systems in which new hires are paid significantly less for doing the same work and the restoration of benefits cut to help save the car companies after the 2008/2009 recession drove them to bankruptcy.

United Auto Workers member Shamia Ware walks the picket line during a strike at the Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Friday. 

Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

Auto executives expressed frustration as the strike entered its first weekend. A Ford spokesman called the UAW’s terms “unsustainable”. “I’m extremely frustrated and disappointed. We don’t need to be in a strike right now,” Barra told CNBC on Friday.

The White House is watching developments closely. On Friday Joe Biden said his team was engaged in trying to find a resolution and called on the car companies to “go further” in their negotiations with striking workers.

“The companies have made some significant offers. But I believe that should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts,” he said. “Record corporate profits, which they have, should be shared by record contracts for the UAW,” Biden reiterated.

Hicks said she had a message for those who oppose the strike, or worry about how it will affect the economy. “People are hurting. You’re talking about shutting down the economy? [The auto companies] are shutting down the economy because they aren’t putting money back into it, so we’re here to get it.

“How am I supposed to feed my kids?” Hicks asked. “We’re just trying to live and support our family.”

Even with a wage of about $24 an hour after starting at $16 nearly four years ago, plant worker Amanda Robinson says she can barely afford the payments on her car and there’s not much left after bills at the end of the month to raise her three-year-old son.

Working in the plant is not an “easy walk in the park, sit at a desk” job, she said. It was grueling and took a physical toll, Robinson added, and they deserved better wages.

“We’re showing them that we’re not playing,” she said. “We’re willing to do whatever it takes. Everybody is standing behind us.”

UK

Unite launches ‘red wall’ campaign in push for radical Labour policies

Heather Stewart Special correspondent
Sun, 17 September 2023 

Photograph: Sharon Graham Campaign/PA

Labour’s biggest union backer, Unite, is launching grassroots campaigns in scores of industrial constituencies across the UK demanding more radical policies on energy, steel and green jobs.

Unite’s leader, Sharon Graham, who has been publicly critical of Keir Starmer, said funding earmarked for Labour would instead be funnelled into stoking public pressure for the party to shift its position on key issues including energy nationalisation.

“What we are doing is, we are diverting some of the money that we would probably have given to Labour, to have three major campaigns that we are starting, in the ‘red wall’ seats where these are the issues for those constituents,” she said.

“There will be billboards, there’s wraparounds, there will be one-to-one conversations: so when they come into those towns, people will be saying, that’s what’s important to them – and if Labour don’t pick the baton up, I think that will be difficult for them.”

Unite still pays significant affiliation fees to Labour, amounting to almost £1.1m in 2023 so far, but Graham said additional resources from the union’s political fund would now go into campaigning on specific policies.

She cited energy nationalisation, oil and gas, where Unite wants Labour to reverse its decision not to grant new North Sea licences, and government support for steelmaking.

“In Wales, in Scunthorpe … there’s 16 steel towns where we are taking our policies to the people of those towns and saying: ‘Whoever comes in here needs to give this commitment to steel,’” she said.

Unite is calling for Labour to allocate some of its £28bn a year of green investment funds to greening the steel industry – and promise to use British steel in all public infrastructure schemes.

Similarly, the union will target Scottish constituencies where there are oil and gas workers, calling for energy nationalisation, and a continuation of North Sea extraction until workers can move into new green jobs through a “just transition”.

“I don’t think there’s a family in Scotland that’s not connected to the oil and gas industry,” she said, claiming that many are “absolutely furious” about Labour’s policy on energy.

“I’m not saying, vote Labour, vote Tory, vote this or vote that – I’m saying, this is a core issue,” she said.

“Somebody asked me the other day: ‘How will you move Keir Starmer on these issues?’. For me, it’s the electorate: they’re the decision-makers. That is the reality. And so if the electorate moves, he moves – it’s as simple as that.”

In her speech to union delegates at the TUC Congress in Liverpool last Monday, Graham conceded that renationalising energy, including the National Grid, would cost £90bn but insisted a future Labour government could afford it.

Some of Labour’s green policies, spearheaded by the shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, have proved controversial with trade unions representing oil and gas workers.

Some fear their members could face the fate of coalminers in the 1980s unless the shift away from fossil fuels is carefully managed.

The GMB shares Unite’s scepticism about halting new North Sea licences – but its general secretary, Gary Smith, said he would continue to make that case directly to Starmer.

“Labour are just wrong on this: they’re wrong on oil and gas, and we will continue to argue and debate on it,” he said.

Smith, many of whose members work in the energy sector, rejected the idea of nationalisation, however.

“There is an argument for public ownership of some parts of strategic infrastructure; but the idea we were ever going to nationalise retail energy is nonsense: there’s not a lot of money in it,” he said, pointing to the fact that some energy providers have recently had to be bailed out.

Related: Labour manoeuvres on workers’ rights show prickly path to a manifesto

Unite irked some delegates at the TUC’s annual gathering by publicly attacking some of Labour’s policies, when most unions affiliated to the party have been publicly supportive – in particular of a raft of workers’ rights measures reaffirmed by the deputy leader, Angela Rayner.

Graham has accused Labour of watering down some aspects of the package, including unions’ access to workplaces, blaming corporate lobbying. “Most of these policies cost no money, it’s not financial. So it was done for a different reason and I assume it was done for business,” she said.

“We have put a lot of money into Labour through the bad times – they weren’t in government, so we’ve got nothing for it. And then of course the business lobby show up late for the party, and of course it’s: ‘We’ve got to be careful.’”

Related: The Tories crow that inflation is falling, but Britain’s profiteering crisis is worse than ever | Sharon Graham

She also urged Starmer’s party to take a more radical approach on issues including tax and spending policy – a view shared by some other unions. “If they’re too cautious, I think that will be a problem, because I think people are crying out for something,” she said.

Graham’s predecessor as Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, was closely involved in Labour politics during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and she has deliberately taken a more arm’s-length approach.

Unite gave Labour £3.5m in the run-up to the 2019 general election, making it by far the biggest contributor to the party’s campaign. Graham did not rule out providing more financial to support to Labour in the run-up to a general election.

“I’m sure we’ll have discussions – why would we give them any money if we didn’t want them to win: of course we want them to win – but we can’t just put a blank cheque into central Labour and say, ‘do with it as you will’, when the very issues we’re trying to get them to agree to, they’re not agreeing to,” she said.

Labour has been recruiting new donors among business leaders and philanthropists in recent months as it seeks alternative sources of funding.

A Labour spokesperson said: “A Labour government will change the lives of working people for the better, and everything we do is focused on that.

“A core part of our plans is our new deal for working people which will strengthen workers’ rights and tackle insecure work. That is good for workers and good for employers.”

UK 

Government accused of ‘rushed’ Tata Steel deal that leaves 3,000 jobs at risk

Adam Forrest

THE INDEPENDENT
Fri, 15 September 2023

Rishi Sunak’s government has been accused of “rushing” the rescue deal for Tata Steel which will pump up to £500m into the company while leaving as many as 3,000 workers at risk of losing their jobs.

Tata, the Indian conglomerate owner of the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales, will use the funding to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions which can run on zero-carbon electricity.

The government hailed a “great” deal for the firm, employing around 8,000 people across the UK, which will also see it invest about £750m in the green transition project.

But the company said on Friday the plan will mean “deep potential restructuring”. And the Department for Business and Trade said it will only safeguard around 5,000 jobs out of Tata’s total workforce.

Labour said the deal had been “rushed at the 11th hour”, while union leaders have expressed their anger at job losses and being shut out of talks – describing the agreement as a “disgrace”.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union will be “fighting tooth and nail not only to save these jobs but to create more jobs in steel”.

Gary Smith, GMB general secretary, said: “The cost to local people and the wider Port Talbot community will be immense. Once again, we have the spectacle of leaders talking up the fantasy land of a ‘just transition’ while the bitter reality for workers is them getting the sack.”

Labour claimed the plans would both waste money and hurt workers. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This rushed deal at the 11th hour does not meet the needs of the people who work at those steelworks at Port Talbot.”

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds added: “Only the Tories could spend £500m of taxpayers’ money to make thousands of British workers redundant.”

Mr Sunak said he was “pleased” by the agreement with Tata to support the steelworks in its “transition”. The PM told broadcasters: “Obviously, there will still be some people affected and I know this will be an anxious time for them.”

He added: “There were fears that around 8,000 jobs could be lost if steelmaking was lost at that plant. That clearly was a risk because those two blast furnaces there are reaching the end of their life.”

Workers outside Tata Steel's Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales, as around 3,000 jobs are at risk (PA)

The new £1.25bn furnaces are expected to be up and running within three years of approval. Tata said last year its UK operations were under threat unless it secured government funding to help it move to less carbon-intensive furnaces.

The deal also comes two months after parent firm Tata Group confirmed plans to build a £4bn battery factory in the UK after also getting subsidies from the government.

Ministers said replacing the existing coal-powered blast furnaces at the Port Talbot site will “reduce the UK’s entire carbon emissions by around 1.5 per cent”.

Speaking to Sky News, business secretary Kemi Badenoch said the agreement was “a great deal. Not just for Port Talbot, but for the UK.”

Ms Badenoch said: “What I would say to people who are concerned about job losses is that we do understand and we have a transition plan in place that’s funded up to about £100m to make sure that people have skills to retrain and move on to other things.”

But Plaid Cymru members for South Wales West, Luke Fletcher and Sioned Williams, said job losses “will have a devastating impact not only on the people of Port Talbot and its neighbouring communities but on the local and national economy”.

Tata said the fresh plans lay out a future for sustainable steel-making in the area. Chief executive and managing director, TV Narendran, said: “We will undertake a meaningful consultation with the unions on the proposed transition pathway in the context of future risk and opportunities for Tata Steel UK.

“With the support of the UK government and dedicated efforts of the employees of Tata Steel UK along with all stakeholders, we will work to transform Tata Steel UK into a green, modern, future-ready business.”

Thousands of jobs at risk at Port Talbot steelworks despite £500m state aid

PA Business Staff
Fri, 15 September 2023 

The Government is to pump up to £500 million into Britain’s biggest steelworks as part of plans to produce “greener” steel which could also hit thousands of jobs, sources have said.

Tata, the Indian conglomerate that owns the Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, will use the funding to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions that can run on zero-carbon electricity.

However, the company will also caution on Friday that the plans will lead to consultations over a “deep potential restructuring”.

Tata Steel employs around 8,000 people across the UK (Peter Byrne/PA)


The £1.25 billion furnaces are expected to be up and running within three years of getting regulatory and planning approvals, Tata Steel is expected to announce.

Tata warned last year that its UK operations were under threat unless it secured Government funding to help it move to less carbon-intensive electric arc furnaces.

Unions have previously said that the move to the new less labour-intensive furnaces could lead to around 3,000 job losses.

UK will not follow Biden’s ‘subsidy bowl’ economic policy – Hunt

Dominic McGrath, PA Political Staff
Fri, 15 September 2023 

The Government’s £500 million intervention into Britain’s biggest steelworks is not a sign that ministers are set to follow Joe Biden’s “subsidy bowl” economic policy, the Chancellor has said.

Jeremy Hunt insisted that the financial backing for Tata, the Indian conglomerate owner of the Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, came after “very credible commitments” were received about its own £750 million investment plans.

Speaking to the Financial Times, he said: “We are very clear — we won’t pursue the Inflation Reduction Act subsidy bowl approach to economic policy.

“We are very hard-headed. We will do what is right for the long-term interests of the UK.”

US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has been hailed by Labour

 (Paul Ellis/PA)

The Democrat president’s Inflation Reduction Act has been hailed as a major shift in American economic policy, with the green subsidy push winning praise in the UK from Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour.

The Opposition has been particularly critical of what it says is the lack of an industrial strategy from Rishi Sunak’s government.

The Chancellor told the paper that the Conservatives’ approach on industrial strategy was “alive and kicking”.

“The UK Government is taking a very holistic approach when it comes to industrial strategy,” he said.

He insisted that Friday’s steelworks announcement was not a sign that the Government was looking at “big pots of subsidies” for other key British sectors.

But he added: “Where there’s a strategic opportunity to progress, we will take it.”

Around 3,000 jobs at risk at steelworks despite £500m Government funding

Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor
Fri, 15 September 2023

The Government will pump up to £500 million into Britain’s biggest steelworks as part of plans to produce “greener” steel – but as many as 3,000 workers are set to lose their jobs.

Tata, the Indian conglomerate owner of the Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, will use the funding to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions which can run on zero-carbon electricity.

The firm, which employs around 8,000 people across the UK, will also invest about £750 million in the project.

But the company said on Friday the plans will lead to consultations over a “deep potential restructuring”.

In a separate statement, the department for business and trade said the deal will only safeguard around 5,000 jobs out of Tata’s total workforce.

Union leaders have expressed their anger at being shut out of talks between Tata and the Government and described the deal as a “disgrace”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “There were fears that around 8,000 jobs could be lost if steelmaking was lost at that plant. That clearly was a risk because those two blast furnaces there are reaching the end of their life.

“I’m pleased that the Government has managed to reach an agreement with Tata to support them in that transition, but they will also be making a very substantial capital investment into the plant to secure thousands of jobs.

“Obviously, there will still be some people affected and I know this will be an anxious time for them.”

The £1.25 billion furnaces are expected to be up and running within three years of getting regulatory and planning approvals.

Tata said last year its UK operations were under threat unless it secured Government funding to help it move to less carbon-intensive electric arc furnaces.

The deal also comes two months after parent firm Tata Group confirmed plans to build a £4 billion battery factory in the UK after also getting subsidies from the UK Government.

Workers outside Tata Steel’s Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

On Friday, Tata said the fresh plans lay out a future for sustainable steel-making in the area.

Tata Steel’s chief executive and managing director, TV Narendran, said: “We will undertake a meaningful consultation with the unions on the proposed transition pathway in the context of future risk and opportunities for Tata Steel UK.

“With the support of the UK Government and dedicated efforts of the employees of Tata Steel UK along with all stakeholders, we will work to transform Tata Steel UK into a green, modern, future-ready business.”

The Government said replacing the existing coal-powered blast furnaces at the Port Talbot site will “reduce the UK’s entire carbon emissions by around 1.5%”.

Speaking to Sky News, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the agreement was “a great deal. Not just for Port Talbot, but for the UK”.

Ms Badenoch said: “What I would say to people who are concerned about job losses is that we do understand and we have a transition plan in place that’s funded up to about £100 million to make sure that people have skills to retrain and move on to other things if they don’t want to stay in the steel industry.”

But union bosses and rival politicians heavily criticised the announcement.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These plans are disgraceful, short-sighted and lack ambition.

Workers outside Tata Steel’s Port Talbot steelworks (Ben Birchall/PA)

“Unite will be fighting tooth and nail not only to save these jobs but to create more jobs in steel.”

Gary Smith, GMB general secretary, said: “The jobs of thousands of steelworkers are now at risk. The cost to local people and the wider Port Talbot community will be immense.

“Once again, we have the spectacle of leaders talking up the fantasy land of a ‘just transition’ while the bitter reality for workers is them getting the sack.”

Labour claimed the plans would both waste money and hurt workers, with shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP saying: “Only the Tories could spend £500 million of taxpayers’ money to make thousands of British workers redundant.”

Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, who represents the Aberavon constituency, said a single job lost would be “one job loss too many”.

“If they had had a plan that was not just putting all the eggs into the electric arc furnace basket, we would have been able to have much more security about the future and sustaining those jobs.

“If those numbers are right, it would be utterly devastating for the community that I represent.”

Plaid Cymru members for South Wales West, Luke Fletcher and Sioned Williams, said: “The potential job losses at Tata’s Port Talbot plant will have a devastating impact not only on the people of Port Talbot and its neighbouring communities but on the local and national economy.

“Our solidarity is with the workers at this time and we stand ready to support those who need it.”

Downing Street acknowledged it had been an “anxious time” for employees and their families but insisted the changes were necessary.

“We recognise this will have been an anxious time for employees and their families while this work to find the right way forward has taken place,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

“Simply maintaining blast furnace production, ie the status quo, was not an option with the steel industry needing a sustainable future using more modern technology and practices.”

Steel workers facing job losses under net zero plan at Port Talbot

Chris Price

THE TELEGRAPH
Fri, 15 September 2023 

A worker in the blast furnace at Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant

 - GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of workers at Britain’s biggest steel mill are facing redundancy under a taxpayer-funded net zero plan.

Tata Steel will be given £500m of taxpayer cash to fund its switch to net zero at its Port Talbot steelworks.

The Indian conglomerate is expected to invest £1.25bn, including the £500m of taxpayer money, in retooling the site to produce “greener” steel, which ministers said will reduce the UK’s entire carbon emissions by around 1.5pc.

However, the new processes will require fewer jobs and Tata will consult on a restructuring that could lead to 3,000 redundancies.

The Unite union described the plans as a “disgrace” and vowed to fight them. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said it was a “devastating blow for workers at Port Talbot and the opposite of a just transition”.

Tata has been in talks with the Government for months about state aid to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions that can run on zero-carbon electricity.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the Government “is backing our steel sector” and said the proposal would “save thousands of jobs in the long term”.

Ministers confirmed the deal had the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the UK. Tata presently employs about 8,000 steel workers.

Ms Badenoch said: “This is an historic package of support from the UK Government and will not only protect skilled jobs in Wales but also grow the UK economy, boost growth and help ensure a successful UK steel industry.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added: “It is right that we are ready to step in to protect this world class manufacturing industry and to support a green growth hub in South Wales.”

The state aid comes after Tata Steel fell from an £82m profit in 2021 to a £279m loss last year as the cost of everything from energy to raw materials like iron soared.

Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran called the agreement with the Government a “defining moment for the future of the steel industry”.

He added: “The proposed investment will preserve significant employment and presents a great opportunity for the development of a green technology-based industrial ecosystem in South Wales.”

However, Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon, said: “While the investment to decarbonise our Port Talbot steelworks is necessary and long overdue, I am deeply concerned that the UK government is failing to deliver the just transition to green steel that my hardworking constituents deserve.”

He added: “The investment today may seem like a lot of money, but it pales in comparison to the investments made by European governments to competitor plants.”

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “This is a very worrying time for the whole community and it is essential Tata now has a meaningful consultation with employees and their trade unions about these proposals.”

Tata Steel seals £500m UK support package but big job losses feared

Mark Sweney

THE GUARDIAN
Fri, 15 September 2023 

Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

The UK government has agreed a £500m support package for Tata Steel to secure the future of the Port Talbot steelworks, in a deal unions said will have “devastating consequences”, with as many as 3,000 workers expected to lose their jobs.

India’s Tata group, which owns the vast steelworks in south Wales – Britain’s biggest – is also expected to inject about £725m to help it transition to greener production methods.

The country’s largest steel producer, which employs about 8,000 staff in the UK, with about half based at Port Talbot, had warned that it faced site closures if a financial support package could not be agreed.


“The agreement with the UK government is a defining moment for the future of the steel industry,” said Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chair of Tata Group.

“The proposed investment will preserve significant employment and represents a great opportunity for the development of a green technology-based industrial ecosystem in south Wales.”

Under the agreement, the government will provide a state aid package worth up to £500m to help switch Port Talbot’s two coal-powered blast furnaces to greener electric arc versions that can run on zero-carbon electricity.

Tata, which made a pre-tax loss of £279m in the UK, according to the company’s most recent annual results, is expected to cut about 3,000 jobs over the long term as a result of decarbonisation.

It marks the second time this year that the government has pledged taxpayer support to the Tata Group, after it agreed in July to provide the owner of Jaguar Land Rover several hundred million pounds towards a £4bn electric car battery gigafactory.

TV Narendran, the chief executive of Tata Steel, positioned the Port Talbot deal as a positive, describing it as the largest investment in the UK steel industry for decades, but confirmed that job cuts would follow.

“[It] provides an optimal outcome for all stakeholders,” he said. “We will undertake a meaningful consultation with the unions on the proposed transition pathway in the context of future risk and opportunities for Tata Steel UK. We will work to transform Tata Steel UK into a green, modern, future-ready business.”

Tata Steel said it would soon start a consultation on its plans, including “potential deep restructuring of the carbon-intensive, unsustainable iron and steelmaking facilities at Port Talbot”.

However, the GMB union said the deal would be devastating for the steel industry and “rip the heart out” of the Port Talbot community that is dependent on the site.

“This deal will have devastating consequences for jobs and workers,” said Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB. “It will rip the heart out of the Port Talbot community.”

Smith added that the GMB had been calling for investment in the UK steel industry for years but said the government has “dithered and delayed until it is too late. Thousands of workers, their families and communities will pay the price.”

The company said it would now be able to “ensure [the] continuity of steelmaking in Port Talbot” and that the government support meant “the project has a robust investment case”.

However, Labour accused the government of failing the steel industry in a deal that uses taxpayers’ money to make mass job cuts.

“Only the Tories could spend £500m of taxpayers’ money to make thousands of British workers redundant,” said Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s shadow business and trade secretary. “The Conservatives have presided over a decade of failure when it comes to steel, with 13,000 fewer steelworkers now than under a Labour government.”

Tata said that the capital cost of the redevelopment on Port Talbot would cost £1.25bn, including a grant from the UK government of “up to” £500m, and could be completed within three years of gaining all regulatory and planning approvals.

The government said modernising the furnaces at Port Talbot would reduce the UK’s entire carbon emissions by 1.5% – the site is the UK’s largest single carbon emitter – and “safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the UK”.

The business and trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said: “The UK government is backing our steel sector. This proposal will secure a sustainable future for Welsh steel and is expected to save thousands of jobs in the long term.”

The government said it was also working with Tata Steel and the Welsh government to set up a transition board with up to £100m funding to support employees and the local economy affected by the large-scale job cuts.

The company said its overhaul of Port Talbot would result in Tata Steel’s balance sheet being restructured, including the “elimination of the current cash losses in the UK”.

Tata Steel also intends to invest £20m over four years to set up two innovation and technology centres, one in Manchester and one in London, focusing on research in sustainable design and manufacturing.

What is green steel and why are there potential job losses at Tata?

Danny Halpin, PA Environment Correspondent
Fri, 15 September 2023 

The Government has announced a support package worth £500 million to Tata Steel that would see its coal-fired blast furnace in Port Talbot replaced in a move towards producing more green steel.

However, the company cautioned that the plans will lead to consultations over a “deep potential restructuring” and as many as 3,000 workers are set to lose their jobs.

Ministers have said the support package would prevent even more job losses while energy analysts have said other decarbonisation routes are available that would be less impactful on workers.

The PA news agency looks into the details of how and why the Government is decarbonising steel and whether job losses are necessary.

The plant currently employs around 4,000 people and is looking to replace its coal-fired blast furnace (Ben Birchall/PA)

– What is green steel?

Steel that is produced with power generated renewably. Currently, virgin steel is made using coal-fired blast furnaces which is a significant contributor of greenhouse gases.

There are four coal furnaces in the UK, two of which are owned by Tata, which make the steel industry responsible for 14.2% of the total manufacturing emissions in the UK and 95% of emissions from the UK’s steel sector.

– How can the steel industry decarbonise?

Producing virgin steel by using green hydrogen – which is made using renewable electricity – or producing recycled steel using an electric arc furnace would remove many of the current greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon capture and storage is another option whereby CO2 would be caught at the factory before entering the atmosphere and stored underground.

– Why are there job losses?

The proposed agreement would see the Port Talbot plant change from producing virgin steel to recycled steel, which requires less workers.

Energy analysts said the upfront costs of changing to recycling rather than investing in hydrogen-powered virgin steel are cheaper.

Tata Steel’s plant does not earn enough to pay for decarbonising on its own and needs support from the Government, who have said the plant has been running at a loss for years.

– Why is the industry decarbonising?

To reduce the amount of greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere and stop the Earth heating up which would help to maintain a safe climate.

It is also a legal requirement to decarbonise under the Government’s net zero plan as well as in keeping with its international obligations under the Paris Agreement.

The Climate Change Committee has suggested the Government “set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035”.

All four coal furnaces are approaching the end of their lifespan and must be replaced. The Government said replacing all coal furnaces would reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by around 1.5%.

– How are other countries decarbonising steel?

There are are currently 38 green steel projects in progress across the EU, nine of which are in Germany.

No country is yet producing steel using green hydrogen though Germany has one plant using blue hydrogen, meaning the gas is made from fossil fuels.

The UK has one project in the pipeline on the Humber which would use blue hydrogen.

– Why produce virgin steel?

Aside from retaining more jobs, energy analysts say the Port Talbot plant should be converted to green hydrogen-produced virgin steel because there is a growing demand for it in cars, construction and other industries central to the modern economy.

In the drive to net zero, manufacturers are increasingly wanting to source materials produced without carbon emissions.

Switching away from fossil fuels could also lower production costs by untying from increasingly volatile international markets, energy experts said.

Tata Steel poised for £500m subsidy to secure future of Port Talbot site

Mark Sweney

THE GUARDIAN
Fri, 15 September 2023

Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

The government is poised to announce a £500m support package for Tata Steel to secure the future of the Port Talbot steelworks, in an agreement that could lead to as many as 3,000 job losses.

India’s Tata group, which owns the vast steelworks in south Wales – Britain’s biggest – has been in negotiations over government subsidies to help it either transition to greener production methods or look at site closures.

Tata Steel UK, which employs about 8,000 staff at two of Britain’s four remaining blast furnaces, does not earn enough to cover the cost of decarbonisation on its own. About 4,000 people are employed at Port Talbot.

Under the agreement, the government will provide a state aid package to help switch Port Talbot’s two coal-powered blast furnaces to greener electric arc versions that can run on zero carbon electricity.

As part of the deal, Tata, which made a pre-tax loss of £279m in the UK, according to the company’s most recent annual results, is expected to inject about £700m into the green initiative.

The business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, and the Welsh secretary, David TC Davies, are expected to visit the south Wales site on Friday to announce the deal.

In July last year, Tata made a £1.5bn demand for government subsidies, with Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the group’s chair, saying: “Without this, we will have to look at closure of sites.”

The agreement with the government is likely to result in up to 3,000 job losses over the long term as a result of decarbonisation.

The government is in talks about a financial support package to assist Tata Steel employees facing redundancy, although some of the job cuts are likely to come from workers taking early retirement.

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, a GMB national officer, said: “Government intervention in the steel industry is long overdue, but imposing a programme without proper worker consultation is unacceptable.

“GMB has urged ministers and Tata Steel to have a longer-term view on the decarbonisation of steel. It is not a just transition if thousands of jobs are sacrificed in the name of short-term environmental gains.

“We wholeheartedly support the move to modernise and decarbonise the industry, in fact, we have sought this type of investment for years.

“But ignoring technologies outside of electric arc furnaces will mean tens of thousands of people will lose their livelihoods.”