Canada-US Relations: Canada threatens U.S. with tariffs, partial suspension of CUSMA over electric vehicle tax credit

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has written to top U.S. senators threatening to suspend parts of the CUSMA trade agreement and impose tariffs on American goods unless U.S. officials back away from a proposed tax credit for American-built electric vehicles. "We are deeply concerned that certain provisions of the electric vehicle tax credits as proposed in the Build Back Better Act violate the United States' obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement," Freeland and International Trade Minister Mary Ng say in the letter.

Read more at: Canada threatens U.S. with tariffs, partial suspension of CUSMA over electric vehicle tax credit | CBC News

Pollution - Energy Sector: Fossil fuels subsidized by € 8.97 m a minute, says IMF - by Damian Carrington

Fossil fuel companies are benefiting from global subsidies of $5.3tn ( € 4.7 tn) a year, equivalent to € 8.97m a minute every day, according to a startling new estimate by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF calls the revelation “shocking” and says the figure is an “extremely robust” estimate of the true cost of fossil fuels. The $5.3tn subsidy estimated for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.

The vast sum is largely due to polluters not paying the costs imposed on governments by the burning of coal, oil and gas. These include the harm caused to local populations by air pollution as well as to people across the globe affected by the floods, droughts and storms being driven by climate change.

This ‘Shocking’ IMF revelation also finds $5.3tn ( € 4.7 tn) subsidy estimate for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments 

Read more: Fossil fuels subsidised by $10m a minute, says IMF | Environment | The Guardian

EU Economy: "Hanky-Panky" capitalism certainly is not an example that should be followed within the EU - by RM

Smart long term thinking when it comes to privatization unfortunately is not one of the US's strong points.

It has been proven over and over that without government regulations, greed usually takes over immediately when corporations start running privatized companies.

We don't need to make any bones about it, but today the direct result of this in America has been that 1% of the US population now controls just about all the private wealth there. At the same time corporate cartels regulate and control most of the pricing for goods and services: re the Financial Industry, Banking Industry, Food Industry, Pharmaceutical Industry, Medical Industry, Chemical Industry, Farming Industry, Communications Industry, Airline Industry, Weapons Industry, etc,, etc., This sad state of affairs in turn is supported by a corporate controlled press and worst of all corporate subsidized politicians.

While "privatization" is the magic word for many of these mainly conservative politicians, they tend to speak out of two sides of their mouth when it comes to subsidies.

On the one hand they advocate privatization of government or non-profit run corporations, while on the other hand they support subsidies to their favorite industries.

In the United States, credible estimates of annual fossil fuel subsidies range from $10 billion to 52 billion annually. Yet these figures don’t even include costs borne by taxpayers related to the climate, local environmental, and health impacts of the fossil fuel industry. 

As of July 2014, Oil Change International estimates U.S. fossil fuel subsidies at $37.5 billion annually, including $21 billion in production and exploration subsidies.

Looking at the picture globally, another shocking revelation finds that the $5.3 trillion global fossil fuel subsidy estimate for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.

This can only be qualified as "hanky-panky" capitalism and certainly is not an example that should be followed by the EU.


EU-Digest 

Renewable-Energy Projects Get 1.2 Billion Euros in EU Aid - by Ewa Krukowska

The European Union granted 1.2 billion euros ($1.58 billion) in subsidies to 23 renewable- energy projects under a program to promote low-carbon technology as a part of the fight against global warming.

The aid for the projects located in 16 EU countries including France, Germany, Greece, Poland and the U.K. comes from the sale of allowances to emit carbon dioxide set aside in a special reserve under Europe’s cap-and-trade program, known as NER300. Today’s announcement covers proceeds from the first tranche of 200 million allowances sold this year and last year.

The projects, ranging from biofuels to solar and wind power, will boost annual renewable energy output in Europe by about 10 terrawatt-hours, an amount equivalent to the yearly fuel consumption of more than a million passenger cars, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, said in a statement. The aim is to demonstrate technologies that will help scale up clean energy production in the region.

“The NER300 program is in effect a ’Robin Hood’ mechanism that makes polluters pay for large-scale demonstration of new low-carbon technologies,” EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in a statement. “The 1.2 billion euros of grants - paid by the polluters - will leverage a further 2 billion euros of private investment.”

Read more: Renewable-Energy Projects Get 1.2 Billion Euros in EU Aid - Bloomberg

Europe to Seek Sanctions Against U.S. Over Boeing Subsidies - by Nicola Clark

The European Union inched closer to a trans-Atlantic trade war on Thursday, saying that it would seek to impose up to $12 billion a year in sanctions against the United States in retaliation for U.S. government subsidies to Boeing.

The European Commission, the E.U. executive, said it was seeking the sanctions to compensate for the impact of illegal subsidies to Boeing that it said gave Boeing an unfair advantage over its European archrival, Airbus. The move, which follows a similar trade threat against Europe made by Washington this year, is the latest salvo in a seven-year battle over aircraft subsidies. 

A World Trade Organization appellate body affirmed in March that Boeing had received at least $5 billion in improper subsidies from the U.S. government to develop the 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. But in a separate case, the organization found that Airbus had benefited from four decades of improper subsidies from European governments. The W.T.O. ordered both sides to end the subsidies.

Read more: Europe to Seek Sanctions Against U.S. Over Boeing Subsidies - NYTimes.com

IPS: ENERGY - Report Challenges EU Subsidies for Biofuels

For the complete report from IPS click on this link

ENERGY - Report Challenges EU Subsidies for Biofuels

The European Union's support for biofuels may not be the most cost-effective way for the 27-country bloc to tackle climate change, a new study has concluded. Last year EU governments spent at least 3.7 billion euros (5.2 billion dollars) on subsidising biofuel production. Such support is likely to grow in the coming years because the Union has set a strategy of raising the quantity of road fuel generated from biofuels from its present level of 2 percent to 10 percent by 2010. But the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Geneva has queried if allocating large amounts of public funds to biofuels is desirable.

In a study published Oct. 3, it calculates that the cost of using ethanol from sugar beet to avoid emitting one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) -- the main gas blamed for climate change -- ranges from slightly less than 600 euros to 800 euros (760 dollars to 1,000 dollars).