Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped into GOP Sen. Mike Lee after he blocked the creation of Latino and women's history museums during a dramatic Senate session

kvlamis@businessinsider.com (Kelsey Vlamis) 

 Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said Americans didn't need "separate but equal" museums. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

US Senator Mike Lee blocked two proposals that would establish new Smithsonian museums for American Latino and women's history.

Both bipartisan bills passed the House of Representatives earlier this year, but the Republican senator said Americans didn't need "separate but equal" museums.

Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez and GOP Sen. Susan Collins both pushed back at Lee during a dramatic Senate session on Thursday.

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped into Lee's remarks on Twitter, saying, "good to know Utah Sen. Mike Lee is spending his time today giving speeches about why Latinos shouldn't have a national history museum."

US Senator Mike Lee blocked two proposals that would establish new Smithsonian museums for American Latino and women's history during a dramatic Senate session on Thursday.

Both bipartisan bills passed the House of Representatives earlier this year, but Lee said Americans didn't need "separate, siloed" museums. Instead, he said the existing American History museum could be expanded to include the stories of all groups that make up US history.

"But the last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation with an array of separate but equal museums for hyphenated identity groups," the Republican senator from Utah said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped into Lee's remarks on Twitter.

"No movement on COVID in the Senate but good to know Utah Sen. Mike Lee is spending his time today giving speeches about why Latinos shouldn't have a national history museum and oh, while we're at it, why there shouldn't be a women's history museum either," she said in a tweet.

Lee prompted a livid response from Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat and longtime advocate of establishing a Latino museum.

"One Republican colleague from Utah stands in the way of the hopes and dreams and aspirations of seeing Americans of Latino descent having their dreams fulfilled in being recognized, just being recognized," he said during the session. "It's pretty outrageous."

Smithsonian museums for African-American history and Native American history already exist, but Lee said those groups were exceptions because they were "systematically excluded" from the nation's history.

"We have been systematically excluded," Menendez said of American Latinos. "And the only righteous way to end that exclusion is to pass this bill."

GOP Sen. Susan Collins also expressed support for the American Latino museum. Collins co-sponsored the bill for the women's history museum, which was also blocked by Lee during Thursday's session.

"It seems wrong that one senator can block consideration of a bill that would have overwhelming support by a majority of this body," she said in response to Lee.

"It is extraordinary to me that not 100 years ago not every woman in this country was allowed to vote in every state," she said. "That story is one of the stories that needs to be told."

After Lee blocked the women's history museum, Collins said, "I regret that that will not occur this evening, but we will not give up the fight."

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Utah Sen. Mike Lee blocks votes to establish Smithsonian museums for Latinos and women
By Paul LeBlanc, CNN 


Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Thursday blocked consideration for legislation to establish a National Museum of the American Latino and an American Women's History Museum as part of the Smithsonian Institution, reasoning that the US does not need "separate but equal museums."© Ken Cedeno/Pool/Getty Images

The National Museum of the American Latino legislation had passed the House by voice vote in July following decades of efforts to establish the museum.

"I understand what my colleagues are trying to do and why. I respect what they're trying to do. I even share their interests in ensuring that these stories are told. But the last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation with an array of segregated, separate-but-equal museums for hyphenated identity groups," Lee said.

"At this moment in the history of our diverse nation, we need our federal government and the Smithsonian Institution itself to pull us closer together and not further apart."

The Smithsonian Institution, Lee maintained, "should not have an exclusive museum of American Latino history or a museum of women's history or museum of American men's history or Mormon history or Asian-American history or Catholic history. American history is an inclusive story that should unite us."

There are museums dedicated to African Americans -- the National Museum of African American History and Culture -- and Native Americans -- the National Museum of the American Indian.

Video: Utah senator blocks legislation to establish Latino and women's museums (CNN)

Lee's opposition to the bill drew immediate scorn from Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and longtime advocate for a Latino museum, who called his approach "pretty outrageous."

"The House of Representatives passed this on voice. The Rules Committee passed it on voice in a bipartisan manner. And tonight, one colleague stands in the way. One Republican colleague from Utah stands in the way of the hopes and dreams and aspirations of seeing Americans of Latino descent having their dreams fulfilled and being recognized," he said.

 "Just being recognized."

That message was echoed by GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who said, "I could not help but wonder as I heard the comments of my colleague from Utah whether he also tried to block the museum celebrating and telling the history of African Americans."

She added: "It seems wrong that one senator can block consideration of a bill that would have overwhelming support by a majority of this body."

After Lee blocked the legislation to establish the American Women's History Museum, Collins said, "Surely in a year where we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, this is the time, this is the moment to finally pass the legislation unanimously recommended by an independent commission to establish an American Women's History museum in our nation's capital."

"I regret that that will not occur this evening, but we will not give up the fight," she said.

The National Museum of the American Latino bill is a culmination of efforts dating back more than 20 years. In 1994, in a 60-page report entitled, "Willful Neglect: The Smithsonian Institution and U.S. Latinos," a task force found that the Smithsonian displayed a pattern of excluding and ignoring the presence and contributions of Latino Americans in both its workforce and exhibition halls.

And in 2011, a 23-member presidential commission established to study the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino delivered a report that detailed the museum's feasibility.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams Mitch McConnell for opposing $1,200 stimulus checks in Instagram live session

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Monday, August 24, 2020. 

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Pool

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over his opposition to stimulus checks on an Instagram livestream on Thursday night. 

Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly called for a $1,200 direct payment to be included in the relief bill Congress is aiming to pass during the lame-duck session.

The freshman congresswoman also argued that Republicans haven't been "in a rush" to pass additional stimulus legislation because Wall Street was already given a massive bailout last spring.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez briefed her followers on the state of Congress' COVID-19 relief bill negotiations and slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over his opposition to stimulus checks during an Instagram livestream on Thursday night.

Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly called for a $1,200 direct payment to be included in the relief bill Congress is aiming to pass during the lame-duck session. She pointed out that some Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley, also support stimulus checks, but argued that Sen. McConnell is leading the resistance.

"This is a matter of Mitch McConnell not wanting a check," she told nearly the nearly 40,000 people who tuned in to watch her "Cooking and Q&A" session.

Congress is currently negotiating a bipartisan $908 billion proposal - a far less aggressive package than the $2.2 trillion bill Democrats passed in October. But many Republicans are still demanding a slimmer aid package that focuses on small businesses and vaccine distribution and includes a liability shield to protect corporations from virus-related lawsuits. GOP lawmakers are also largely opposed to sending additional funding to strapped state and local governments.

Ocasio-Cortez called the liability shield proposal a "corporate bailout." She argued that allowing Republicans to include the liability protections in the bill in exchange for stimulus checks or state and local government funding would be a bad deal for workers.

Video: Biden urges Congress to pass $900 billion stimulus package (NBC News)

"You may get a $1,200 check on one hand, but you may also get a multi-million hospital bill with no recourse and no ability to protect yourself from a negligent corporation or employer," she said. "Why do we need to exchange people's well being and ability to survive for yet another corporate bailout?"

Other progressive lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders' have also demanded stimulus checks in the bill and decried the liability shield.

The freshman congresswoman also argued that Republicans haven't been "in a rush" to pass additional stimulus legislation because Wall Street was already given a massive bailout last spring. About one-fifth of the $4 trillion in stimulus that the federal government has spent since the pandemic hit has gone to workers and families. About $2.3 trillion went to businesses, many of which didn't have to show that they were hurt by the pandemic or they would use the money to prevent layoffs.

Democrats in the House passed the $2.2 trillion HEROES Act in May and then again in October. Ahead of the November election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to negotiate a slightly smaller stimulus backed by the White House, while in October the Senate proposed a slimmed-down $500 stimulus package that was blocked by Democrats.

"What keeps me up at night was that it was short-term relief that was really important and really necessary ... but what we gave away to Wall Street was so large and so structural that, frankly, that's why Republicans and Mitch McConnell has not been in a rush," she said.

President-elect Joe Biden has promised to pass an additional stimulus when he takes office in late January, but Americans are in desperate need of help before then. If Congress fails to pass a new relief bill in the next nine days, almost 12 million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits in late December, millions could be evicted from their homes, and millions more will again be on the hook for student loan payments after January 31.
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 CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M FOR BEGINNERS

Chick-fil-A and Target sue chicken processors over alleged price fixing

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business

Mon December 7, 2020

Chick-fil-A and Target are accusing meat processors of fixing prices for the chicken they buy.

The two chains filed separate lawsuits in court on Friday. Each suit names over a dozen chicken sellers. A number of them, including Tyson (TSN), Perdue and Pilgrim's Pride, appear in both cases.

Chick-fil-A said in its lawsuit that after a 2014 commitment to serve antibiotics-free chicken, meat processors colluded on prices to bid for the new business.

Chick-fil-A paid "artificially inflated prices for chicken" because of the alleged illegal price fixing, the company said in its complaint. The lawsuit says that Chick-fil-A has joined a 2016 class action suit also alleging price fixing among chicken processors. It is asking the court for an unspecified amount in damages as part of that judgment, among other things.

Target's suit didn't go into much detail, but also stated that Target (TGT) has joined the 2016 class action and seeks unspecified damages.

Allegations of price-fixing have been plaguing the chicken industry for some time.

In June, executives, including Pilgrim Pride's then-CEO, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to fix prices and rig bids on "broiler chickens," which are sold to grocery stores and restaurants.

Tyson wasn't named in that indictment, but the company said at the time that it was served with a grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in April of last year.

With regard to Friday's lawsuits, a Tyson (TSN) spokesperson said that "follow-on complaints like these are common in antitrust litigation," adding that such complaints don't alter Tyson's position that price-fixing claims are "unfounded," and that "we will continue to vigorously defend our company."

Perdue issued a similar statement with regards to both lawsuits, saying "we believe these claims are unfounded and plan to contest the merits."

Pilgrim's Pride did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chicken is big business in the United States. The chicken sandwich has fueled sales at restaurants in recent years. America's taste for chicken has helped Chick-fil-A's incredible growth over the years.

--CNN's Clare Duffy contributed to this report

Exxon faces $20 billion hit from 'epic failure' of a decade ago

By Matt Egan, CNN Business

Updated 12:08 PM ET, Tue December 1, 2020

New York (CNN Business)

ExxonMobil's nightmarish 2020 just got worse.

The embattled energy company announced Monday that it will dramatically mark down the value of its natural gas properties. Exxon also promised to sharply scale back its spending ambitions as it braces for a more muted oil price recovery.
Exxon (XOM) plans to take a non-cash charge of $17 billion to $20 billion -- a massive hit for a company that was long opposed to taking writedowns. It's believed to be the largest such writedown in Exxon history.

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It's yet more evidence of how badly Exxon erred when it acquired natural gas giant XTO Energy for $41 billion in late 2009. Roughly half of that deal's value has now been erased.


The natural gas market is depressed, with gas trading at about $3 per million British thermal units -- less than half the price at the time Exxon swooped in to buy XTO. Natural gas peaked in late 2005 at more than $15 per million BTU.
But today the world has a glut of natural gas due to the shale boom that unlocked vast amounts of fossil fuels in the United States.
Exxon's "colossal gas asset impairment" is management's "clearest acknowledgement to date that the XTO deal was an epic failure -- not that any reminders of this are needed," Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov wrote in a note to clients Tuesday.
The bulk of the writedown covers properties in Appalachia, the Rockies, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas that were acquired in the XTO deal. The rest of the charge is for overseas gas properties in western Canada and Argentina.

Exxon is hardly the only oil company forced to whittle down the value of its fossil fuel properties. Over the past year, Chevron (CVX), BP (BP) and Shell (RDSA) have all taken massive writedowns.
But not only is Exxon slashing the value of its natural gas portfolio, the company has completely removed some of these gas properties from its development plan. Exxon said in a statement that it may sell some of these assets, "contingent on buyer valuations."

Shrinking the budget

Instead of plowing more money into natural gas, Exxon is promising investors it will "prioritize near-term capital spending on advantaged assets with the highest potential future value."
Specifically, Exxon said it will focus on developing its vast oil resources in Guyana, accelerating production in the Permian Basin of West Texas and some exploration in Brazil.
Exxon is also retreating from its bold plans to ramp up investment despite weak prices. The company now expects to spend $19 billion or less in 2021 and between $20 billion and $25 billion a year through 2025. That's a far cry from Exxon's March projection that it would spend $30 billion to $35 billion a year through 2025.

Trump said the stock market would crash if Biden won. The Dow just had its best month since 1987.

Exxon is scrambling to cut costs -- and jobs. The company reiterated that it plans to shrink its global workforce by 14,000, or 15%, by the end of next year. That includes cutting about 1,900 jobs in the United States, mostly at its Houston headquarters.
The pandemic and crash in oil prices has exposed Exxon's weakened financial state. The company posted quarterly losses for the first time in decades and it got kicked out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average after 92 years in that index.
As recently as 2012, Exxon was the world's most valuable company. But today it is valued at just $161 billion -- smaller than T-Mobile US (TMUS), AbbVie (ABBV), Nike (NKE) or Adobe (ADBE). Exxon's market valuation has crumbled by more than half to a staggering $285 billion since peaking at $446 billion in mid-2014.

'Precarious position'

Wall Street is hoping the belt-tightening and a more conservative budget will be enough to save Exxon's dividend, which is critical to its appeal to investors. But analysts are skeptical. This year marks the first time since 1982 that Exxon failed to increase its dividend.
Molchanov, the Raymond James analyst, warns that "Exxon cannot fund its dividend in 2021" without additional borrowing or asset sales.
For now, the capital markets are wide open and Exxon should be able to borrow to fund the dividend. But that can't last forever.


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"It's a question of how much debt they want to take on," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria. "The dividend looks challenged."
And even if Exxon avoids a dividend reduction, its sharp spending cuts raise questions about the company's long-term future.
Oil companies need to continually plow money into drilling -- otherwise production dries up, hurting cash flows.
"The company is in a precarious position because of the deals they've done and the fact they've underspent for many years," said Borkhataria. "They have to execute on their existing projects to protect the long-term viability of the business."

Europe's social safety net is often considered the gold standard. Coronavirus has exposed its holes


By Emma Reynolds, CNN Business Sun December 6, 2020

London (CNN Business)Ros Davies is usually busiest at Christmas, building magnificent sets and stages for London's most sparkling parties and events.
This year, the fairytale is canceled. Davies, a self-employed carpenter hasn't worked since March because of the pandemic and has no idea when she may do so again.
She's living in temporary accommodation found for her in the city by St. Mungo's, a homelessness charity, while a plan to get her into permanent housing is on hold.
"I was hoping to move on and sort my life properly but ... here we are," the 50-year old told CNN Business. "I wouldn't have believed if you had said a year ago that your job's going to stop in March and that's it, you might never work doing that again."


Closed stores in Borough market in Gravesend, England, on Wednesday, December 2 as a national lockdown came to an end but the Kent region remained under stringent restrictions.
Davies did some retraining in painting and decorating, but with England just coming out of a second lockdown it hasn't led to any work. She has gone from regular jobs that paid enough for her to take vacations, to complete reliance on UK social security payments of just over £400 ($530) a month.
"I've really had to lower all of my expectations of life," she said. "If I knew that in a month I'd be working again, or even in spring ... but there doesn't seem to be anything to look forward to."
Coronavirus has revealed gaping holes in European social safety nets that are often seen as the gold standard. While many countries introduced support programs for workers affected by the pandemic, people are falling through the cracks. Most often, those who were already suffering the effects of inequality are hit the hardest — lower-income workers, those in insecure jobs, young people, women and minority ethnic groups.

A closed cafe terrace on Piazza Vittorio Veneto in downtown Turin, Italy, in November.

"Some of the social security systems in Europe are more extensive, better developed [than in the United States]," Michael Spence, a Nobel Laureate and former dean of Stanford Business School, told CNN Business.
He said that during the 2008 financial crisis, pre-existing programs involving governments and businesses helped many European countries avoid too many layoffs.
"But I think in the pandemic economy, the shock's so big that they kind of overwhelm the systems," he said. "The systems weren't built to withstand nearly overnight contractions of 25% in economies."
Unemployment was up by 2.18 million year on year in the European Union in October 2020, rising from a rate of 6.6% to 7.6%. The UK unemployment rate was an estimated 4.8% in the three months to September, up 0.9 percentage points year on year, and 782,000 jobs were lost between March and October, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Insecure work
Lockdowns have seen economies come to an abrupt halt, and benefits systems in many countries have not been able to cope, according to Mike Brewer, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, a British think tank aimed at reducing inequality.
He said the UK welfare state was "inadequate" for this type of crisis, a downturn far beyond the "natural ebbing and flowing of economic activity" of typical recessions.

Women in the UK already earn less than men. The coronavirus is making that worse

The British welfare system was "not very generous" and relied on a fast-moving labor market, he said. "So it wasn't so much the scale of the pandemic, it was the fact that the pandemic just shut down the labor market ... that's destroyed the premise on which the UK welfare system has been designed."
Since self-employed and casual workers had few protections under pre-crisis systems, many governments have had to come up with emergency measures — but even these programs are inadequate.
The United Kingdom introduced an employee furlough scheme and a self-employment grant. But many workers who are partly or recently self-employed, freelance or on zero-hours or flexible contracts are ineligible for either.
The programs were "designed in a hurry," Brewer said; as the pandemic drags on, the gaps are becoming more evident, and more of a problem.
Hospitality, retail and leisure have been worst affected by lockdowns, sectors in which many informal jobs are held by young, low-income or migrant workers.
The disproportionate impact on these workers, coupled with a lack of government support, means the gap between rich and poor is only widening. Members of low-income households are more likely to be out of work and running down their savings, while those in higher-income households, who are more likely to be in secure jobs that can be done from home, grow wealthier as they spend less, said Brewer.

The people worst affected
Countries that are reliant on tourism, such as Portugal, Greece, Spain and Cyprus, have also faced a battering. The sector is often an entry point into work for women, young people, migrant workers and rural populations — and low-skilled, casual and temporary workers are likely to be the first to lose their jobs, according to a United Nations report.
Youth unemployment increased by 404,000 year on year in the European Union in October, according to Eurostat. The most complete recent data for all countries, from August, shows youth unemployment was highest in Spain, at 41.6%, up almost 9 percentage points. Greece hit 39.3%, Italy 31.4% and Portugal saw an 8.7 percentage point rise to 26.8%.
Brewer says it is "harmful to be out of work for long periods" and can have a long-term impact on future employment prospects so "young people now are going to be carrying that scar as they grow older."


Informal workers are falling through social safety nets, particularly in sectors such as tourism. Pictured, the Acropolis in Athens on November 12 during Greece's second lockdown.
Migrant workers across Europe disproportionately face precarious work and employment conditions, according to the European Federation of Public Service Unions. Joblessness can mean they lose their income, their right to stay in a country and even their homes without access to social benefits — so they are particularly likely to have to risk their health by continuing work. Undocumented migrants do not qualify for any protections.
Abigail Adams-Prassl, an associate professor in economics at the University of Oxford, told CNN Business that women and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic workers were also more likely to slip through the cracks.
"Insecure work and work in vulnerable sectors such as social care is disproportionately done by non-White groups in Britain," she said, adding that there was good evidence that "people who identify as non-White face a bigger economic shock than those identified as White."
This is coupled with the fact that they are more likely to become seriously ill or die from Covid-19.
Adams-Prassl said the ability to work from home also depends on domestic duties.

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Childcare falls disproportionately on women, and the virus has often meant that children cannot attend school or childcare, says Adams-Prassl. She said the pandemic has exacerbated the financial shortfall for many UK childcare providers and there had been "nothing in terms of a targeted package of support for that sector or thinking about how to really support the employment of caregivers."
Women's groups have repeatedly raised the issue that social security systems can be problematic for those in abusive relationships, she added. "If you've got a partner who didn't lose their job, or who might have savings of their own, that can mean that you're ineligible for these forms of government support," said Adams-Prassl, adding that these patterns were also seen in France and Italy.
"All of these things existed beforehand," she said. "It's the fact that I guess it has affected many more people over the pandemic and it's just been so stark has made many, many more people aware of these issues. I think there's still a very long way to go in terms of thinking about what the policy response is."

Increasing existing inequalities
In Italy, this inequality can be seen in stark relief along geographical lines. While the richer north of the country was initially hit the hardest by the pandemic, the financial damage has been worst for the poorest households, which are more widespread in the south, according to the Bank of Italy.
Employment has dropped more in the south, where people are more likely to be in temporary jobs or roles that are more exposed to the effects of the pandemic, the November report found.
The government launched loans, subsidies and wage supplementation programs in March, but Valentina Meliciani, director of the Luiss School of European Political Economy in Rome, says high levels of public debt gave the country "a limited capability to respond to the crisis" and reach everyone.

Borrowing is dirt cheap. These countries are cashing in

"Government interventions worked in the formal sector but less so with informal sector workers," she said, citing the examples of the tourism sector and migrant workers. "The problem is that it is very difficult to catch these people because they do not show up at all in the statistics."
She said Italy was already a "quite divided country" with the North and the center on one side, and the Mezzogiorno (south) on the other.
The southern region is fast becoming poorer. Public policies are less effective, students are lagging behind in education and fewer homes have fast broadband.
Meliciani said the southern regions "will suffer the most" in the long term. She said that to stop poverty increasing after the pandemic, government policies must address structural problems in the south, including the digital divide.
She said companies in the south needed incentives or tax relief to allow them to invest in digital technologies or other areas that could help them survive the crisis.
Modeling led by Oxford University in July found that two months of lockdown plus six months of restrictions would result in a mean wage loss rate for the poor of up to 16.2%. Cyprus was the European country where inequality increased most under several different pandemic scenarios, with a loss rate of up to 22.4% for the poor.
"There is considerable inequality in Cyprus in terms of income, wealth, employment, opportunities, and what I would call intergenerational gaps," Leslie Manison, a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund and ex-advisor in the Cyprus Ministry of Finance, told CNN Business.
He said the government had introduced measures such as subsidizing salaries of employees in companies that had suspended their operations, and people in the informal sector often weren't eligible despite being worse affected by Covid.
"The subsidies haven't been connected, you could say, with active labor policies on retraining and so on, compared with a country like Germany," he added.

Activists are fighting for a renewable future in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chinese coal projects threaten to dirty those plans

IMPERIALISM 

THE HIGHEST STAGE OF CAPITALISM

By Eoin McSweeney, CNN Business Wed December 9, 2020

(CNN Business)When the Ghanaian government agreed to coordinate with Shenzen Energy Group, a Chinese energy company, to build a 7,000-megawatt coal power plant in the country's Ekumfi district, Chibeze Ezekiel was concerned.

He knew the proposed plant's wastewater, ash pit and mercury emissions posed serious health and environmental risks to the local fishing and farming communities. Access to clean drinking water was under threat from the plant's sulfur dioxide emissions and associated acid rain, and there would have been a clear impact on the regional climate.

Ezekiel, who is from the capital, Accra, was already the founder of an NGO focused on good environmental governance and started what became a successful grassroots youth movement to stop the construction of the $1.5 billion plant, which included a shipping port to bring in coal.

He ran a social media campaign emphasizing the threats of the proposed plans to the environment and local communities, detailing the possible long-term job creation that might come with a shift to renewable energy.




As a direct result of Goldman Environmental Prize winner Chibeze Ezekiel's grassroots campaign, the Ghanaian Minister of Environment canceled the construction of a 700-megawatt (MW) coal power plant and adjoining shipping port.

The Ghanaian government canceled the project in 2016. The president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has since said new power policies will be based on renewable generation technologies such as wind and solar, as Ghana attempts to meet its carbon reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.

"If the world is trying to move away from environmental destruction because of the fossil fuel, then Africa shouldn't be seen as perpetuating that era," said Ezekiel over a webcall.

He was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa on November 30, which honors the achievements and leadership of grassroots environmental activists.

Ezekiel's victory is but one of many battles raging across the continent between activists, Chinese companies and African governments.

Despite the reputational risk, Chinese companies have continued to finance the construction of coal plants, drawing ire from environmental activists, while African leaders are choosing quick fix solutions to electrify their countries.

China's dirty belt and road

In July, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged nations to stop financing the coal industry.

"Coal has no place in Covid-19 recovery plans," he said via video link during an online summit hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised that the world's biggest polluter of greenhouse gases would go carbon neutral by 2060. Speaking via video link to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he called for a "green revolution;" this was the first time China had issued concrete goals to reach net zero carbon emissions.

In 2018, Xi outlined a major push for green development in Africa as part of his global infrastructure policy, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Thirty-eight Sub-Saharan countries have signed on, hoping for improved infrastructure and energy development.

But despite these promises to phase out dirty, high-carbon projects at home and abroad, Chinese banks and companies are still financing seven coal plants in Africa like the one planned for the Ekumfi district, with 13 more in the pipeline, mostly south of the Sahara.
It was the China-Africa Development fund that was supposed to finance the coal power plant in Ghana, a private equity fund entirely backed by China Development Bank, a state government policy bank.

Since 2000 the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China alone have supplied $6.5 billion of finance for coal projects in Africa, according to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. China has a rapidly developing economy with many sectors dependent on fossil fuels and it currently contributes 26% of global carbon emissions, according to the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center (Green-BRI).

In October, one month after Xi promised carbon neutrality, one of China's biggest energy construction firms, state-owned PowerChina, flew 223 Chinese employees into Zimbabwe to "accelerate" the expansion of the coal-fired Hwange Power Plant in the west of Zimbabwe. Two weeks later, the Chinese Ambassador to the country, Guo Shaochun, said in a tweet that the coronavirus pandemic "cannot stop the pace of cooperation between China and Zimbabwe" and that on completion of the project, the country's "power self-sufficiency capacity will be greatly improved."

African governments have been happy to push ahead with dirty energy projects that only the Chinese will finance. The potential of a competent energy infrastructure fueled by cheap coal is enticing for a country like Zimbabwe, given the energy deficits slowing economic growth. The country has a national power demand ranging from 2,200-2,400 megawatts but only provides about 1,300, according to the Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG).

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with his Zimbabwean counterpart President, Emmerson Mnangagwa on September 5, 2018, a day after the conclusion of the Forum On China-Africa Cooperation.

Energy shortages and power cuts are commonplace in Ghana, exacerbated by drought conditions because of the country's dependency on hydro-electricity. Its energy crisis left it vulnerable to energy developers and foreign investment before Ezekiel intervened.
Like other countries investing in Africa, China also promises jobs, while taking advantage of lax policies and cheaper construction costs. Many governments choose to meet the demand for energy at the cost of a clean environment.

This is despite every African country having ratified the Paris Agreement, apart from Angola, Libya, South Sudan and Eritrea.

"Policy on renewable projects is weak or non-existent in Africa," said Han Chen, the manager of international energy policy at the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit international environmental advocacy group. "In China, environmental standards are pretty high, while South Africa or Kenya, for example, have energy policies that make it easier for investors to get involved."

If current plans go ahead, the Chinese-backed coal power output in Africa currently being financed could treble by the time the country realizes its goal of carbon neutrality in 2060, according to Global Energy Monitor.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reply to a request for comment.

Activism across the continent

Ezekiel is not alone in fighting for an Africa focused on renewable energy.

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) has served letters to RioZim, formerly owned by London-listed mining corporation RioTinto (RIO), over plans for a 2,800-megawatt plant in the northern Gokwe region, west of the capital Harare.

It will receive financial assistance from the construction company China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), and country risk insurance costs are likely to be covered by the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), according to Global Energy Monitor.

ZELA says the project is shrouded in secrecy and RioZim has not provided information on the environmental or socio-economic impacts of the plant.

It is likely the land earmarked for the plant is under communal settlements, meaning there would be relocations and appropriation of land, say ZELA. Living near coal plants can cause respiratory issues, affect water quality and increase the alkalinity of soil, according to Thermal Watch.

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When contacted for comment, RioZim replied that "any media engagements are strictly prohibited" under the provision of their "non-disclosure agreements."

South Africa's $10 billion, 3,000-megawatt Musina-Makhado power station will be financed by Chinese companies, both state-owned and private, with PowerChina alone contributing $4.5 billion, according to a memorandum of agreement signed in July 2018.

It is part of the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Limpopo province north of Pretoria, a mega industrial hub which will span more than 6,000 hectares.
A pre-feasibility study conducted by UK engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald said direct impacts of the site where the coal plant will be located include "detrimental effect on the biodiversity assets of the region," "disruption of ecological functioning and pollution of water resources" and "large-scale land transformation." There will be a "definite" release of "significant" greenhouse emissions, according to a preliminary impact assessment.

"The country can't afford to be locking in to a hugely polluting, expensive and carbon-intensive mega project at a time when — more than ever — we need to act against the climate crisis, protect the resilience of vulnerable, water scarce areas and preserve our limited state funds and resources for projects with positive outcomes and benefits for all," said Michelle Koyama, an attorney at Cape Town's non-profit Centre for Environmental Rights (CER).

CER has objected to the Musina-Makhado SEZ because of these negative climate impacts and say it will take water away from areas already experiencing deficits. South Africa has been plagued by droughts and water scarcity, and is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The Limpopo Provincial Government, PowerChina and the Chinese embassy in South Africa did not respond to requests for comment.

East of Pretoria, Kusile Power Station is being constructed with $2.5 billion from China Development Bank and sponsorship from Eskom, South Africa's biggest polluter.

Many people have moved in from rural areas and neighboring Zimbabwe to find work at the Medupi coal power plant, pictured here from Maropong township outside Lephalele, South Africa in January 2015.

The South African environment department launched a criminal investigation against the electric public utility company in May 2019 over air quality concerns at its Kendal Power Station.

Eskom confirmed to CNN that it has been summoned to appear in front of a regional court to answer to criminal charges related to the Kendal plant. These include exceeding the emissions limit on air pollutants and supplying false or misleading information to an air quality officer.

Fossil fuel advocates argue that the energy provided by the plants is vital for development, but centralized coal has failed to deliver electricity to over 2.5 million households in South Africa and can be costly, according to Greenpeace.

"Despite the government promising to provide the people of South Africa with affordable electricity, many of them cannot afford Eskom's coal-powered electricity -- the costs of which continue to escalate," said Koyama. "Ironically the same communities who live next door to these coal plants, and have to suffer their impacts daily, do not have reliable, affordable electricity in their homes."

A 2017 report written by Mike Holland, a member of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economist, estimated that more than 2,200 deaths a year could be attributed to coal-fired generation in South Africa. Lung cancer, heart disease stroke and respiratory infections were common killers.

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No coal plant brings health benefits and Chinese companies are not alone in receiving criticism for financing their construction.

In 2014 Safi Energy Company secured $900 million from the Bank of Japan to build a coal plant in the west of Morocco. Described as a double standard and a danger to public health by Greenpeace, the environmental NGO estimated the plant is the cause of 59 premature deaths in the North African country annually, a figure that would be more than four times lower if Japanese emission limits were applied.

Between 2014 and 2017 European and US banks like HSBC (FTRXX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Deutsche Bank (DB) loaned $921 million to the potentially criminal Eskom, according to data compiled by a number of non-profit and environmental organizations.

"Coal investments come with a lot of human rights violations," Nqobizitha Ndlovu, a constitutional and human rights lawyer who is the legal adviser to ZELA, told CNN in a phone conversation. "There are a lot of complaints here in Zimbabwe, and across all of Africa, that these projects do not respect the right to be healthy, to have a safe and clean environment or the right to water."

When asked whether they would reevaluate their relationship with Eskom in light of the criminal charges, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase declined to comment.
However while western companies have pulled back from investment in coal plants, Chinese plans are still forging ahead.

"You're locking a lot of countries into a coal-dependent pathway and the pollution can be horrendous," said Chen.

A green future

After seeing his 2016 campaign empower communities, Ezekiel is hopeful. He spent four days speaking with chiefs, elders, fishermen and other local groups in Ekumfi, explaining the positives of renewable energy, especially the possibilities for long-term employment.

"We agree that there are people who are unemployed and that jobs are critical," said Ezekiel. "But we believe that there's a better alternative in the area of renewable energy which guarantees employment not only for the short term, but for a long time."

Chen agrees, saying there was "pushback" from communities. "There's sometimes a disconnect between a national bilateral agreement and what those on the ground actually want," he said.

Ezekiel launched the Children for Climate Action (C4C) initiative to involve children (as well as young people) in the fight against climate change and the no coal debate. As a national coordinator of 350 Ghana Reducing our Carbon (350 G-ROC), Ezekiel is also encouraging other African countries (particularly Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria) to resist foreign investment in coal.

"A huge mobilization of young people is needed to create more public awareness and education, but we must provide skills and facilities for the youth to be employed, so we can demonstrate that energy indeed provides more job opportunities," Ezekiel said.

Campaigners draw public attention to Chibeze Ezekiel's movement on the dangers of coal and the need for renewables at a shopping mall in Accra, Ghana in September 2017.

The pan-African activism has had some success and in recent years coal projects have been shelved in Nigeria, Mozambique and Botswana, among others.

In recent months, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa and chairman of the African Union, has dramatically shifted his country's energy stance toward renewables. About 11,800-megawatts will be added to South Africa's energy capacity by 2022, with "more than half" coming from renewable sources, he said in an address on October 15, adding that steps like these can help achieve a "sufficient, secure and reliable energy supply."

CER has successfully stopped the construction of a proposed 557-megawatt plant at Thabametsi alongside environmental organizations Earthlife and Groundwork. It is challenging the environmental authorization for another at Khanyisa, where a water-use licence has already been rescinded.

On the intercontinental stage, Ezekiel is encouraged by the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.

"I would say it is a victory not only for the US, but for the world as a whole," he said. "He has made comments to the effect that he is prepared to put America back into the Paris agreement. That's a very big plus."

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China has actually become the largest green finance market, with about 11 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) in green credit and about 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion) in green bonds, according to Green-BRI. Growing this market has helped control the pollution and ecological damage resulting from 40 years of extreme economic growth.

Ultimately coal is a fading industry and China is almost alone in financing coal power in Africa. As banks in other countries continue to snub the fuel, it's likely that Chinese money will build the last ever coal plant.

If the economic behemoth wants to take its commitment to fighting global warming seriously, it needs to stop financing coal plants overseas. For Ezekiel and other activists, the war is turning in their favor.