DESPITE THE NAY SAYERS
Renewable Energy Had A Banner Year In 2022
Editor OilPrice.com
Sun, January 8, 2023
Despite experts saying that the world’s renewable energy capacity is not growing fast enough to support government pledges for a green transition by 2050, several clean energy production records were broken in 2022. A huge amount of wind and solar power came online around the globe last year, and several advances were made across a variety of different renewable energy sources. Energy firms across North America, Europe, and Asia established plans to develop major green hydrogen facilities, hydropower plants, and new tidal and wave operations; as well as to boost the connectivity across different regions to fulfill energy-sharing objectives. While there is still a long way to go if governments want to realize their pledges to reduce global emissions, greater investment in renewable energy over the last year from public and private players is likely to help accelerate the green transition over the coming decades.
Wind power continues to be one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sectors. In the U.K., the National Grid ESO stated that a record level of wind energy was produced in the last week of 2022, with 20.918GW of electricity produced in the half-hour period between 6:00 pm and 6.30 pm on 30 December 2022. This means that wind energy contributed 61.4 percent of the U.K.’s energy supply that day. The previous record was set with an output of 20.896GW on 2nd November 2022.
The CEO of trade body RenewableUK, Dan McGrail, stated of the achievement: “The fact that the UK's onshore and offshore wind farms keep setting new electricity generation records shows just how important this technology has become in our modern energy system.” He added, “Wind is now the UK's cheapest source of new power, so every unit of electricity we generate from it helps consumers by reducing ultra-expensive gas imports.”
The U.K. has some of the best conditions in Europe for wind power generation, with 74 terawatt hours (TWh) of wind energy generation achieved by late December 2022, producing enough energy to power 19 million homes. In August last year, the U.K. reached 25.5 GW of wind power capacity, an increase of 10.5 GW from 2017. This comes from both onshore and offshore wind farms. And the new 1.1-gigawatt Seagreen project from SSE Plc and TotalEnergies SE is expected to come online next summer. Overall, the U.K.’s pipeline for wind projects, both in operation and development, totals 129 GW, of which 93.3 GW are offshore.
In Germany, a new renewable energy production record was set last year, with the country producing 256 TWh of electricity from renewable sources in 2022. Better weather conditions allowed the output of solar power to increase by 23 percent compared to 2021. Renewables contributed to 46 percent of Germany’s power consumption in 2022, an increase from 41 percent the previous year. However, experts suggest that Germany must bring significantly more renewable energy projects online to meet its climate aims. To achieve its target of 600 TWh of renewable energy capacity by 2030 – equating to 80 percent of its power consumption – the 2022 green energy output should have totaled around 270 TWh.
In 2022, China was on track to break both fossil fuel and renewable energy production records, with significant government investments in the development of its green energy sector. Solar power for electricity generation increased by 30 percent between January and October, compared to the same period in 2021. And the contribution of wind power for electricity increased by 25 percent. And China continues to be the largest renewable energy producer in the world.
Overall, the global electricity demand increased by 3 percent in the first half of 2022, compared to the previous year. Renewable energy operations were able to meet the entirety of this demand rise, with wind and solar providing 77 percent and hydrogen the rest. In China, the rise in wind and solar generation provided 92 percent of its electricity demand rise; in the U.S. it met 81 percent, and in India, it was 23 percent.
As well as putting many countries on track to meet renewable energy and climate pledges in the coming decades, the increase in the global green energy capacity has had a more immediate effect in Europe. As Europe faced gas shortages and sharply rising energy prices, several countries turned to renewable energy to meet demand. Between May and August last year, the EU generated 12 percent of its electricity from solar power sources, an increase of 9 percent from 2021. This is equivalent to €29 billion in gas imports saved thanks to solar power projects. Meanwhile, wind contributed around 12 percent of Europe’s generated power while hydro provided 11 percent.
While there is still a long way to go to achieve the ambitious Paris Agreement and COP27 climate pledges through the development of the world’s renewable energy capacity, several noteworthy achievements were made in 2022. Both Europe and Asia saw huge advances in their green energy development, with almost 33 percent of the world’s electricity expected to come from renewables by 2024 compared to 29 percent in 2020.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
Monday, January 09, 2023
GEOTHERMAL
Why Fracking May Start To Embrace A New Form Of EnergyEditor OilPrice.com
Mon, January 9, 2023
With the global transition to clean energy in full swing, traditional renewable energy sources such as solar and wind have, unsurprisingly, been hogging the limelight. Unfortunately, one powerful renewable energy source has been conspicuously missing in the conversation: Geothermal energy. Despite its many obvious benefits, geothermal energy--which taps the heat within the earth’s crust--is criminally underutilized in the United States. In 2019, the U.S. generated ~18,300 GWh from geothermal sources. While that appears impressive at first glance, here’s the kicker: that figure works out to just 0.4% of U.S. power generation.
Geothermal energy has two primary applications: electricity generation and heating/cooling.
Geothermal energy can be found almost anywhere: other than seismically active hotspots, there is a steady supply of milder heat--useful for direct heating purposes--at depths of anywhere from 10 to a few hundred feet below the surface. This heat can be found in virtually any location on Earth since it has its origins from when the planet formed and accreted, frictional heating caused by denser core material sinking to the center of the planet as well as heat from the decay of radioactive elements. Indeed, just 10,000 meters (about 33,000 feet) of the Earth's surface contains 50,000 times more energy than all the oil and natural gas resources in the world. Further, unlike solar and wind which are intermittent energy sources, geothermal is highly reliable with a high capacity factor of 74.3% vs. 24.9% for solar and 35.4% for wind.
Related: Europe’s Warm Winter May Not Be Such Good News For Energy
Another key benefit: geothermal is much cleaner than any fossil fuel out there. Whereas geothermal power plants are frequently associated with sulfur dioxide and silica emissions as well as traces of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, mercury, and boron, the emissions profile of geothermal energy is nowhere near as bad as those of fossil fuels. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says geothermal power plants emit about 99% less carbon dioxide and 97% less acid rain-causing sulfur compounds than fossil fuel power plants of similar size. Further, geothermal power plants are frequently equipped with scrubbers to remove the hydrogen sulfide naturally found in geothermal reservoirs. It’s, therefore, hardly surprising that a country like Iceland--which derives ~two-thirds of its primary energy from geothermal sources--has only one-third the greenhouse gas emission per capita as the United States.
But the same technology that powered the U.S. shale boom might help unlock the full potential of U.S. geothermal resources.
Source: Center for Sustainable Systems
Geothermal ‘Shale’ Boom
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, continental U.S. has over 100 GW of geothermal electric capacity or 40 times the current installed geothermal capacity, meaning geothermal has the potential to supply 10% of the country’s power needs.
Unfortunately, high drilling and production costs compared to other clean energy sources has impeded growth for the geothermal sector. Indeed, in 2021, the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for geothermal energy in the U.S. clocked in at $84.80/MWh, much higher than $36.60/MWh for utility-scale solar and $40.90/MWh for onshore wind projects.
LCOE calculates the present value of the total cost of building and operating a power plant over an assumed lifetime. Even more worrying is the fact that geothermal development costs have been expanding, increasing by 47% from 2010-2021 at a time when solar PV costs fell 82%; onshore wind development declined 35% while offshore wind costs decreased by 41%.
Enter “enhanced geothermal systems” (EGS) …
EGS promises to not only boost the energy output of wells over a smaller footprint but also increase the areas where geothermal energy can be exploited.
For the most part, geothermal has only made economic sense in countries such as Iceland, where heat and water can be found close to the surface of the Earth. However, much like shale drilling, EGS creates a subsurface fracture system that increases the permeability of rock and allows for the injection of a heat transfer fluid (typically water). The injected fluid is then heated by the rock and returned to the surface to generate electricity. In June, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $165 million investment in geothermal energy research and deployment. The Enhanced Geothermal initiative by the DOE aims to lower the cost of EGS projects to $45 per MWh by 2035, thereby vastly increasing the competitiveness of geothermal power. Further, the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law included $84 million for research into EGS projects.
The private sector is also beginning to take tentative steps into geothermal energy, with a slew of geothermal energy startups raising millions of dollars in capital. Last month, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) partnered its clean energy subsidiary Chevron New Energies with Sweden’s Baseload Capital to develop geothermal projects in the United States. Two years ago, Chevron and BP Inc. (NYSE: BP) invested $40 million in Canadian geothermal energy company, Eavor Technologies. In the same year, Aloha State energy utility Hawaiian Electric unveiled a plan to increase its geothermal generation capacity as part of its goal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030.
“It’s like solar: If you look at solar 20 years ago, nobody’s interested in solar because it costs too much. But as solar has grown, the cost has come down as it’s improved in scale. We’re kind of on the cusp of moving into the cost-effective range [for geothermal], just like we did with solar, over the next 20 years,” Roland Horne, a professor of earth sciences at Stanford University, has told Yahoo News.
But it’s not just about technology and lower costs, the global energy crisis has triggered a sense of urgency by governments everywhere to enhance their energy security.
“It’s unbelievable how geothermal has gone under the radar. Now, when you see the bills [in] electricity and the gas prices go up everywhere--at least, around us--it doesn’t affect us. This can be done all around the world. you don't need to be the most active volcanic island in the world to use geothermal” Iceland’s environment minister, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, has told Yahoo News.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
Evergreen Marine Corp. hands out
bonuses equal to 50 months salary
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss reports that shipping firm Evergreen Marine Corp. handed out bonuses that equal up to 50 months of salary to employees.
Video Transcript
BRIAN SOZZI: Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. making quite the impression on its employees as the shipping company reportedly hands out year-end bonuses equal to 50 months' salary or more than four years pay on average. Hat tip to this company just getting it done.
Of course, it's been a very challenging time during the pandemic for workers in this space. Good to see them doing this.
BRAD SMITH: I think this also speaks to the shift that we've seen in terms of some of the operations and in decreasing the reliance on China for some of either its production or shipping necessities, and that's across some of the products-based industries and leaning into other categories-- or other countries where they could see some type of, I don't know, better operational negotiation, perhaps, on the supply-chain front. And Taiwan one of those beneficiaries from that, at least in this interim period of time.
JULIE HYMAN: I mean, this is also just a reflection of how busy it's been in shipping, right, and that it's been-- I'm sure these employees have been working long hours, and they've been working really hard. You know, they also-- remember, this is the same company that had to get a ship loose from the Suez Canal.
- Yes.
- Ever Given, yeah.
JULIE HYMAN: So, you know, they deserve a bonus.
Elon Musk’s Twitter leadership is ‘a Nightmare on Elm Street — it doesn’t end’: Analyst
Sat, January 7, 2023
(Reuters) -Twitter Inc made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and harassment, Bloomberg news reported on Saturday.
At least a dozen more cuts on Friday night affected workers in the company's Dublin and Singapore offices, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Those laid off at the social media platform owned by Elon Musk include Nur Azhar Bin Ayob, a relatively recent hire as head of site integrity for the Asia-Pacific region, and Analuisa Dominguez, Twitter's senior director of revenue policy, Bloomberg reported.
Workers on teams handling policy on misinformation, global appeals and state media on the platform were also eliminated, the report added.
Twitter's vice president of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, confirmed to Reuters that Twitter made some cuts in the trust and safety team on Friday night but did not give details. "We have thousands of people within Trust and Safety who work content moderation and have not made cuts to the teams that do that work daily," she said via email. Some of the cuts, she added, were in areas that lacked sufficient volume going forward or where it made sense to consolidate.
Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.
The company was also was hit with a lawsuit last month that claimed the social media company disproportionately targeted female employees in layoffs.
(Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh and Anirudh Saligrama in BengaluruEditing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
(Reuters) -Twitter Inc made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and harassment, Bloomberg news reported on Saturday.
At least a dozen more cuts on Friday night affected workers in the company's Dublin and Singapore offices, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Those laid off at the social media platform owned by Elon Musk include Nur Azhar Bin Ayob, a relatively recent hire as head of site integrity for the Asia-Pacific region, and Analuisa Dominguez, Twitter's senior director of revenue policy, Bloomberg reported.
Workers on teams handling policy on misinformation, global appeals and state media on the platform were also eliminated, the report added.
Twitter's vice president of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, confirmed to Reuters that Twitter made some cuts in the trust and safety team on Friday night but did not give details. "We have thousands of people within Trust and Safety who work content moderation and have not made cuts to the teams that do that work daily," she said via email. Some of the cuts, she added, were in areas that lacked sufficient volume going forward or where it made sense to consolidate.
Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.
The company was also was hit with a lawsuit last month that claimed the social media company disproportionately targeted female employees in layoffs.
(Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh and Anirudh Saligrama in BengaluruEditing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
Twitter employees laid off after Elon Musk’s takeover received severance payments today that fall short of expectations
Kylie Robison
Sat, January 7, 2023
Following further delays this week, some former Twitter employees finally received their official severance agreements on Saturday after months of anticipation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. However, the compensation is much less than what many expected, and the emails are landing in spam folders.
After Elon Musk assumed control of the social media giant in late October, about three-fourths of the company’s staff of 7,500 were let go in a series of cuts. Musk tweeted that those affected would receive "3 months of severance compensation." Previous Twitter leadership pledged to offer at least two months’ worth of severance pay as well as prorated performance bonuses, extended visa support, money for health care continuation, and the cash value of equity that would vest within three months, according to The Los Angeles Times.
However, as we previously reported, the agreements sent out today provide laid-off employees in the U.S. one month of base pay as severance. Those let go in November have been kept on the payroll and have been paid their regular salaries for the previous 60 days due to requirements of the federal WARN Act, which mandates companies give a 60-day notice before mass layoffs. Although those workers had been barred from the company's internal systems since November, they were formally let go on January 4 in accordance with the law.
What's more, employees will not be receiving their prorated performance bonuses, according to Twitter's severance material viewed by Fortune. Some employees received COBRA, which is money for health care continuation, a source said.
"I mean I expected him to f**k us (he did)," an impacted employee wrote to Fortune. "This is about 1/3 of what he contractually owes us based on his purchase agreement."
Although employees were given two months' pay during a "non-working" period to comply with the federal WARN Act, a lawyer for two class-action lawsuits against Twitter claimed that such money should not be included in the actual severance paid to employees, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Not all impacted employees received their agreements, multiple sources told Fortune. The agreements are being sent out by a third-party service provider called CPT Group, in lieu of in-house HR services. It's not yet clear why only some have received their agreements, but many have been finding the agreements in their spam folder, sources say.
Sources have pointed out some hiccups in the process, too. Those who received their agreements today were provided a unique login and directed to visit a domain, but that domain was set up roughly 5 hours before the severance agreements went out and doesn't have Twitter's name in it, causing many to believe it was a phishing attempt.
After logging in and viewing their severance agreement, former employees have the option to sign or opt out of the agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The website has an accompanying FAQ page stating that impacted employees can anticipate payment within 45 days of their signed agreement. A downloadable "Additional FAQs" document confirms that employees will not be receiving performance bonus payments, which were set to be paid out in March, and that there will be "no negotiation of the agreement or the severance amount listed."
As many as 5,500 laid-off Twitter employees were set to receive the official severance agreements, Fortune previously reported.
Fortune reached out to Twitter outside normal business hours but did not receive an immediate reply.
CES 2023: Startups aim to reduce global food waste
Gadget Show Orbisk
An image from the Orbisk food waste monitor is displayed on a computer during CES Unveiled, before the start of the CES tech show, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Las Vegas. The device uses AI image recognition to track food as it is thrown away, displaying the data on a computer dashboard.
AP Photo/John Locher
BRITTANY PETERSON
Fri, January 6, 2023
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Avocados can be tricky. Their ripeness window is so narrow that a slew of memes poke fun at the fine art of deciding when to eat them.
Dutch entrepreneur Marco Snikkers aims to solve that problem with an avocado scanner unveiled this week at the CES tech show in Las Vegas and designed for use in supermarkets. It uses optical sensing and AI technology to determine ripeness, displaying on a screen whether an avocado is firm or ready to eat.
Snikkers' startup, OneThird, isn't just trying to reduce frustration in the kitchen. According to the United Nations, about one-third of food is wasted globally. That means all the carbon emitted to grow, ship and distribute that food was for naught.
“That’s a huge problem,” Snikkers said. “That’s a trillion dollar issue for our world and it has a huge impact on C02 emissions and water usage.”
OneThird is one of several start-ups at this year’s CES working to solve different components of the problem, from helping the food industry limit what it throws away to offering rapid composting solutions to help keep food scraps out of methane-producing landfills.
OneThird already works with growers, distributors and others along the supply chain to predict the shelf life of avocados, tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. It will further expand its ability to determine ripeness for more produce later this year, aiming to help reduce the amount of food that is wasted around the world. And it's testing the consumer-friendly avocado scanner at a supermarket in Canada this month.
Another Dutch entrepreneur, Olaf van der Veen, is working to empower restaurants to reduce food waste, the majority of which happens in a kitchen before a meal is even served to customers.
His device, Orbisk, uses a camera positioned over a trash can to scan whatever food is about to be tossed. In addition to seeing the type of food, amount and time of day, “we can see if it’s on a plate, in a pan, on a cutting board, which gives circumstantial information on why it was lost,” van der Veen said.
Orbisk organizes and shares that insight with the restaurant so they can understand their disposal patterns, helping them save money and reduce food waste, and with it, emissions and water use.
The startup's devices are positioned in commercial kitchens in about 10 European countries, with some clients as far as India.
He said that even after some surplus food is donated, there's more food waste per restaurant in the U.S. than in Europe. That's why the company is at CES, he said, hoping to expand its nascent market further.
Reducing the amount of wasted food is preferable, but keeping tossed food out of landfills is the next best option.
When food scraps are properly composted, they release carbon dioxide as part of the biological process of turning into nutrient-rich soil. When food is trapped in landfills, the decomposition process produces methane — a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming because it packs a stronger short-term punch more than 80 times stronger than even carbon dioxide.
The 2006 London Protocol banned dumping food waste into the ocean, prompting South Korea to set up a system of mandatory composting. While the infrastructure allows the country to properly dispose of nearly all its food waste, residents have to haul bags of food to designated curbside bins.
Reencle is designed to make that process easier. The metal bin is a hyper-fast composting system showcased at CES this year, and helps households reduce one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of food scraps by 90% volume in just 24 hours.
While the product has sold tens of thousands of units in South Korea, Reencle’s parent company Hanmi Flexible hopes to expand to overseas markets, marketing director Jinhwi Bang said.
How is it so fast? The device uses self-replicating microorganisms to turn scraps into compost. Its competitor, Lomi, grinds and dehydrates food scraps, requiring the byproduct to be mixed with soil before composting, whereas Reencle says its byproduct can be composted directly.
Mark Murray, Executive Director of Californians Against Waste, says he hopes people don’t think advanced technology is needed to be able to compost.
But he says he understands that not everyone has a yard or a patio, and that “all of the tools in the toolbox have to be on the table.”
Technology is part of the solution. But Murray says economic incentives and systemic change are the other key components to reducing global food waste.
“We need to make it more expensive to waste food,” he said. “That’ll create the incentive for commercial enterprises, for restaurants, for stores, for even consumers to invest in systems and technology for making sure that we don’t waste food.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
BRITTANY PETERSON
Fri, January 6, 2023
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Avocados can be tricky. Their ripeness window is so narrow that a slew of memes poke fun at the fine art of deciding when to eat them.
Dutch entrepreneur Marco Snikkers aims to solve that problem with an avocado scanner unveiled this week at the CES tech show in Las Vegas and designed for use in supermarkets. It uses optical sensing and AI technology to determine ripeness, displaying on a screen whether an avocado is firm or ready to eat.
Snikkers' startup, OneThird, isn't just trying to reduce frustration in the kitchen. According to the United Nations, about one-third of food is wasted globally. That means all the carbon emitted to grow, ship and distribute that food was for naught.
“That’s a huge problem,” Snikkers said. “That’s a trillion dollar issue for our world and it has a huge impact on C02 emissions and water usage.”
OneThird is one of several start-ups at this year’s CES working to solve different components of the problem, from helping the food industry limit what it throws away to offering rapid composting solutions to help keep food scraps out of methane-producing landfills.
OneThird already works with growers, distributors and others along the supply chain to predict the shelf life of avocados, tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. It will further expand its ability to determine ripeness for more produce later this year, aiming to help reduce the amount of food that is wasted around the world. And it's testing the consumer-friendly avocado scanner at a supermarket in Canada this month.
Another Dutch entrepreneur, Olaf van der Veen, is working to empower restaurants to reduce food waste, the majority of which happens in a kitchen before a meal is even served to customers.
His device, Orbisk, uses a camera positioned over a trash can to scan whatever food is about to be tossed. In addition to seeing the type of food, amount and time of day, “we can see if it’s on a plate, in a pan, on a cutting board, which gives circumstantial information on why it was lost,” van der Veen said.
Orbisk organizes and shares that insight with the restaurant so they can understand their disposal patterns, helping them save money and reduce food waste, and with it, emissions and water use.
The startup's devices are positioned in commercial kitchens in about 10 European countries, with some clients as far as India.
He said that even after some surplus food is donated, there's more food waste per restaurant in the U.S. than in Europe. That's why the company is at CES, he said, hoping to expand its nascent market further.
Reducing the amount of wasted food is preferable, but keeping tossed food out of landfills is the next best option.
When food scraps are properly composted, they release carbon dioxide as part of the biological process of turning into nutrient-rich soil. When food is trapped in landfills, the decomposition process produces methane — a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming because it packs a stronger short-term punch more than 80 times stronger than even carbon dioxide.
The 2006 London Protocol banned dumping food waste into the ocean, prompting South Korea to set up a system of mandatory composting. While the infrastructure allows the country to properly dispose of nearly all its food waste, residents have to haul bags of food to designated curbside bins.
Reencle is designed to make that process easier. The metal bin is a hyper-fast composting system showcased at CES this year, and helps households reduce one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of food scraps by 90% volume in just 24 hours.
While the product has sold tens of thousands of units in South Korea, Reencle’s parent company Hanmi Flexible hopes to expand to overseas markets, marketing director Jinhwi Bang said.
How is it so fast? The device uses self-replicating microorganisms to turn scraps into compost. Its competitor, Lomi, grinds and dehydrates food scraps, requiring the byproduct to be mixed with soil before composting, whereas Reencle says its byproduct can be composted directly.
Mark Murray, Executive Director of Californians Against Waste, says he hopes people don’t think advanced technology is needed to be able to compost.
But he says he understands that not everyone has a yard or a patio, and that “all of the tools in the toolbox have to be on the table.”
Technology is part of the solution. But Murray says economic incentives and systemic change are the other key components to reducing global food waste.
“We need to make it more expensive to waste food,” he said. “That’ll create the incentive for commercial enterprises, for restaurants, for stores, for even consumers to invest in systems and technology for making sure that we don’t waste food.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
LGBTQ HUMAN RIGHTS VS. RELIGIOUS RITES
States target transgender health care in first bills of 2023
Zooey Zephyr, right, attends a legislative training session at the state Capitol in Helena, Mont., on Nov. 16, 2022. Zephyr, who is one of the first two transgender candidates elected to the Montana Legislature, says she hopes her presence will help fellow lawmakers better understand the trans community and lead them to avoid proposing legislation that can legitimize violence against the transgender community.
States target transgender health care in first bills of 2023
Zooey Zephyr, right, attends a legislative training session at the state Capitol in Helena, Mont., on Nov. 16, 2022. Zephyr, who is one of the first two transgender candidates elected to the Montana Legislature, says she hopes her presence will help fellow lawmakers better understand the trans community and lead them to avoid proposing legislation that can legitimize violence against the transgender community.
(Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)
HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Sat, January 7, 2023
After a midterm election and record flow of anti-transgender legislation last year, Republican state lawmakers this year are zeroing in on questions of bodily autonomy with new proposals to limit gender-affirming health care and abortion access.
More than two dozen bills seeking to restrict transgender health care access have been introduced across 11 states — Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia — for the legislative sessions beginning in early 2023.
Bills targeting other facets of trans livelihood have been filed in many of the same states and are expected in several others with GOP majorities.
Gender-affirming health care providers and parents of trans youths are the primary targets of these bills, many of which seek to criminalize helping a trans child obtain what doctors and psychologists widely consider “medically necessary care.”
Erin Reed, a researcher who tracks transgender legislation, said statehouses where Republicans expanded their margins in the midterms will likely double down on anti-trans legislation this year and reintroduce some of the more drastic measures that didn’t pass in previous sessions.
Of the 35 anti-LGBTQ bills already introduced in Texas, three would classify providing gender-affirming care to minors as a form of child abuse, following a directive last year from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that ordered child welfare agents to open abuse investigations into parents who let their children receive gender-affirming care.
In Tennessee, the GOP-controlled legislature announced after Election Day that its first priority would be to ban medical providers from altering a child’s hormones or performing surgeries that enable them to present as a gender different from their sex. The pre-filed bill would replace present law with more stringent restrictions.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health said last year that teens experiencing gender dysphoria can start taking hormones at age 14 and can have certain surgeries at ages 15 or 17. The group acknowledged potential risks but said it was unethical to withhold early treatments, which can improve psychological well-being and reduce suicide risk.
Legislation pre-filed this week in Republican-controlled Oklahoma, which passed restrictions last year on trans participation in sports and school bathroom usage, seeks to ban gender-affirming care for patients under age 26 and block it from being covered under the state’s Medicaid program.
“This is the worst anti-trans bill I have ever seen filed in any state,” Reed said, noting that adult medical transition bans were a “hypothetical escalation” until recently.
Another Oklahoma proposal would prohibit distribution of public funds to organizations that provide gender-affirming procedures to patients younger than 21.
“It’s irresponsible for anybody in health care to provide or recommend life-altering surgeries that may later be regretted,” said the bill's sponsor, Republican state Rep. Jim Olsen. “Performing irreversible procedures on young people can do irreparable harm to them mentally and physically later in life.”
A similar bill pre-filed in South Carolina, where Republicans control both chambers, also requires that trans adults older than 21 obtain referrals from their doctor and a licensed psychiatrist before they can begin treatment.
Cathy Renna, spokesperson for the National LGBTQ Task Force, said she views these bills as the product of “a permissible climate of hate," driven by disinformation and fearmongering, that made anti-LGBTQ rhetoric more palatable in the years since former President Donald Trump's election in 2016.
“We have politicians, celebrities and just folks in our communities who were given permission under Trump to kind of pick that scab and do and say harmful things without consequence,” Renna said. “It unleashed a nightmare Pandora’s box of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism.”
“When you look at the last few years," she said of the LGBTQ community, "we feel like we’re under attack in a way that we have not for decades.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in some states are taking a more aggressive approach to transgender health protections.
A new California law, effective as of Jan. 1, shields families of transgender youth from criminal prosecution if they travel to California for gender-affirming health procedures, such as surgeries or hormone therapy, from states that ban such treatments for minors. Making California a refuge for trans youth and their parents, the law blocks out-of-state subpoenas and prohibits medical providers from sharing information on gender-affirming care with out-of-state entities.
Another California bill, filed in December, would expand those protections by prohibiting a magistrate from issuing an arrest warrant for violating another state’s law that criminalizes helping someone obtain an abortion or gender-affirming care.
An Illinois lawmaker introduced a similar sanctuary bill late last year. The state House passed another bill Friday to increase protections for patients and providers of abortions and gender-affirming treatments.
And in Minnesota, where Democrats gained a trifecta of state government control in the midterm elections, a new bill would give the state jurisdiction in child custody cases involving parents who bring their children to Minnesota for gender-affirming health care.
Reed, a trans woman, is monitoring a growing list of other proposals across statehouses, including drag performance bans, bathroom usage restrictions, limits on LGBTQ discussions in schools and obstacles to changing the gender marker on a driver’s license or birth certificate. But the rising age minimums proposed to access gender-affirming care are among her chief concerns.
“Adult transition bans are coming into play, and I’m already hearing some talk of, ‘Well, the brain doesn’t finish developing until 25, so why not restrict it until then,’” she said. “Any further loss of autonomy is incredibly concerning.”
___
Hannah Schoenbaum, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Sat, January 7, 2023
After a midterm election and record flow of anti-transgender legislation last year, Republican state lawmakers this year are zeroing in on questions of bodily autonomy with new proposals to limit gender-affirming health care and abortion access.
More than two dozen bills seeking to restrict transgender health care access have been introduced across 11 states — Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia — for the legislative sessions beginning in early 2023.
Bills targeting other facets of trans livelihood have been filed in many of the same states and are expected in several others with GOP majorities.
Gender-affirming health care providers and parents of trans youths are the primary targets of these bills, many of which seek to criminalize helping a trans child obtain what doctors and psychologists widely consider “medically necessary care.”
Erin Reed, a researcher who tracks transgender legislation, said statehouses where Republicans expanded their margins in the midterms will likely double down on anti-trans legislation this year and reintroduce some of the more drastic measures that didn’t pass in previous sessions.
Of the 35 anti-LGBTQ bills already introduced in Texas, three would classify providing gender-affirming care to minors as a form of child abuse, following a directive last year from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that ordered child welfare agents to open abuse investigations into parents who let their children receive gender-affirming care.
In Tennessee, the GOP-controlled legislature announced after Election Day that its first priority would be to ban medical providers from altering a child’s hormones or performing surgeries that enable them to present as a gender different from their sex. The pre-filed bill would replace present law with more stringent restrictions.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health said last year that teens experiencing gender dysphoria can start taking hormones at age 14 and can have certain surgeries at ages 15 or 17. The group acknowledged potential risks but said it was unethical to withhold early treatments, which can improve psychological well-being and reduce suicide risk.
Legislation pre-filed this week in Republican-controlled Oklahoma, which passed restrictions last year on trans participation in sports and school bathroom usage, seeks to ban gender-affirming care for patients under age 26 and block it from being covered under the state’s Medicaid program.
“This is the worst anti-trans bill I have ever seen filed in any state,” Reed said, noting that adult medical transition bans were a “hypothetical escalation” until recently.
Another Oklahoma proposal would prohibit distribution of public funds to organizations that provide gender-affirming procedures to patients younger than 21.
“It’s irresponsible for anybody in health care to provide or recommend life-altering surgeries that may later be regretted,” said the bill's sponsor, Republican state Rep. Jim Olsen. “Performing irreversible procedures on young people can do irreparable harm to them mentally and physically later in life.”
A similar bill pre-filed in South Carolina, where Republicans control both chambers, also requires that trans adults older than 21 obtain referrals from their doctor and a licensed psychiatrist before they can begin treatment.
Cathy Renna, spokesperson for the National LGBTQ Task Force, said she views these bills as the product of “a permissible climate of hate," driven by disinformation and fearmongering, that made anti-LGBTQ rhetoric more palatable in the years since former President Donald Trump's election in 2016.
“We have politicians, celebrities and just folks in our communities who were given permission under Trump to kind of pick that scab and do and say harmful things without consequence,” Renna said. “It unleashed a nightmare Pandora’s box of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism.”
“When you look at the last few years," she said of the LGBTQ community, "we feel like we’re under attack in a way that we have not for decades.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in some states are taking a more aggressive approach to transgender health protections.
A new California law, effective as of Jan. 1, shields families of transgender youth from criminal prosecution if they travel to California for gender-affirming health procedures, such as surgeries or hormone therapy, from states that ban such treatments for minors. Making California a refuge for trans youth and their parents, the law blocks out-of-state subpoenas and prohibits medical providers from sharing information on gender-affirming care with out-of-state entities.
Another California bill, filed in December, would expand those protections by prohibiting a magistrate from issuing an arrest warrant for violating another state’s law that criminalizes helping someone obtain an abortion or gender-affirming care.
An Illinois lawmaker introduced a similar sanctuary bill late last year. The state House passed another bill Friday to increase protections for patients and providers of abortions and gender-affirming treatments.
And in Minnesota, where Democrats gained a trifecta of state government control in the midterm elections, a new bill would give the state jurisdiction in child custody cases involving parents who bring their children to Minnesota for gender-affirming health care.
Reed, a trans woman, is monitoring a growing list of other proposals across statehouses, including drag performance bans, bathroom usage restrictions, limits on LGBTQ discussions in schools and obstacles to changing the gender marker on a driver’s license or birth certificate. But the rising age minimums proposed to access gender-affirming care are among her chief concerns.
“Adult transition bans are coming into play, and I’m already hearing some talk of, ‘Well, the brain doesn’t finish developing until 25, so why not restrict it until then,’” she said. “Any further loss of autonomy is incredibly concerning.”
___
Hannah Schoenbaum, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Earth’s ozone layer is healing, U.N. report finds.jpg)
Theresa Braine, New York Daily News
Mon, January 9, 2023 at 6:09 PM MST·1 min read
The depleted ozone layer that shields Earth from harmful UV radiation will be healed by midcentury, a new United Nations report stated on Monday.
Thanks to international cooperation starting in 1989, when ozone-depleting chemicals were banned from refrigerants and aerosols, 99% of such compounds have been phased out, the U.N. Environment Programme said.
The ozone layer lies in the upper stratosphere, blocking radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts as well as damage crops.
By 2040, most of the ozone will be back to normal, and by 2066 it will have recovered fully, the report found. The hole that initially raised an alarm will be closed above the Arctic by 2045, the scientists said. Their findings were presented at the American Meteorological Society’s 103rd annual meeting in Denver.
“Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action,” World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
“Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done — as a matter of urgency — to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase.”
.jpg)
Theresa Braine, New York Daily News
Mon, January 9, 2023 at 6:09 PM MST·1 min read
The depleted ozone layer that shields Earth from harmful UV radiation will be healed by midcentury, a new United Nations report stated on Monday.
Thanks to international cooperation starting in 1989, when ozone-depleting chemicals were banned from refrigerants and aerosols, 99% of such compounds have been phased out, the U.N. Environment Programme said.
The ozone layer lies in the upper stratosphere, blocking radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts as well as damage crops.
By 2040, most of the ozone will be back to normal, and by 2066 it will have recovered fully, the report found. The hole that initially raised an alarm will be closed above the Arctic by 2045, the scientists said. Their findings were presented at the American Meteorological Society’s 103rd annual meeting in Denver.
“Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action,” World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
“Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done — as a matter of urgency — to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase.”
STATE CAPITALI$M VS.MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M
Xi Warns China Officials to Avoid ‘Collusion’ With Big Business
Mon, January 9, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned officials against colluding with the business world, underscoring that his government’s crackdown on the private sector will remain a concern for investors despite efforts to boost the economy.
“Action should be taken to prevent leading officials from acting for any interest group or power group, and to forestall any collusion between officials and businesspeople,” Xi told a meeting of anti-corruption regulators on Monday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
He also warned against “any infiltration of capital into politics that undermines the political ecosystem or the environment for economic development.”
Xi’s government has recently eased up on a regulatory crackdown on tech giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., helping their shares rebound. Yet questions remain over how far that approach will go given Xi has also pledged to ensure “common prosperity,” in part by reining in wealthy special interests.
Xi has made reining in graft a central aspect of his leadership of the world’s second-biggest economy over the past decade. That approach has been popular with the public and also served to weed out potential threats to his rule.
Last year, the anti-corruption officials broke up what they called a “political clique” led by former police official Sun Lijun, who was sentenced to what amounts to life in prison for taking bribes and other crimes.
The message that graft cannot be allowed to thrive in the Chinese political system is one that Xi delivers regularly. In December, just after securing a third term in power, Xi said the country had achieved an “overwhelming victory” in its battle against corruption but added that the work was “far from over.”
Economic Measures
Xi’s latest call to continue with the campaign comes as his government abandons its Covid Zero approach toward the coronavirus. On Sunday, China opened borders that had been largely closed for nearly three years, after earlier doing away with quarantine camps, mass testing and snap lockdowns.
Those policies had led to public anger, with widespread protests erupting in late November, though the government has insisted its policy changes were underway before the demonstrations erupted.
With covid rules loosening, the government is stepping up efforts to bolster the economy. China is considering a record quota for local government bonds and widening the budget deficit. The economy is forecast to expand by 4.8% this year, compared with little growth in the US and a potential contraction in the Eurozone, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mon, January 9, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned officials against colluding with the business world, underscoring that his government’s crackdown on the private sector will remain a concern for investors despite efforts to boost the economy.
“Action should be taken to prevent leading officials from acting for any interest group or power group, and to forestall any collusion between officials and businesspeople,” Xi told a meeting of anti-corruption regulators on Monday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
He also warned against “any infiltration of capital into politics that undermines the political ecosystem or the environment for economic development.”
Xi’s government has recently eased up on a regulatory crackdown on tech giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., helping their shares rebound. Yet questions remain over how far that approach will go given Xi has also pledged to ensure “common prosperity,” in part by reining in wealthy special interests.
Xi has made reining in graft a central aspect of his leadership of the world’s second-biggest economy over the past decade. That approach has been popular with the public and also served to weed out potential threats to his rule.
Last year, the anti-corruption officials broke up what they called a “political clique” led by former police official Sun Lijun, who was sentenced to what amounts to life in prison for taking bribes and other crimes.
The message that graft cannot be allowed to thrive in the Chinese political system is one that Xi delivers regularly. In December, just after securing a third term in power, Xi said the country had achieved an “overwhelming victory” in its battle against corruption but added that the work was “far from over.”
Economic Measures
Xi’s latest call to continue with the campaign comes as his government abandons its Covid Zero approach toward the coronavirus. On Sunday, China opened borders that had been largely closed for nearly three years, after earlier doing away with quarantine camps, mass testing and snap lockdowns.
Those policies had led to public anger, with widespread protests erupting in late November, though the government has insisted its policy changes were underway before the demonstrations erupted.
With covid rules loosening, the government is stepping up efforts to bolster the economy. China is considering a record quota for local government bonds and widening the budget deficit. The economy is forecast to expand by 4.8% this year, compared with little growth in the US and a potential contraction in the Eurozone, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
U.S. Supreme Court lets Meta's WhatsApp pursue 'Pegasus' spyware suit
Illustration shows Whatsapp logo
Mon, January 9, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let Meta Platforms Inc's WhatsApp pursue a lawsuit accusing Israel's NSO Group of exploiting a bug in the WhatsApp messaging app to install spy software allowing the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents.
The justices turned away NSO's appeal of a lower court's decision that the lawsuit could move forward. NSO had argued that it is immune from being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the "Pegasus" spyware.
President Joe Biden's administration had urged the justices to reject NSO's appeal, noting that the U.S. State Department had never before recognized a private entity acting as an agent of a foreign state as being entitled to immunity.
Meta, the parent company of both WhatsApp and Facebook, in a statement welcomed the court's move to turn away NSO's "baseless" appeal.
"NSO's spyware has enabled cyberattacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials," Meta said. "We firmly believe that their operations violate U.S. law and they must be held to account for their unlawful operations."
A lawyer for NSO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims' mobile devices.
NSO has argued that Pegasus helps law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security and that its technology is intended to help catch terrorists, pedophiles and hardened criminals.
In court papers, NSO said that WhatsApp's notification to users scuttled a foreign government's investigation into an Islamic State militant who was using the app to plan an attack.
In one notorious case, NSO spyware was used - allegedly by the Saudi government - to target the inner circle of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi shortly before he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
NSO appealed a trial judge's 2020 refusal to award it "conduct-based immunity," a common law doctrine protecting foreign officials acting in their official capacity.
Upholding that ruling in 2021, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called it an "easy case" because NSO's mere licensing of Pegasus and offering technical support did not shield it from liability under a federal law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which took precedence over common law.
WhatsApp's lawyers said that private entities like NSO are "categorically ineligible" for foreign sovereign immunity.
The Biden administration in a filing in November said the 9th Circuit reached the right result, even though the government was not ready to endorse the circuit court's conclusion that FSIA entirely forecloses any form of immunity under common law.
According to court papers, the accounts of 1,400 WhatsApp users were accessed using the Pegasus tracking software, secretly using their smartphones as surveillance devices.
An investigation published in 2021 by 17 media organizations, led by the Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories, found that the spyware had been used in attempted and successful hacks of smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists on a global scale.
The U.S. government in November 2021 blacklisted NSO and Israel's Candiru, accusing them of providing spyware to governments that used it to "maliciously target" journalists, activists and others.
NSO also is being sued by iPhone maker Apple Inc, accused of violating its user terms and services agreement.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)
Illustration shows Whatsapp logo
Mon, January 9, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let Meta Platforms Inc's WhatsApp pursue a lawsuit accusing Israel's NSO Group of exploiting a bug in the WhatsApp messaging app to install spy software allowing the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents.
The justices turned away NSO's appeal of a lower court's decision that the lawsuit could move forward. NSO had argued that it is immune from being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the "Pegasus" spyware.
President Joe Biden's administration had urged the justices to reject NSO's appeal, noting that the U.S. State Department had never before recognized a private entity acting as an agent of a foreign state as being entitled to immunity.
Meta, the parent company of both WhatsApp and Facebook, in a statement welcomed the court's move to turn away NSO's "baseless" appeal.
"NSO's spyware has enabled cyberattacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials," Meta said. "We firmly believe that their operations violate U.S. law and they must be held to account for their unlawful operations."
A lawyer for NSO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims' mobile devices.
NSO has argued that Pegasus helps law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security and that its technology is intended to help catch terrorists, pedophiles and hardened criminals.
In court papers, NSO said that WhatsApp's notification to users scuttled a foreign government's investigation into an Islamic State militant who was using the app to plan an attack.
In one notorious case, NSO spyware was used - allegedly by the Saudi government - to target the inner circle of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi shortly before he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
NSO appealed a trial judge's 2020 refusal to award it "conduct-based immunity," a common law doctrine protecting foreign officials acting in their official capacity.
Upholding that ruling in 2021, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called it an "easy case" because NSO's mere licensing of Pegasus and offering technical support did not shield it from liability under a federal law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which took precedence over common law.
WhatsApp's lawyers said that private entities like NSO are "categorically ineligible" for foreign sovereign immunity.
The Biden administration in a filing in November said the 9th Circuit reached the right result, even though the government was not ready to endorse the circuit court's conclusion that FSIA entirely forecloses any form of immunity under common law.
According to court papers, the accounts of 1,400 WhatsApp users were accessed using the Pegasus tracking software, secretly using their smartphones as surveillance devices.
An investigation published in 2021 by 17 media organizations, led by the Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories, found that the spyware had been used in attempted and successful hacks of smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists on a global scale.
The U.S. government in November 2021 blacklisted NSO and Israel's Candiru, accusing them of providing spyware to governments that used it to "maliciously target" journalists, activists and others.
NSO also is being sued by iPhone maker Apple Inc, accused of violating its user terms and services agreement.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)
Big week for US-Mexico ties going into North American summit
President Joe Biden looks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 16, 2022. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Biden and Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, and Tuesday, Jan. 10, for a North American leaders summit. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)
COLLEEN LONG and MARIA VERZA
Sat, January 7, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's been a big week for U.S.-Mexico relations, and that was even before President Joe Biden becomes the first U.S. leader to visit Mexico in nearly a decade.
In the lead-up to that trip, Biden announced a major border policy shift, with Mexico's blessing, that will result in the United States sending 30,000 migrants from four other countries per month back across the border. In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's security forces nabbed one of the sons of imprisoned former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, touching off violence that left 30 dead and dozens injured. The son, Ovidio Guzmán, is a reputed drug trafficker wanted by the United States.
The two presidents, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Even with progress on the migration issue, there is much to discuss: climate change, manufacturing, trade, the economy and the potential global clout of a more collaborative North America.
Biden arrives at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on Monday afternoon and the presidents will meet before Trudeau joins them for dinner. Biden and Trudeau will hold talks Tuesday and then the three will gather for discussions. It will be the first time since 2014 that Mexico has hosted a U.S. president.
Biden hopes to use the summit "to keep driving North America's economic competitiveness and help promote inclusive growth and prosperity,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
For the U.S., the major talking points are migration, drug trafficking and building on Biden's push on electric vehicles and manufacturing.
Lopez Obrador is focused on economic integration for North America, supporting the poor in the Americas and regional relationships that put all governments on equal footing.
The U.S. and Mexico are expected to continue discussions about ending a dispute over U.S. corn after Mexico announced it would ban imports of genetically modified corn. In addition, Mexico is seeking money to boost solar energy projects.
As for Canada, the goal is simply "to carve some attention and space in this summit,” said Louise Blais, a longtime Canadian diplomat.
Mexico sees the event as a chance to advance its economic interests.
It stands to benefit as U.S. companies reconsider their relationships with China after supply chain disruptions, coronavirus outbreaks and changes in federal policy. Both Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. and existing trade agreements would be incentives for American factories to relocate south of the border. The U.S. imported more than $380 billion worth of goods from Mexico through the first 10 months of 2022 — the third-largest source of imports after China and the European Union, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Canada is the fourth-largest U.S. partner by imports, with the State Department calling it “the world’s most comprehensive trading relationship.” The U.S. and Canada are each other’s largest market for exports, and Canada is the largest foreign supplier of energy products to the U.S.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada are already in a long-standing trade agreement that was updated in 2020. When U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met last month with Mexico’s secretary of the economy, Raquel Buenrostro, they discussed further economic integration as well as energy, fisheries and the trade agreement’s ban on importing goods made by forced labor — a subject that is among the tensions with China.
Analysts at Bank of America estimated in October that Mexico could increase its trade by as much as 30% if more supply chains returned to North America. Their report notes there had already been a bump in Mexican manufacturing as U.S. policymakers and businesses increasingly focus on bringing more trade to allied countries that are near American consumers.
“Every country is arriving with different priorities, but there is common ground,” said Enrique Perret, managing director of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, a think tank focused on cooperation between the two nations. “It’s competitiveness, it’s economy, it’s education, it’s labor mobility.”
But it's not all rosy.
The leaders of Canada and Mexico have voiced concerns over Biden's “Buy America” plan. And while Biden's push toward electric vehicles is a boon to both nations because of the tax credits for North American batteries, there's concern the U.S. allies will be left behind.
Meantime, the U.S. and Canada accuse López Obrador of trying to favor Mexico’s state-owned utility over power plants built by foreign and private investors, something that is forbidden under the three countries' free trade pact.
The leaders did meet in Washington last November, but until then, there hadn't been a summit in five years and many of the current disputes have festered despite constant discussion. They include fentanyl trafficking, corn production, automobile rules of origin and Mexican energy laws.
"These topics are really complicated issues and they will not be solved in a two-day summit," said Carin Zissis of the Americas Society, a nonprofit dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas.
The chemistry between Biden and Lopez Obrador is tricky, too. Their relationship is highly transactional and absent any of the warmth and camaraderie Biden has with other world leaders.
Lopez Obrador has made no secret of his admiration of Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. Lopez Obrador did not recognize Biden’s election victory from November 2020 until after the formal Electoral College vote a month later.
Biden has raised concerns over security and drug trafficking in Mexico and the deaths of journalists there. The U.S. took issue with Lopez Obrador for boycotting the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles last year over Biden's decision not to invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Biden plans to stop in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for his first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border, just days after announcing that the U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who illegally cross into the U.S. from Mexico. The new policy is an effort to manage the spiraling numbers of migrants arriving at the border.
Mexico agreed each month to take 30,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians who walk or swim to the U.S. and are turned back, and the U.S. each month will offer 30,000 people from those four nations work permits for two years and a legal path if they come to the U.S. by plane, have eligible sponsors and pass background checks. People from those four countries now make up the most migrants crossing the border.
Biden's attempt to tackle border security issues has drawn considerable criticism from immigrant advocates and refugee rights groups ,who say the changes are inhumane and reminiscent of Trump's hard-line approach.
___
Verza reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden looks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 16, 2022. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Biden and Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, and Tuesday, Jan. 10, for a North American leaders summit. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)
COLLEEN LONG and MARIA VERZA
Sat, January 7, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's been a big week for U.S.-Mexico relations, and that was even before President Joe Biden becomes the first U.S. leader to visit Mexico in nearly a decade.
In the lead-up to that trip, Biden announced a major border policy shift, with Mexico's blessing, that will result in the United States sending 30,000 migrants from four other countries per month back across the border. In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's security forces nabbed one of the sons of imprisoned former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, touching off violence that left 30 dead and dozens injured. The son, Ovidio Guzmán, is a reputed drug trafficker wanted by the United States.
The two presidents, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Even with progress on the migration issue, there is much to discuss: climate change, manufacturing, trade, the economy and the potential global clout of a more collaborative North America.
Biden arrives at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on Monday afternoon and the presidents will meet before Trudeau joins them for dinner. Biden and Trudeau will hold talks Tuesday and then the three will gather for discussions. It will be the first time since 2014 that Mexico has hosted a U.S. president.
Biden hopes to use the summit "to keep driving North America's economic competitiveness and help promote inclusive growth and prosperity,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
For the U.S., the major talking points are migration, drug trafficking and building on Biden's push on electric vehicles and manufacturing.
Lopez Obrador is focused on economic integration for North America, supporting the poor in the Americas and regional relationships that put all governments on equal footing.
The U.S. and Mexico are expected to continue discussions about ending a dispute over U.S. corn after Mexico announced it would ban imports of genetically modified corn. In addition, Mexico is seeking money to boost solar energy projects.
As for Canada, the goal is simply "to carve some attention and space in this summit,” said Louise Blais, a longtime Canadian diplomat.
Mexico sees the event as a chance to advance its economic interests.
It stands to benefit as U.S. companies reconsider their relationships with China after supply chain disruptions, coronavirus outbreaks and changes in federal policy. Both Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. and existing trade agreements would be incentives for American factories to relocate south of the border. The U.S. imported more than $380 billion worth of goods from Mexico through the first 10 months of 2022 — the third-largest source of imports after China and the European Union, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Canada is the fourth-largest U.S. partner by imports, with the State Department calling it “the world’s most comprehensive trading relationship.” The U.S. and Canada are each other’s largest market for exports, and Canada is the largest foreign supplier of energy products to the U.S.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada are already in a long-standing trade agreement that was updated in 2020. When U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met last month with Mexico’s secretary of the economy, Raquel Buenrostro, they discussed further economic integration as well as energy, fisheries and the trade agreement’s ban on importing goods made by forced labor — a subject that is among the tensions with China.
Analysts at Bank of America estimated in October that Mexico could increase its trade by as much as 30% if more supply chains returned to North America. Their report notes there had already been a bump in Mexican manufacturing as U.S. policymakers and businesses increasingly focus on bringing more trade to allied countries that are near American consumers.
“Every country is arriving with different priorities, but there is common ground,” said Enrique Perret, managing director of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, a think tank focused on cooperation between the two nations. “It’s competitiveness, it’s economy, it’s education, it’s labor mobility.”
But it's not all rosy.
The leaders of Canada and Mexico have voiced concerns over Biden's “Buy America” plan. And while Biden's push toward electric vehicles is a boon to both nations because of the tax credits for North American batteries, there's concern the U.S. allies will be left behind.
Meantime, the U.S. and Canada accuse López Obrador of trying to favor Mexico’s state-owned utility over power plants built by foreign and private investors, something that is forbidden under the three countries' free trade pact.
The leaders did meet in Washington last November, but until then, there hadn't been a summit in five years and many of the current disputes have festered despite constant discussion. They include fentanyl trafficking, corn production, automobile rules of origin and Mexican energy laws.
"These topics are really complicated issues and they will not be solved in a two-day summit," said Carin Zissis of the Americas Society, a nonprofit dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas.
The chemistry between Biden and Lopez Obrador is tricky, too. Their relationship is highly transactional and absent any of the warmth and camaraderie Biden has with other world leaders.
Lopez Obrador has made no secret of his admiration of Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. Lopez Obrador did not recognize Biden’s election victory from November 2020 until after the formal Electoral College vote a month later.
Biden has raised concerns over security and drug trafficking in Mexico and the deaths of journalists there. The U.S. took issue with Lopez Obrador for boycotting the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles last year over Biden's decision not to invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Biden plans to stop in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for his first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border, just days after announcing that the U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who illegally cross into the U.S. from Mexico. The new policy is an effort to manage the spiraling numbers of migrants arriving at the border.
Mexico agreed each month to take 30,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians who walk or swim to the U.S. and are turned back, and the U.S. each month will offer 30,000 people from those four nations work permits for two years and a legal path if they come to the U.S. by plane, have eligible sponsors and pass background checks. People from those four countries now make up the most migrants crossing the border.
Biden's attempt to tackle border security issues has drawn considerable criticism from immigrant advocates and refugee rights groups ,who say the changes are inhumane and reminiscent of Trump's hard-line approach.
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Verza reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
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