Boeing Dominates Orders In Dubai; Airbus Rebounds After Emirates Engine Rift

HARRISON MILLER
 11/16/2023

Airbus on Thursday finally landed a 15-jet order from Emirates airline after a publicized rift over engine issues earlier in the week. Dow Jones rival Boeing has so far dominated the order book at the Dubai Airshow. Boeing stock rallied more than 6% so far this week through Wednesday's close.

Emirates, Airbus Agree To Order

Airbus (EADSY) on Thursday sealed a $6 billion deal with UAE-owned Emirates for 15 additional A350-900 aircraft. The new-order backlog for Emirates — the largest airline in the Middle East — to 65 A350s, the airline announced.

"We will work closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce to ensure our aircraft deliver the best possible operating efficiency and flying experience," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates said in the announcement. The airline committed to $58 billion in orders for 110 additional planes at the Dubai Airshow so far.

During negotiations on Tuesday, Emirates airline had signaled it would hold off on any new Airbus A350 orders, the AP reported.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates, hinted the engine supplied by Rolls-Royce was defective in comments to journalists at the airshow and criticized its high maintenance costs, saying it is "not doing what we want."

"If the engine did what we wanted it to do and Rolls-Royce knows what we want it to do, and so does Airbus, then we would reenter it into the assessment for our fleet," Clark said.

Clark told reporters Emirates was prepared to order between 35 and 50 jets if Rolls-Royce improved engine durability and maintenance costs, Reuters reported.

Emirates airline is the world's largest operator of Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft. Airbus ended production on the double-decker jet and stopped deliveries in 2021. However, Emirates plans to keep flying the A380 - potentially until the early 2040s - and will start phasing out the aircraft in the 2030s.

Emirates on Wednesday signed a series of deals worth $1.5 billion to maintain its A380 fleet and improve the lifespan of the aircraft, Simple Flying reported. This year, the airline began deploying refurbished A380s through its $2 billion internal retrofitting program. All 67 A380s assigned for maintenance will return to service by 2024.

Airbus Orders

On Wednesday, Airbus reached a provisional order with Ethiopian Airlines for 11 A350-900 jets. The deal includes an option to purchase six additional aircraft. It brings Ethiopian Airlines' orderbook for the A350 to 33 planes.

Ethiopian Airlines currently operates a fleet of 20 A350-900s and is Africa's largest A350 customer.

The plane maker secured an order for 30 additional A220-300 aircraft from airBaltic on Monday. The order increases that airline's total order book to 80 jets, making the Latvian airline the largest A220-300 customer in Europe.

Boeing Lands Ethiopian Airlines Deal

Ethiopian Airlines agreed Tuesday morning to order 11 Boeing (BA) 787 Dreamliner jets and 20 737 MAX airplanes, which included an option to buy 15 additional Dreamliners and 21 extra 737 MAXs. The deal marks the largest purchase of Boeing airplanes by a company based in an African country, Boeing said during the announcement.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew said the order enables the airline to modernize and increase its fleet to support the company's growth plan.

The airline has more than 80 Boeing jets in its fleet and touts the largest fleet of Dreamliners in Africa. The new 737 order marks a healing of relations between the two companies, after an Ethiopian 737 MAX crashed in March 2019 and killed everyone on board. The crash grounded Boeing planes worldwide, due to Boeing design flaws playing a key role in that accident, and in another involving Indonesia's Lion Air airlines a year earlier.

"We have checked and confirmed that the design defects of the aircraft have been fully corrected by Boeing and we have renewed our confidence in the aircraft," Tasew told Bloomberg.

Dubai Order Frenzy

At Monday's start of the Dubai show, Emirates airline announced a $52 billion order for 95 of Boeing's widebody jets. Emirates is the world's largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft. The order included 55 Boeing 777-9s, 35 777-8 jets and five 787 planes, bringing Emirates' total 777x order backlog to 205 planes and its 787 backlog to 35 jets, respectively. Emirates currently has nearly 150 777 jets in its fleet, according to Boeing.

The airline ordered 202 GE9X engines to power the additional 777X aircraft. Emirates expects the first 777-9 to join the fleet in 2025 from its previous order for 115 units. The additional jets from Monday's order should arrive in 2035. Emirates expects deliveries for the 777-8 in 2030.

Meanwhile, FlyDubai announced a plan to purchase 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, marking the first order for widebody aircraft. The airline currently operates a fleet of 79 aircraft made up entirely of 737s, with an order backlog of 137 Boeing 737s. FlyDubai plans to use the 787s to open new routes and increase capacity on its existing offerings. The order is valued around $11 billion, the AP reported.

Additionally, SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, committed to purchasing up to 90 Boeing 737 aircraft, according to a Monday announcement. The SunExpress agreement includes an order for 28 737-8s, 17 737-10 models and an option to purchase up to 45 additional 737 MAX planes.

Boeing Stock

Boeing stock faded 1.3% early Thursday, erasing its slight gain from Wednesday. BA stock remains up 4.8% for the week, after rallying Monday Monday on the Dubai orders and reports China is considering its own jet commitment.

Boeing shares are testing resistance at their 200-day line and trading above their other key moving averages. Boeing stock jumped 9.6% so far this year through Wednesday's close.

Airbus, which trades in American depositary receipts (ADRs) under the ticker EADSY, slipped 1% Thursday morning after a slight dip Wednesday. EADSY stock is 19.6% this year and approaching a 36.73 entry in a double-bottom base.

Air Lease (AL), which provides jet leasing and fleet management services, eased early Thursday. Shares rose 1.8% Wednesday after adding 2.4% Tuesday.

You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison

Russian arms makers kept to low profile at Dubai Airshow

Wed, November 15, 2023

2023 Dubai Airshow


By Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI (Reuters) - Russian arms makers appear to have been kept to a low profile at this week's Dubai Airshow, underscoring how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sought to balance its ties with the West and Moscow.

Unlike past shows, Russian participation has been limited to the very end of the outdoor area where state-arms makers are exhibiting inside their own pavilion rather than in the main hall.

"We have been put a bit away, outside the main pavilion," said a Russian arms industry executive, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The executive said they did not know why Russian firms had apparently been deliberately kept away from the main exhibition area where companies like U.S. firm Lockheed Martin are present.

Still, an aerobatics display of Russian Su35S fighter jets went ahead, the TASS news agency reported on Monday.

Rostec, United Aircraft Corp and Almaz-Anty are among the Russian firms participating at the show this week.

A representative for the Dubai Airshow, a major biennial commercial and defence industry showpiece, did not immediately respond to emailed questions on the Russian participation.

Russian arms makers have in past used the Dubai event to showcase their firepower, with executives often claiming they were gaining market share in a region traditionally close to the U.S. At the last show in 2021, Russia displayed a Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate prototype internationally for the first time.

The UAE, a Gulf Arab power, has not adopted Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and has resisted U.S. pressure to break links with Moscow.

Inside the Russian pavilion, combat gear and models of fighter jets and combat helicopters are on display this week.

The Russian executive said military delegations from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas had visited the pavilion so far. He declined to say which countries.

Outside the Russian pavilion, a Russian KA-52E combat helicopter is on show next to a Russian IL-76MD-90AE military transport aircraft and a RVV-MD2 missile for stealth fighter jets.

U.S. Air Force aircraft on show at the week-long event have been placed at the opposite end of the outdoor display area.

Russian state arms makers participated in February at a major arms fare in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, where they were similarly kept separated from the main exhibition area.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Mark Potter)

Russian arms industry banks on Dubai defense fair to show viability

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo
Tue, November 14, 2023



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tucked away outside, at the very end of the Dubai Airshow’s static display of aircraft, the Russian pavilion of suppliers makers spanned a large portion of the floor plan here.

This setting was markedly different from Moscow’s displays at recent defense fairs, where the regime’s state-owned companies came practically empty-handed and kept a relatively low profile.

Banking on the event to market its full range of weapons, including those used in the brutal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s outdoor setup placed helicopters and air-to-air guided missiles at center stage.

One prominent presence was the KA-52E combat helicopter, of which at least 58 units have reportedly been destroyed or damaged by Ukrainians, according to the Dutch open-source intelligence website Oryx. As part of the Russian helicopter stand, the X-69 precision strike cruise missile, designed to be employed by the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter, was shown for the first time internationally, according to the manufacturer.

A total of five Russian agencies exhibited here, including Almaz-Antey with mockups of its Viking surface-to-air missiles, Rostec with the small-scale Pantsir-S1M self-propelled, anti-aircraft missile system, Roscosmos marketing the Federal Space Program Khrunichev Center, and Rosoboronexport.
Where’s Rosoboronexport’s Argument-2?

Rosoboronexport had planned to unveil its own spin on an anti-drone gun at the airshow. Dubbed the Argument-2, the company markets the weapon as capable of destroying the wildly effective first-person-view (FPV) drones used by Ukrainian forces on the front lines. The drones are named after their modus operandi of a simple, forward-looking video feed that allow operators to fly explosive payloads near targets for detonation.

But as of Tuesday, the new system was nowhere to be seen at the Rosoboronexport stand. Asked about the absence, a company representative at the show declined to comment.

Experts have placed the number of FPV-type drones flying in Ukraine “in the many thousands per month,” Sam Bendett, research analyst at the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses, told Defense News.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly used the weapons in the heavy fighting around Avdiivka, a battle that has inflicted the heaviest casualties on Russian invaders in 2023, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

“I think the value for Russia publicizing here is to promote and demonstrate sustainability and self-sufficiency, that it can produce technology like this on its own as the war drags on, whether that capability is accurate or not,” Matt McCrann, chief executive of DroneShield, an Australia-based competitor in the counter-drone market, said.

Throughout the Ukraine war, the United Arab Emirates has walked a fine line by choosing to remain largely neutral, maintaining close ties to Russia while also providing humanitarian aid to Kyiv.

Last March, Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said in a statement on social media that the Gulf country “believes that taking sides would only lead to more violence” and that the government prioritizes encouraging “all parties to resort to diplomatic action.”


Flying taxis braced for takeoff at Dubai Airshow
Talek HARRIS and Mumen KHATIB
Wed, November 15, 2023 

Archer Aviation displayed its Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flying taxi is at the Dubai Airshow this week (Giuseppe CACACE)

Flying taxis have been a sci-fi fixture for decades, but one operator says they are finally close to reality, first in the United States and then the United Arab Emirates and India.

"What we used to think of as science fiction is now science fact," Billy Nolen, Archer Aviation's chief safety officer, told AFP at the Dubai Airshow on Wednesday.

"This is happening, it is real, and you will see this in the market in 2025."

Reports of futuristic aircraft ferrying passengers over cities -- and their car-choked roads -- have been cropping up for years, evoking images of 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons".

Yet regulatory approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration for Archer's Midnight, a four-passenger, electric-powered vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is expected as soon as 2025.

That will trigger "almost concurrent" certification in the UAE, said Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer at Archer, whose major backers include Mubadala, an Emirati sovereign wealth fund.

UAE flights are expected to start in 2026 on two initial routes: from Dubai airport to the upmarket Palm development, and Abu Dhabi airport to the city-centre Corniche.

"We expect the demand to be more than we can even handle. The pricing will be relatively premium at the outset," said Goel.

"But then over time, we'll deploy hundreds of aircraft in the UAE (which) will also lower the price considerably."

At the same time, flights will launch in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, Goel said, calling India "a really, really big market for us".

- 'Fully zero emissions' -

Test flights for Archer's Midnight are currently taking place in California, and rival firm Joby has performed its first experimental journeys in New York.

The Midnight has a dozen propellers -- independently wired and powered, to minimise the risk of a "catastrophic" failure -- and a wing, allowing it to glide in the event that it can no longer stay aloft.

It will be able to fully recharge in the six or seven minutes that it takes to switch passengers between trips, and has a current maximum range of about 160 kilometres (100 miles) at about 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph).

Flying the aircraft is straightforward, said Goel, who insisted that a 12-year-old in a simulator could learn it in 20 minutes.

Flights will be booked as ride shares, and will initially cost about $4-5 per passenger mile before dropping to half that in about two or three years, Goel added.

With flying taxis plying existing helicopter routes -- and theoretically safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than helicopters -- there is significant room to scale up, the company says.

"We have designed this business case to operate in urban environments, say from the airport to city centre," said Golen, the chief safety officer.

"It's fully zero-emissions, fully sustainable, it is eco-friendly, it has about 100 times less noise signature than a conventional helicopter.

"So it's very neighbour-friendly as well."

th/dcp

UAE president visits Dubai Air Show as Russian arms company shows attack helicopter used in Ukraine
JON GAMBRELL
Updated Wed, November 15, 2023 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The leader of the United Arab Emirates toured the Dubai Air Show on Wednesday as a sanctioned Russian arms supplier displayed an attack helicopter used in its war on Ukraine, highlighting his country’s continued ties to Moscow despite Western sanctions targeting it.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan toured the show with his brother, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a vice president and deputy prime minister of this autocratic country of seven sheikhdoms.

They stopped by a stand for EDGE, an Emirati defense company, where Sheikh Mohammed signed a drone in front of onlookers before attending a meeting there.

Outstanding on the runway, Russian pilots sat inside a KA-52 attack helicopter as it was pulled down the runway at Al Maktoum International Airport. Those helicopters have been repeatedly used in Ukraine and its manufacturer, Russian Helicopters, is sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.

Inside a Russian pavilion on the runway, far away from the indoor stands of other airlines and suppliers, onlookers picked up and racked an AK-19 assault rifle on display. Others look at miniature drones and other equipment used by Moscow. Russian pilots associated with the manufacturer walked the halls of the inside displays in their flight suits.

Staff on hand at the pavilion referred questions to a spokesperson who did not respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi referred questions to Washington, which did not immediately respond to queries. The U.S. military also has a HIMARS missile system, the type used with great success by Ukraine, on display at the opposite end of the runway at the show.

Russia had a similar display at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in February that did not include attack aircraft. Russian money continues to flood into Dubai’s red-hot real estate market, in part by some who have fled Moscow over the war.

Daily flights between the Emirates and Moscow provide a lifeline for both those fleeing conscription and the Russian elite. The U.S. Treasury has expressed concerns about the amount of Russian cash flowing into the Arabian Peninsula country.

Meanwhile Wednesday, passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport this year will eclipse the passenger figures for 2019, showing the strong rebound in travel after the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns that grounded aircraft worldwide, a top official said.

The airport, the world's busiest for international travel and home of the long-haul carrier Emirates, has had 64.5 million passengers pass through its cavernous concourses through the third quarter of this year. That puts it on track to reach 86.8 million passengers for the full year, which would exceed its 2019 figure of 86.3 million passengers. It had 66 million passengers last year.

The airport's busiest year was 2018, when it had 89.1 million passengers.

“So for the end of the year, current predictions, 86.8 million, a little bit shy of the pre-pandemic numbers," Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO, told The Associated Press in an interview at the Dubai Air Show. "But actually, hopefully, by the end of the year, we may be able to raise that forecast.”

He added: “I think now because we’ve got the full network with 250 destinations, 95 airlines and 105 countries, that’s why we’ve been able to recover so strongly.”

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the busiest passenger airport overall.

Through the third quarter, Dubai's main airport handled 308,000 total takeoffs and landings. India, long a key route for Emirates' East-West travel strategy, led all countries in destinations, followed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the U.S. and Russia. Emirates and other airlines in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms, have continued to fly to Moscow even during Russia's war on Ukraine.

Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip also has slowed traffic to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv for Dubai, which established direct flights after the UAE diplomatically recognized the country in 2020. Numbers also remain lower with flights from China, which used to be a major source market for Emirates and Dubai's tourism industry.

“Because we have such a diversified network across so many different countries, we’ve got pretty strong demands. And when we have one or two traffic flows which go down, it’s always compensated by something that recovers more strongly,” Griffiths said. "For example, the Far East, we’re still seeing traffic from China in very low numbers. But as that resurges, I’m absolutely sure the numbers will be boosted by that.”

Griffiths' announcement comes during the Dubai Air Show at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, the city-state’s second airfield some 45 kilometers (28 miles) away from Dubai International Airport. While used by commercial airlines when Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the second airport that opened in 2010 largely sees cargo and private aircraft flights.

During this year's show, Emirates has announced a $52 billion aircraft purchase with Boeing Co., while its sister airline FlyDubai bought another $11 billion of aircraft from Boeing. Airbus on Wednesday announced the sale of 11 additional A350-900s to Ethiopian Airlines, though the European manufacturer has yet to announce a major sale at the show.

“This, I think, has been the greatest air show of all time," Griffiths said. "The mood is great. The confidence is great. The quality of the show is great. I think the outlook for aviation here in Dubai has never been brighter.”
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, signs an HT-100 drone at the display of the Emirati military company EDGE while attending the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

UAE, Korea Aerospace Industries enter talks for KUH-1E helicopter buy
Awad Mustafa
Wed, November 15, 2023 



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates is negotiating the purchase of South Korean helicopters, with the aim of signing a deal by year’s end, according to an official with the manufacturer.

The Emirati military is seeking an undisclosed number of KUH-1E helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries, Cho Seok Joon, a senior manager with the company’s rotorcraft division, told Defense News during the Dubai Airshow, which runs Nov. 13-17.

The KUH-1E is an export version of the twin-engine KUH-1 Surion. The former can carry 18 people, including two pilots, whereas the latter can accommodate 18 total. The UAE is seeking a maritime variant.

“Instead of the gun present in the KUH, it is equipped with a radar,” Cho noted.

A spokesperson with the Emirati Defence Ministry told Defense News the country is currently evaluating the aircraft.

“At the ministry, we have several layers of tests for all equipment. Once it’s complete, we give our verdict,” the representative said.

The Surion can perform military transport and airfreight missions, among other functions.

The export variant’s power comes from a pair of 1,855-shaft-horsepower GE T700-701K turboshaft engines. It can reach a maximum speed of 147 knots (169 mph) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 19,200 pounds.


Turkey and UAE cozy up over drone, missile cooperation

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo
Tue, November 14, 2023 

BIROL BEBEK

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which have found themselves at odds over recent years, are indicating a rapprochement is underway as a result of negotiations over major defense projects.

Following the Arab Spring — pro-democratic protests and uprisings across the region that started in 2011 — the two countries differed on several geopolitical issues. For instance, during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, when the UAE decided to cut political and economic ties with the Gulf nation, Turkey opted to support Doha.

However, in the last year they have focused on strengthening bilateral ties through agreements in the defense and technology sectors, among others. In October, the chairman of the Emirati-owned defense company Edge Group visited Turkey to meet with some of the country’s major defense stakeholders.

“The Turkish market has done a great job in recent years at establishing a good ecosystem of defense players, similar to what the UAE has achieved and continues to work towards,” Faisal Al Bannai, chairman of the board of directors at Edge, told Defense News in an interview at the Dubai Airshow this week.

The executive said the company is banking on cooperation rather than competition with some of the biggest players in Turkish defense, with the aim of exploring acquisition and joint development programs focused on drones, missiles and subsystems.

“I don’t see the world as black and white; it is big enough for us all [defense companies] to exist in it. Sure, we can compete in some areas — that’s fine and normal — but there are also instances where it is better and more logical to cooperate,” Al Bannai said.

As an example, he cited the UAE’s purchase of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, without disclosing the exact quantity.

“We are also in discussions, for instance, with Baykar to integrate our missiles on some of their drones and to possibly acquire the TB3 model eventually,” Al Bannai said, referring to the TB2 and TB3 drone manufacturer.

This deal could be similar to the one Edge has with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which announced on Nov. 13 it agreed to integrate Edge-made precision-guided munitions and guided glide weapons onto the MQ-9B SkyGuardian drone.

Haluk Bayraktar, who leads Baykar, also confirmed ongoing talks over the firm’s platforms.

The TB3, the naval variant of the TB2, took its first flight late last month, according to the manufacturer.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

California's first lesbian Senate leader could make history again if she runs for governor

ADAM BEAM
November 15, 2023



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The first time Toni Atkins acted as the governor of California, she used her powers to honor the passing of San Diego Padres baseball player Tony Gwynn while playfully rebuffing Jimmy Kimmel’s advice that she “ invade Oregon. ”

It was 2014, and Atkins — the first lesbian to be the speaker of the state Assembly — was filling in for former Gov. Jerry Brown, a quirk of the California Constitution that requires governors to put someone else in charge whenever they leave the state.

Atkins, now the president pro tempore of the state Senate, has filled in as governor a few more times since then, most recently in July when she signed three bills into law and quipped that she was thrilled to once again step into the governor’s shoes, “ although I have better shoes. ”

Now, the 61-year-old lawmaker is turning her attention once again to the governor’s office — only this time, she’s exploring a much longer stay.

“I’m very interested in looking at that possibility” of running for governor, Atkins told The Associated Press in an interview, saying publicly for the first time what many have assumed since she announced she would step down as the Senate’s top leader next year. “I am looking at it seriously.”

The race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom will likely be a Democratic free-for-all sure to attract the party’s top talent for the chance to lead the nation’s most populous state and the world’s fifth largest economy. California voters have never elected a woman to the governor's office, nor a person who is openly LGBTQ. And a host of other Democratic candidates are also vying to make history.

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis was the first to formally announce her candidacy just a few months into Newsom’s second term. Tony Thurmond, the Black state superintendent of public instruction, is also in, along with former Controller Betty Yee. Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is Filipino, has said he is seriously considering a run.

But Atkins is banking on her experience to give her an edge. That includes a brief stint as mayor of San Diego, one of the nation’s largest cities. And it includes becoming just the third person and first woman ever to hold both of the Legislature’s top jobs: speaker of the Assembly and president pro tempore of the Senate, where she negotiated eight state operating budgets and had her hands in countless major policy decisions.

“I sort of feel like I’m addicted to responsibility,” she said. “I think experience counts and matters, and I believe I have experience to continue to contribute in some way.”

California’s top legislative leaders are some of the most powerful people in the state, but it often doesn’t feel like it. While they negotiate major polices, it’s the governor who gets the attention when the deals are done.

That’s especially true for Atkins, who has been a more quiet leader than most. During her tenure as Senate leader, Democrats have grown their caucus to 32 out of 40 seats — their largest majority since 1883. That majority means there is little incentive to work with Republicans. But Atkins made sure Republicans had their bills heard in public hearings and even pushed for former Republican Leader Shannon Grove to be included in briefings with the Newsom administration.


“She always included us and there was never any surprises. I didn't agree with what was going on, but we had input and participation,” said Grove, who noted she and Atkins bonded over their impoverished upbringing and a shared love of country music icon Dolly Parton. “She understands that we represent a portion of Californians as well and we were duly elected and therefore our voices should be heard.”

Atkins grew up in rural southwest Virginia, where her dad was a miner and her mother was a seamstress. Her childhood home did not have running water, and some of her earliest memories are of walking down a hill with her twin sister to fetch water from a spring to use for cooking and doing laundry.

As a young lesbian in Appalachia, Atkins dreamed of moving to California. She got her chance when her twin sister joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego. Atkins moved there to help care for her sister’s young son, and never left.

In San Diego, Atkins was director of a women’s health clinic that performed abortions. She was also politically active, working to help elect Christine Kehoe to the San Diego City Council. Kehoe hired Atkins to work for her, and then urged her to run for her seat when Kehoe was elected to the state Assembly.

“Toni is not the kind of person that wants to be the smartest person in the room. She wants to be the most helpful and effective person in the room. And oftentimes she is,” Kehoe said.

Atkins followed her mentor to the state Legislature in 2010, where she soon found herself in a contentious race for speaker against Anthony Rendon of Los Angeles. Atkins won, but left after two years to run for the Senate.

It wasn’t long before Atkins was selected by her colleagues to lead the state Senate, forcing her to work with Rendon, who had replaced her as speaker in the Assembly. Their relationship was rough at times, but fruitful for Democrats. Their partnership expanded Medicaid to include all eligible adults regardless of immigration status and free meals for public school students.

“We had problems, but I think it was, you know, related more to ambition than anything and, you know, probably to an extent immaturity on my part, too,” said Rendon, who plans to run for state treasurer in 2026. “Toni Atkins is a very forgiving person. I have not always been the easiest person to deal with. But she, you know, kept coming back and trying to forge a relationship.”

Atkins said she is most proud of the policies that were inspired by her impoverished upbringing, including helping implement the federal Affordable Care Act and creating a tax credit for poor families worth several hundred dollars.

Those wins are part of what’s driving her potential run for governor, too.

“I see what you can do when you’re in that role,” she said. “There is something about being at the table.”

In Texas, a Fight Over Gender and School Theater Takes an Unexpected Turn
J. David Goodman
Wed, November 15, 2023

Phillip Hightower, father of Max Hightower, the transgender senior at Sherman High School whose casting in a lead role triggered ensuing events, speaking during a school board meeting at the Sherman Independent School District office in Sherman, Texas on Nov. 13, 2023. (Desiree Rios/The New York Times)

SHERMAN, Texas — A school district in the conservative town of Sherman, Texas, made national headlines last week when it put a stop to a high school production of the musical “Oklahoma!” after a transgender student was cast in a lead role.

The district’s administrators decided, and communicated to parents, that the school would cast only students “born as females in female roles and students born as males in male roles.” Not only did several transgender and nonbinary students lose their parts, but so too did cisgender girls cast in male roles. Publicly, the district said the problem was the profane and sexual content of the 1943 musical.

At one point, the theater teacher, who objected to the decision, was escorted out of the school by the principal. The set, a sturdy mock-up of a settler’s house that took students two months to build, was demolished.

But then something even more unusual happened in Sherman, a rural college town that has been rapidly drawn into the expanding orbit of Dallas to its south. The school district reversed course. In a late-night vote Monday, the school board voted unanimously to restore the original casting. The decision rebuked efforts to bring the fight over transgender participation in student activities into the world of theater, which has long provided a haven for gay, lesbian and transgender students, and it reflected just how deeply the controversy had unsettled the town.

The district’s restriction had been exceptional. Fights have erupted over the kinds of plays students can present, but few if any school districts appear to have attempted to restrict gender roles in theater. And while legislatures across the country, including in Texas, have adopted laws restricting transgender students’ participation in sports, no such legislation has been introduced to restrict theater roles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The board’s vote came after students and outraged parents began organizing. In recent days, the district’s administrators, seeking a compromise, offered to recast the students in a version of the musical meant for middle schoolers or younger that omitted solos and included roles as cattle and birds. Students balked.

After the vote, the school board announced a special meeting for Friday to open an investigation and to consider taking action against the district superintendent, Tyson Bennett, who oversaw the district’s handling of “Oklahoma!,” including “possible administrative leave.”

Suddenly, improbably, the students had won.

“I’m beyond excited and everyone cried tears of joy,” Max Hightower, the transgender senior whose casting in a lead role triggered the ensuing events, said in a text message Tuesday. He and other theater students were at a costume shop Tuesday, a class trip that had been meant as a consolation after the disappointment of losing their production. Instead, it turned into a celebration. “I’m getting new Oklahoma costumes!!” he said.

Before the school board vote Monday night, high schoolers and their parents had gathered at the district’s offices along with theater actors and transgender students from nearby Austin College. Local residents came to talk about decades of past productions at Sherman High School of “Oklahoma!,” which tells the story of an Oklahoma Territory farm girl and her courtship by two rival suitors. Many scoffed at the district’s objections to the musical, which school officials complained included “mature adult themes.”

“‘Oklahoma!’ is generally regarded as one of the safest shows you could possibly pick to perform,” said Kirk Everist, a theater professor at Austin College who was among those who came to speak. “It’s almost a stereotype at this point.”

Every seat in the room was filled, almost entirely with supporters of the production. Some lined the walls while others who were turned away waited outside. Of the 65 people who signed up to speak, only a handful voiced support for the district’s restrictions.

The outpouring came as a shock, even to longtime Sherman residents.

“What you’re seeing today is history,” said Valerie Fox, 41, a local LGBTQ+ advocate and the parent of a queer high schooler. Fox said she was taken aback by the scene of dozens of transgender people and their supporters holding signs and flags outside the district offices. “This is one of the biggest things we’ve seen in Sherman.”

The town, a short drive from Dallas, has been a place where many conservatives have gone to escape the city. Some were supportive of the superintendent’s initial decision to restrict the musical.

“Adult content doesn’t belong in high school; they’re still kids,” Renée Snow, 62, said earlier Monday as she sat with a friend on a bench outside the county courthouse. “It’s about education. It’s not about lifestyle.”

Her friend, Lyn Williams, 69, agreed. “It doesn’t seem like anyone is willing to stand up for anything anymore,” she said.

At a local shoe store, no one needed to be reminded of the details of the controversy. One shopper, shaking a pair of insoles, said that she believed that God made people either male or female, and that the issue was as simple as that.

Inside the courthouse, Bruce Dawsey, the top executive for Grayson County, described a rural community coming to terms with its evolution into a place where urban development is altering the landscape. Not far away, more than a half-dozen cranes could be seen towering over a new high-tech facility for Texas Instruments. The high school, with more than 2,200 students, opened on a sprawling new campus in 2021, its grass still uniform, its newly planted trees still struggling to provide shade. With all the growth, the school is already too small.

“The majority is Republican, and it’s conservative Republican,” Dawsey said. “But not so ultraconservative that it’s not welcoming.”

Still, some in and around Sherman have chafed at the changes. When Beto O’Rourke, a Democratic candidate for governor, campaigned through the county last year, he was met with aggressive protesters who confronted him over gun rights, some carrying assault-style rifles. A few wore T-shirts suggesting opposition to liberal urban governance: “Don’t Dallas My Grayson County.”

But the controversy over “Oklahoma!” came as a surprise. The musical had been selected and approved last school year, casting was completed in August and more than 60 students in the cast and crew — as well as dozens of dancers — had been preparing for months. Performances were scheduled for early December.

Max, 17, had been cast in a minor role. But then, in late October, one of the leads was cut from the production, and Max got the part, the biggest he had ever had. He was elated.

Days later, his father, Phillip Hightower, got a call from the high school principal, who told him that Max could not have the part because, under a new policy, no students could play roles that differed from their sex at birth. “He was not rude or disrespectful, but he was very curt and to the point,” Hightower recalled.

The district later denied having such a policy. But the principal also left messages for other parents whose children were losing their roles, one of which was shared with The New York Times.

“This is Scott Johnston, principal at Sherman High School,” a man’s voice said on the recording. “Moving forward, the Sherman theater department will cast students born as females in female roles and students born as males in male roles.”

The message diverged from the rules for high school theater competitions in Texas, which allow for students to be cast in roles regardless of gender.

The district did not make Johnston or the superintendent, Bennett, available for an interview.

In his previous role as an assistant superintendent, Bennett had objected to the content of a theater production by Sherman High School, according to the former choir director, Anna Clarkson. She recalled Bennett asking her to change a lesbian character into a straight character in the school’s production of “Legally Blonde” in 2015, and to cut a song entitled “Gay or European?”

At the school board meeting Monday, theater students from the high school described how things had become worse for gay and transgender students at school since the production was halted. Slurs. Taunts. Arguments in the halls.

“People are following me around calling me girl-boy,” said Max.

Kayla Brooks and her wife Liz Banks arrived at the meeting bracing for a tough night. Their daughter Ellis had lost a part playing a male character, and they had been actively working with other parents to oppose the changes.

“We were both nervous, because we live in Sherman,” said Banks. Then they saw the large, supportive crowd outside. “We began weeping in the car,” Brooks said.

The school board sat mostly stone-faced as dozens of people testified in support of the theater students, sharing personal histories. A transgender student at Austin College said he had not before come out publicly. Sherman residents lamented the way the school district’s position had made the town look.

“I just want this town to be what it can be and not be a laughingstock for the entire nation,” one woman, Rebecca Gebhard, told the board.

After nearly three hours, the board went behind closed doors. The crowds left. Few expected a significant decision was imminent.

Then, after 10 p.m., the board took their seats again and introduced a motion for a vote: Since there was no official policy on gender for casting, the original version of the musical should be reinstated. All seven board members voted in favor, including one who had, months before, protested against a gay pride event.

“We want to apologize to our students, parents, our community regarding the circumstances that they’ve had to go through,” the board president, Brad Morgan, said afterward.

Sitting in their living room Tuesday morning, Banks and Brooks recalled how their daughter delivered them the news. “She just said, ‘We won,’” Brooks said. “She was beaming, smiling ear to ear.” The musical would be performed in January.

The couple decided, for the first time, to hang a pride flag in the window of their home. For now, they felt a little more confident in their neighbors than they had a day before.

c.2023 The New York Times Company


Watch This Dad's Glorious & Brutal Takedown Of A School Board For Its Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies
Ariel Messman-Rucker
Tue, November 14, 2023 

Cody Conner at the podium at a Virginia Beach school board meeting

In the face of anti-LGBTQ+ policies being implemented in schools across the country, some parents are speaking out and it’s glorious to watch. Especially when it's done like this.

A video of Cody Conner, a Virginia Beach dad, is going viral on social media after he spoke at a school board meeting on October 10. The father of three gave an impassioned speech about the state’s “discriminatory policies” and called out anyone who stands in favor of them.

“You are never going to find a right way to do the wrong thing and Governor Youngkin’s policies are wrong,” he began his speech.

Conner is referring to the Virginia governor’s “model policies” for public schools that require students to use the bathroom and sports team that matches their assigned sex. It also requires written instruction from parents for a student to use names or gender pronouns that differ from the official record, meaning that teacher can deadname students—refer to them by their prior name—if paperwork isn’t filled out by the parents and it requires the school to inform parents if a student is questioning their identity, according to 13 News Now. These policies will be especially detrimental to LGBTQ+ students who come from conservative homes.

Conner started speaking out at school board meetings (he’ll be speaking for the 17th time on November 15) because he moved his family to Virginia Beach right before Youngkin’s policies passed and he worries about the future of his 13-year-old trans daughter who is now in the 8th grade. The family moved from rural Virginia to Virginia Beach so that their kid, who came out as trans a year ago, would be in a school system that would be supportive, but that all changed because of Youngkin.

“I think at that point, I just wasn’t going to run,” he tells PRIDE. “I couldn’t anymore.”

The 42-year-old father said that he’s a quiet person and might not have made the choice to speak up if not for his kids. “I just knew I couldn’t standby and do nothing, just let it happen and hope everything worked out ok and I also wanted to make sure my kid knew that I would stand up for them,” Conner explains as he begins to tear up. “My big job as a parent is not to tell my children who they are, it’s not to make the decisions for them, it’s not to live their life or decide what their life is going to be, but to show them the best way I know how to walk through this world.”

Watching a father stick up for his trans kid and the queer community and rail against conservatives is a cathartic experience and likely why the video has gone viral online.

In his speech that already has nearly 90,000 likes on TikTok, Conner pointed out that the fact that the Proud Boys and the “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty—both considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center—support these discriminatory and draconian policies is further proof that the policies are wrong.

“Never in history have the good guys been the segregationist group pushing to legislate identity,” he said. “Never in history have the good guys been closely connected with and supported by hate groups like the Proud Boys. And the good guys don’t put Hitler quotes for inspiration on the front of their newsletters. News flash: they're the bad guys. They're the bad guys supporting bad policy. And if you support the same bad policy, guess what? You’re one of the bad guys too.”


After nearly a year of delays, Youngkin's policies are finally being implemented in the Virginia Beach school system, with a few minor alterations, which is why Conner has no plans to stop speaking out. He finished his dynamic speech by reminding the school board members to “be the good guys while you still can.”

Conner explains to PRIDE that for him speaking at school board meetings is about more than just trying to sway board members. “It was just about a lot more than just trying to change the minds of those 11 people up there,” he says. “It was about trying to bolster the hearts of the thousands and thousands of people out there that those 11 people’s decisions are threatening.”

With anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country it’s easy to become disillusioned, but watching Conner call out bigotry and homophobia is the kind of catharsis the queer community needs right now. But speaking truth to power isn’t the only way Conner is trying to change the world for the LGBTQ+ community. He’s also an organizer with the trans rights nonprofit the Calos Coalition. When speaking with PRIDE Conner was gearing up to cook a trans-Thanksgiving dinner put on by the group. It’s only the second “trans family dinner” they’ve put on—they plan to do it every month—but they are already expecting 70 guests.

“In a very real way the LGBTQ+ community gets treated by a lot of people as if they’re unwholesome in some way, with zero acknowledgment that so many members of the community have been isolated and ostracized from these presumed wholesome places and traumatized in places like the family dinner table,” he explains. “And I just wanted to take that back, create a safe space to sit down and break bread with people [who are] welcome and wanted.”

This is what allyship looks like. This is what parenting looks like. And this is hopefully what the future looks like — which if Conner gets his way, it will.

PRIVATIZATION PUSH

Indonesian presidential hopefuls consider ending state power monopoly

November 15, 2023 



By Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's leading presidential hopefuls are considering a push to end the state power utility's monopoly as part of efforts to speed up the transition to greener energy, their teams told Reuters.

All three candidates vying to win the Feb. 14 election in Southeast Asia's largest economy have said they will prioritise cleaning up the power sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To do that, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and former provincial governor Ganjar Pranowo, running neck-and-neck in recent surveys, would consider ending state-run Perusahaan Listrik Negara's (PLN) monopoly in order to allow renewable power producers to sell directly to customers.

It won't be an easy task. Indonesia lacks the regulations needed to determine fees independent power producers must pay to PLN and the scope of services PLN can offer to them. The geography of the sprawling archipelago also means the grids of major islands are not interconnected, complicating nationwide power sharing.

Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, trailing in opinion polls, has called for improved leadership for the power sector but has not proposed breaking up PLN's monopoly.

Previous talk of opening the sector to competition has faced pushback over the prospect that what are now tariffs fixed by the government could fluctuate according to market forces.

Proponents argue that opening the sector would accelerate adoption of renewables, as independent power producers will be incentivised to offer green power to companies pledging carbon neutrality.

PLN is the sole seller to most customers, managing power plants and also buying from the independent producers, with over half of its supply sourced from coal and 12% from renewables.

PLN did not respond to requests for comment. It has said it plans to develop 31.6 GW of renewable capacity from 2024 to 2033.

Agam Subarkah, chief executive of climate consultancy Cendekia Ikim Indonesia, said pushing through such a reform would require resolve.

"These candidates must remain focused on the purposes of the policy, which are accelerating the adoption of renewable energy, offering competitive pricing to customers and emission reduction," he said.

POWER WHEELING

Ganjar, the ruling PDIP party's candidate, proposes to focus PLN on expanding power lines and connecting islands, allowing renewable producers to "wheel" electricity onto the grid and to customers, his climate policy advisor Alexander Sonny Keraf said.

Keraf, a former environment minister, said PLN had objected to past proposals for wheeling, but if Ganjar wins, "we will force them".

Experts drafting energy policy for ex-special forces commander Prabowo have also discussed wheeling, but with the government maintaining control over tariffs, said Eddy Soeparno, senior official at Prabowo's campaign.

"Multiple buyers and multiple sellers, but within the context of energy security, which means the selling prices to consumers must remain affordable," said Soeparno, who is also deputy head of parliament's energy committee.

Implementing wheeling would require new regulations.

Agam, from the climate consultancy, said delaying renewable power to companies could mean lost investment.

"If these companies cannot secure renewable energy by 2025 or 2030, they could mark Indonesia down as somewhere they cannot expand their business in because of the difficulty in getting renewable energy," he said.

(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy; Additional reporting by Ananda Teresia, Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Tony Munroe and Miral Fahmy)

Los Angeles criticized for its handling of homelessness after 16 homeless people escape freeway fire

CHRISTOPHER WEBER
November 15, 2023



LOS ANGELES (AP) — The fire erupted after midnight where 16 people were living under the Los Angeles freeway, including a pregnant woman who was only weeks from giving birth.

As the flames engulfed the storage yard and the inferno's heat melted some of the thoroughfare's steel guardrails and concrete pillars, rescue crews were able to get everyone out safely. But the disaster has brought renewed criticism over officials' inability to get homeless residents off the street, leaving tens of thousands living in perilous locations across the nation's second-largest city.

Three years ago, as part of a court order related to a yearslong lawsuit accusing the city and county of Los Angeles of not doing enough to address homelessness, a judge wrote he was concerned about 7,000 people living under freeways, calling it “unreasonably dangerous.” County supervisor Hilda Solis said officials have since set aside nearly $300 million to create 6,700 shelter beds, but rows of tents and makeshift shelters are still a common sight under overpasses and along highway ramps.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are now under pressure to not only reopen the section of Interstate 10 as fast as possible, but to find out who started the fire and what oversight the state had on the property. Bass has warned repeatedly against assumptions that homeless residents started the blaze, but that hasn't stopped speculation and blame.

Late Wednesday, an attorney for Apex Development Inc., the company that leased the property, said the company had complained to city officials numerous times about fires started by homeless people on or near the property. Newsom has called the company a “bad actor," and the state is in litigation with Apex speaking $78,000 in back rent for the property.

“It is unfortunate that Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass have used this incident to speculate and mischaracterize Apex and its principals as ‘bad actors’ to excuse their own failures to adequately address the public safety issues caused by the unhoused,” attorney Mainak D'Attaray said in an emailed statement.

A federally required January count estimated that on any given night there were more than 75,500 unhoused people in the county, with well over 46,000 of them in the Los Angeles city limits. Since 2015, homelessness has increased by 70% in the county and 80% in the city. Advocates over the years have sued the city and county to demand more action.

Investigators have made a preliminary determination that the blaze was intentionally set behind a fence where businesses were storing materials under I-10, but they said they do not know yet who started it.

Mel Tillekeratne, an advocate for homeless people and founder of nonprofit The Shower Of Hope, said Saturday's blaze could have been a horrible human catastrophe.


“We were lucky there that nobody got hurt," he said. “But something like this could happen at any other encampment at any other time. It’s just a tragedy waiting to happen.”

Tillekeratne said he hopes disasters like this shine a light on how homeless resources and facilities need to be staged in more neighborhoods to keep people away from highways, where pollution from exhaust and traffic accidents are major hazards.

“We’re talking about one of the busiest freeways in the U.S.,” he said, speaking of I-10.

Solis, who represents the area where the fire began, said, “We know that more resources are needed in this area to help overcome the consequences of structural and systemic inequalities.”

Of those evacuated during Saturday’s fire, eight moved into interim housing, three went to stay with friends and one was reconnected with a homeless services program, Solis said Wednesday.

Business owners who subleased the storage properties said they voiced concerns for years about fire danger and other hazards related to camps in an industrial zone under I-10.

Rudy Serafin said the number of homeless encampments in the neighborhood grew steadily since he began storing supplies for his business under the freeway in 2009. He said Serafin Distribution, which provides office supplies and other items, couldn't get insurance due to concerns about homeless people starting cooking fires. He said he and other business owners made multiple reports asking city officials to do something.

“We called every single week," he said, adding that eventually encampments were cleared, only to reappear again within days.

The city didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether they had received complaints or removed people from the site. Some business owners said there were previous fires in the area, but the Los Angeles Fire Department couldn't immediately confirm that.

Storage yards under highways are common statewide, with the money from the leases going to public transit. Newsom said the practice would be reevaluated following the fire.

POSTMODERN STALINISM

Vietnam arrests prominent parliamentary official as UN rights envoy visits

Wed, November 15, 2023 

By Francesco Guarascio

HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnamese authorities arrested a prominent parliamentary official on suspicion of links to an extortion racket, the ministry of public security said on Wednesday, while a U.N. representative on human rights visited the country.

Luu Binh Nhuong, an outspoken former member of Vietnam's National Assembly until 2021 and current deputy chair of a parliamentary committee, was arrested on Tuesday night, state media reported.

He was known for occasionally expressing critical opinions about government officials and the security forces.

Nhuong's detention coincided with a visit to Vietnam of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva.

In a press conference on Wednesday at the end of his 10-day visit, Deva warned about "the selective use of the law" by authorities in Vietnam to target some human rights defenders and climate activists.

When asked about Nhuong's arrest, Deva said he had not been informed, adding: "The government should not use the law as a device to target certain people because of their political or religious views".

In a subsequent comment sent to Reuters via email, he said it was hard to say from newspaper reports whether he had actually committed the crime or was being framed for his critical views, but because the latter may be inferred by some people, "the government should dispel any perceptions of selectivity in applying the law".

Vietnam's ministry of foreign affairs, which is in charge of communicating with foreign media, did not immediately respond to questions about the timing of Nhuong's arrest.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact people close to Nhuong, and his mobile phone was turned off.

In September, days after U.S. President Joe Biden signed agreements with Vietnam and elevated bilateral relations, an energy expert was detained in the Communist-ruled country for misappropriating government documents.

That followed the arrest of five climate activists since 2021 over tax evasion charges. That apparent crackdown occurred while Hanoi was negotiating with Group of Seven (G7) nations for financial support to reduce the use of coal.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel)

'Alarmed' By Climate Change, U.S. And China Forge New Partnership To Tackle Fossil Fuels

Nick Visser
Wed, November 15, 2023 

The U.S. and China — the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions — agreed Tuesday to work to dramatically expand renewable energy in the hopes of phasing out fossil fuels.

The State Department released a statement announcing the new cooperation plan after months of negotiations between White House climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua. It represents a major effort to see both nations dramatically ramp up efforts to address climate change and the first time China has agreed to set targets to cut emissions for its economy, The New York Times reports.

“Both countries support the G20 Leaders Declaration to pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and intend to sufficiently accelerate renewable energy deployment in their respective economies,” the pledge says, noting that doing so would “accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation.”

Beijing, the world’s largest carbon polluter, also agreed to set reduction targets for all greenhouse gas emissions, not just carbon dioxide. Other gases, namely methane, represent a smaller proportion of overall greenhouse gas emissions but are far more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

In statements Tuesday, the two countries said they were “alarmed by the best available scientific findings” and remained committed to the landmark Paris Climate Agreement. That pledge, from 2015, saw almost every nation in the world agree to try and keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“The United States and China recognize that the climate crisis has increasingly affected countries around the world,” the statement reads. “They are aware of the important role they play in terms of both national responses and working together cooperatively to address the goals of the Paris Agreement and promote multilateralism.”

White House climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, spent months negotiating the terms of the agreement.

White House climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, spent months negotiating the terms of the agreement.

The statements were released a day before President Joe Biden is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While the agreement does not include firm targets, it does note that the U.S. and China will “immediately” begin dialogue to set them.

Scientists agree that a 1.5 degree level of warming would set off catastrophic levels of planetary change, from melting sea ice and the loss of permafrost to a sharp increase in severe weather and heatwaves.

The planet has already warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.

The statement comes just two weeks before the world’s climate envoys are set to convene in Dubai for the United Nations’ 28th climate conference, known as COP28. The U.S. also on Tuesday released its latest National Climate Assessment, which found climate change is already impacting Americans in every corner of the nation with “far-reaching and worsening” might.

“Anyone who willfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future. Impacts are only going to get worse, more frequent, more ferocious and more costly,” Biden said during the report’s unveiling, per The Associated Press. “None of this is inevitable.”

US, China agree to bolster renewables in effort to replace fossil fuels
Rachel Frazin
Wed, November 15, 2023



China and the U.S., the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, reached a climate agreement late Tuesday that includes an effort to replace fossil fuels with renewables.

The agreement says both countries plan to speed up renewable development over the next seven years in order to “accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation.”

The two parties therefore anticipate their power sector emissions peaking this decade.

The Group of 20, of which the U.S. and China are both part, said earlier in the year that it would hope to see renewable energy tripled globally by 2030, but that language did not explicitly highlight renwables as a replacement for fossil fuels and did not mention oil or natural gas.

The agreement comes ahead of a meeting on Wednesday between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first time the leaders are speaking face-to-face in almost a year amid tensions on a range of issues.

Both countries also agreed to advance five large-scale projects that aim to capture and store carbon that would otherwise be emitted by power plants or other large pollution sources by 2030. Carbon capture is controversial in the U.S., with some opponents arguing that it extends the life of fossil fuels when they prefer a shift toward renewables and have fears about safety issues related to carbon pipelines.

Washington and Beijing also agreed to work together on reducing emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons — greenhouse gases that are less common but more potent than carbon dioxide.

They also said they would advance efforts to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030.

Climate change: US and China take 'small but important steps'

Matt McGrath - Environment correspondent
Wed, November 15, 2023 

Solar panels

The US and China have agreed on measures to tackle climate change but stopped short of committing to end fossil fuels, a joint statement said.

The world's biggest carbon emitters will step up co-operation on methane and support global efforts to triple renewable energy by 2030.

But the document is silent on the use of coal, and the future of fossil energy.

Observers said it was a positive sign ahead of a UN climate summit.

The joint statement comes as the presidents of both countries prepare to meet in California, with climate change representing one of the few areas of potential progress.

For over a year US diplomats have been trying to find a way forward with China after Beijing suspended climate talks after the visit of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

Last week those efforts saw US climate envoy John Kerry meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, for three days of negotiations that have lead to this agreed position.

The agreement was forged between the two countries' climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to a global tripling of renewable energy this decade, as previously agreed at this year's G20 meeting in India.

Both also stated that there would be "meaningful absolute power sector emission reductions" by 2030.

However, a reduction in the use of coal isn't mentioned in the document and there's no discussion of the ending of fossil fuels, something that the president of the UN climate conference, known as COP28, has said is a key focus for the meeting.

"It's small but important steps on climate change," said Bernice Lee, a distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and an expert on China.

"But progress on fossil fuels wasn't what I expected to see, as they both have constraints," she told BBC News.

"My suspicion is that it has proven to be too difficult to find the form of language that works for both. But nonetheless, I think it's good that they have a statement that's focused on the things they agree on, which is, obviously, the renewables and methane."

That focus on methane is seen as important for the world as the gas is an extremely potent warming chemical in the short term.

When countries agreed the Global Methane Pledge at COP26 in Glasgow, and aimed to reduce emissions of methane by 30% by 2030, China wasn't among the signatories.

The world's second largest economy doesn't currently count methane as a warming gas in its submissions to the UN.

But according to the statement, the two countries will now include all greenhouse gases including methane in their next round of national climate plans.

"This announcement is a major step because China is the world's largest methane emitter and serious actions to curb this gas is essential for slowing global warming in the near-term," said David Waskow from the World Resources Institute.

The two countries have also said they will jointly host a methane and non-CO2 gas summit at COP28.

The statement will certainly boost the mood of delegates preparing to attend COP28 in Dubai from 30 November.

Amid warnings from scientists that 2023 will be the warmest year on record and with political divisions over Gaza, Ukraine and many other issues, hopes for significant progress at the gathering have been muted.

The fact that even the big divisions between China and the US can be overcome for the sake of the planet is bound to have an impact on others.

"While the two of them can't deliver everything, the US and China coming together to find a way to try and co-operate makes it harder for other countries to hide behind superpower rivalries," said Bernice Lee.

"It certainly sets a better atmosphere for COP28 than there was before."

US, China advance climate cooperation following California talks

Updated Wed, November 15, 2023 

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry meets with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing

By David Stanway and Valerie Volcovici

SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and China will back a new global renewables target and work together on methane and plastic pollution, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday after a meeting to find common ground ahead of COP28 talks in Dubai later this month.

Climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, meeting in Sunnylands, California, from Nov. 4-8, agreed to revive a bilateral climate working group that will discuss areas of cooperation, the joint statement said, though differences remain on issues like phasing out fossil fuels.

"The Sunnylands statement is a timely effort of aligning the United States and China ahead of COP28," said Li Shuo, incoming director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society.

Li described the relationship between the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters as "a precondition for meaningful global progress" and said the Sunnylands agreement would help "stabilise the politics" ahead of the Dubai talks.

The re-launch of the working group marks the normalisation of the climate relationship between the two countries following a hiatus triggered in 2022 by the visit of former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its own.

Partnership between the world's two biggest emitting countries is seen as a crucial element to securing a consensus agreement at COP28.

For the first time, China - the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions - will include non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases like nitrogen oxide in its 2035 national climate plan as well as specific actions to curb methane emissions, major sources of global emissions.

"This implies that China needs to do a lot more to be in line with ambitious global goals," said Joanna Lewis, a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

It also focuses on key areas of cooperation, including abating methane and boosting efficiency and the "circular economy", and exchanging information on policies and technologies to reduce emissions. The two sides also promised to work together to curb forest loss and plastic pollution.

"WORK CUT OUT"

China's efforts to cut its own carbon emissions will be in sharp focus at COP28, with the country still approving new coal-fired power plants in a bid to ensure energy security.

The United States and China said they support a declaration by G20 leaders to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, and also agreed to "accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation," which would result in "meaningful absolute power sector emission reductions" this decade.

That falls short of calling for the phasing out of fossil fuels, a goal that China has described as "unrealistic". However, a report released earlier this week said that record levels of new renewable installations in China may help "all but guarantee" a decline in China's CO2 emissions next year.

Both sides also agreed to include methane in their 2035 climate goals - the first time China has made such a pledge - and committed to advancing "at least five" large-scale cooperation projects in carbon capture, utilisation and storage by the end of the decade.

The joint statement said that the United States, China and COP28 host the United Arab Emirates will hold a Methane and Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases Summit at COP28.

Li said COP28 still "has its work cut out", particularly on fossil fuels.

"China also needs to consider what further ambition can be brought to COP," he added. "Stopping the approval of new coal power projects is a good next step."

(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)

US and China announce cooperation to reduce methane, plastic pollution

Michelle De Pacina
Wed, November 15, 2023 

[Source]

The United States and China have announced a joint agreement in addressing methane and plastic pollution ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

How it happened: The agreement was reached during a meeting between climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua from Nov. 4-7 in Sunnylands, California. Reviving a bilateral climate working group, they agreed to cooperate and focus on areas such as reducing methane emissions, enhancing efficiency, promoting the circular economy and exchanging information on emission reduction policies and technologies.

The joint statement reflects a crucial effort to re-align the two major greenhouse gas emitters before the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). The working group’s relaunch comes after a year of strained relations; Beijing previously cut off climate talks with Washington in response to former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

What they are saying: Both nations pledged to support the G20 leaders’ declaration to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and expressed commitment to economy-wide reductions of all greenhouse gasses by 2035. The agreement marked China’s first commitment to including methane in its 2035 climate goals and collaborating on large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage projects.

“The United States and China recognize that the climate crisis has increasingly affected countries around the world,” the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis reads.

“Both countries stress the importance of COP 28 in responding meaningfully to the climate crisis during this critical decade and beyond. They are aware of the important role they play in terms of both national responses and working together cooperatively to address the goals of the Paris Agreement and promote multilateralism. They will work together and with other Parties to the Convention and the Paris Agreement to rise up to one of the greatest challenges of our time for present and future generations of humankind.”

Divided on fossil fuels: The agreement is seen as a crucial step before the upcoming climate talks. However, the statement stopped short of endorsing the phasing out of fossil fuels, with China deeming the goal “unrealistic.” As such, challenges remain, with China being urged to halt the approval of new coal power projects.