Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

We are hopeful that the AEC will continue to be a constructive partner for the countries and communities involved, and that the Council continues to advocate for much needed economic development in the Arctic in general, and specifically for the Indigenous Peoples who live there, says ICC Greenlands Kuupik V Kleist, pictured here in a file photo. (Ulrik Bang/AFP via Getty Images)

The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Greenland joined the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) this month, saying Greenlands economic aspirations fit well with the AECs focus on responsible development in the North.

We are joining the AEC to ensure the wellbeing of the Arctic Peoples and sustainable economic development in the region, ICC Greenlands Kuupik V Kleist said in a news release.

Our code of ethics is in line with the principles of the AEC, and we see the organization as a guide for sustainable and responsible investments and development in the region.

ICC is an organizationthat represents the approximately 180,000 Inuit in the Arctic and has chapters in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka, Russia.

The Arctic Economic Council was established during Canadas last chairmanship(2013-2015),of the Arctic Council, an international forum made up of the worlds eight circumpolar nations and six Arctic Indigenous groups.

The AEC was initially conceived as an entity to advise the Arctic Council on business issues but has evolved tofacilitate business-to-business activities in the North and promote responsible economic development.

The AEC is separate from the Arctic Council, but chairmanship of the bodyrotates among the circumpolar countries to mirror the Arctic Councils rotating two-year chairmanships.

AEC members include both Arctic-based companies and groups, and those based elsewhere in the world, as well as Indigenous groups and corporations. The AEC is open to small and medium sized businesses, as well as large companies.

I am very happy to have ICC Greenland as a member, Mads Qvist Frederiksen, director of the AEC, said.

This strengthens our representation in Greenland and our work to develop Indigenous businesses across the region. Instead of thinking North-South collaboration, we have to think more across the Arctic.

The AECs working groups are focusing on the kinds of industries and investment that make the most sense for the North, something Kleist says is important for Greenland.

Greenland, like other Arctic communities, is in an urgent need for diversifying its economic activities, Kleist said.

We are almost completely dependent on the export of fish, which makes the economy fragile and pushes the limits of resources. Greenland must diversify its economic activities so to ease the pressure on the fish stocks. Harvesting natural resources is a moving target; when nature and the world market economy speaks, one has to obey.

Responsible resource development is a promising track for the autonomous territory, Kleist said. But recent elections that saw the election of a party which campaigned against a controversial rare earth minerals mining project, has been misinterpreted by some of the international business community, as Greenland being against such initiatives.

Considering the fragile Arctic environment, there is scepticism towards mining minerals with radioactive content, Kleist said.

While the recently inaugurated Government is strictly against uranium mining, it needs to make it very clear for international investors: the Government is not against mining activities in general.

Frederiksen agrees.

The AEC has together with the World Economic Forum developed the Arctic Investment Protocol, which is a set of guidelines for companies operating in the Arctic, he said.

Nonetheless, we still have a continuous task to promote the Arctic as a favourable place to do business. Since the recent government election in Greenland, we have seen some investors getting cold feet about recent developments in mining.

Kleist says he hopes having ICC Greenland on the AEC will send an important message about the kind of the economic development needed in the region.

We are hopeful that the AEC will continue to be a constructive partner for the countries and communities involved, and that the Council continues to advocate for much needed economic development in the Arctic in general, and specifically for the Indigenous Peoples who live there.

Write to Eils at eilis.quinn@cbc.ca

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Strong rebound coming for northern territories: Conference Board of Canada, CBC News

Finland:Kemi-Tornio area in northern Finland gets 4.2m recovery package to cope with Veitsiluoto mill closures, Yle News

Norway:Are Norways energy policies caught between black gold & green ambitions?, Blog by Marc Lanteigne

Russia:Moscow wants new connection to Arctic coast, revives plans for a railway to Sabetta, The Independent Barents Observer

United States:Cruise ship docks in Skagway, Alaska for the first time in 21 months, CBC News

More here:

ICC Greenland joins the Arctic Economic Council - Eye on the Arctic

The concept of vertical farming has been gaining popularity for a while now. According to estimates from the United Nations, the global population is expected to witness a massive surge from 7.8 billion to 9.7 billion over 2020-2050. A rising number of urban dwellings may define this population explosion almost two-third of this number will likely be residing in urban areas. Increasing industrialization has also led to an increase in income levels in recent years.

These developments are giving rise to a new, larger, richer, and more demanding demographic. To meet the soaring expectations of the growing population, strong emphasis must be placed on enhancing sustainable food production and agriculture productivity in the years ahead.

As per experts, if the world needs to address the major upsurge in food demand in the coming years, remedies must be undertaken to help the natural resources replenish. One such remedy could be the recently emerging trend in agriculture, vertical farming.

The acute need for sustainability in the current landscape is expected to drive this revolutionary technology, that is far more conducive to the environment than its conventional counterpart. Vertical farming techniques allow for the production of nearly 240 times the crop yields of conventional farms, requiring 99% less land use and 98% less water consumption. Vertical farming operates on controlled environmental resources and can also be undertaken in agriculturally unfavorable locations, such as shipping containers, vacant warehouses, skyscrapers, and more since they are stacked vertically rather than spread across an expanse of land.

Noted below are 3 crucial advancements that are shaping the future of the vertical farming market, and in essence, the future of agriculture itself.

As per projections from Algorithmias 2021 Enterprise Trends in Machine Learning report, over 50% of the businesses surveyed revealed plans to increase expenditure for AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) in 2021, with 20% having already increased their budgets. This means that a substantial chunk of businesses expenditure in recent times will contribute to the development of AI-based machines and tools across myriad industrial sectors.

The farming and agriculture industry is one of the sectors leveraging the potential of AI.

By using AI-powered tools and robotics, modern farmers and key agricultural industry players are able to track and control plant development, right from the soil, water, and light exposure to the crop yield data.

For instance, a San Francisco-based agricultural technology startup, dubbed Plenty, has established an advanced climate-controlled vertical farming setup, as a part of its efforts to reinvent farming. These upright farms, equipped with AI-powered robots which control watering, temperature, and lighting, are able to produce 720 acres worth of fruit and vegetable yields in just 2 acres of farmland. The facility also makes use of LED panels to replicate sunlight, creating more optimal conditions for growth round-the-clock.

Furthermore, the recapture of evaporated water and recycling efforts contribute to less wastage than conventional farms. Consequently, the next-gen, AI-powered vertical farming technology, designed as a contemporary and highly efficient alternative to conventional farming methods, has helped reduce the use of both land and water by as much as 99% and 95% respectively.

Studies show that the global economy consumes over 90 trillion natural resources. Of these, the world reuses a mere 8% for other purposes. Surging industrialization has led to rising resource demand and climate change. This is in turn, has led to a rise to environmental hazards, like droughts, floods, and water shortages.

Given the worsening conditions, the most befitting answer to this challenge seems to be a circular economy model, which will help fight climate change adversity and improve the economic landscape at the same time.

Switzerland-based startup, YASAI has come up with a concept that emulates this theory, by integrating vertical farming technologies into a circular economy model, which empowers customers to grow more with less and develop sustainable food production systems. Originating as a Masters Thesis, the startup was established with an aim to convert the agriculturally unsuitable landscape of an abandoned limestone quarry in one of the smallest nations, into one of the largest vertical farming facilities worldwide.

Focusing on health, sustainability, and circularity, numerous efforts are undertaken by YASAI to transform the agricultural landscape of La Sarraz, including recycling concrete for mitigation of grey energy, recycling nutrients from wastewater, and leveraging the existing limestone mines setting as a natural coolant solution for the facility. Furthermore, the startup makes use of captured rooftop rainwater to supplement its irrigation systems, geothermal heat pumps that allow for internal cooling via activated ceilings, repurposed biowaste for electricity generation and CO2 captured from compressors to support plant growth.

In this manner, YASAIs vertical farms are working towards achieving a potential fresh produce yield of almost 3,525 tons each year, whilst capturing nearly 614 tons of CO2 annually, and subsequently shedding light on the contribution of vertical farming technologies towards achieving circularity in food production.

Aeroponics a revolutionary alternative to traditional soil & water-based farming

Years and years of relentless soil usage have resulted in the rising prevalence of soil erosion across several regions, leading to a significant shortage in farming land. This factor, along with burgeoning climate concerns, may boost vertical farming market trends in the foreseeable future.

Aeroponics vertical farming proves to be a boon in these situations, as it relies on air and requires almost 95% less water and space for farming purposes. The recent determination to grow plant life in unfavorable environments has led to many studies and developments in alternative agriculture.

A notable example of this is indoor vertical farming leader, AeroFarms, which has been pioneering innovations in vertical farming since its inception in 2004, including breaking ground on its most technologically advanced and largest indoor aeroponic vertical farm to date, dubbed the Model 5 farm, in April 2021.

The firm is known for its proprietary aeroponics technology, which combines the benefit of engineering, data science, nutrition, food safety, and genetics to facilitate optimum year-round production of over 550 different plant varieties ranging from tomatoes, to berries to leafy greens, irrespective of weather or seasonal changes.

The world seems to be standing on the precipice of a devastating food crisis over the next few decades. Yet, consistent efforts, technological advancements, and growing financial support may prove to be a much-needed solution to bridge the gap between the expanding population and agricultural capabilities.

Continue reading here:

3 emerging trends in vertical farming that will cultivate the future of agriculture - Intelligent Living

On Monday, June 28, Whitecourt Town Council heard their findings. Josh Burger, Manager, Government Relations and Public Affairs with Ballad walked Council through the details.

Town-led outreach in the early stages of the pandemic found that COVID-19 was impacting 92 percent of the towns businesses. At that time, there was a lot of uncertainty on whether these effects would be temporary or permanent and how this pandemic would impact businesses.

Burger stated the obvious. The impact of COVID has been massive whether at the regional level, provincially, nationally or internationally. There is a lot of uncertainty remaining about the impacts of the pandemic. We know it will be felt for years to come, and theres going to be a need for durable solutions to these challenges from all levels of government.

Ballad reached out to almost 300 businesses, and of those, 75 completed the full interview. The engagement concentrated on key industries to the town, oil and gas, the resource sector, and consumer-facing industries such as retail, trade, and personal services. There was a roughly 40/60 split between vary small businesses, those with fewer than five employees, and those on a larger scale, he explained.

Burger said that many businesses were forced to close due to provincial health guidelines and that falling energy prices directly or indirectly impacted many. He said that the regional unemployment was significant and that it started from a base that was already higher than the province, around ten percent. Many small and medium-sized businesses indicated a real uncertainty around their ability to pay back emergency loans which is something that we flagged as pretty critical.

He said that sales and revenue had fallen across the Towns business community since the onset of the pandemic. The direct effects are that following multiple rounds of public health restrictions, workers were laid off, while consumers could not access the services they wanted. Indirectly it resulted in widespread concerns over the state of the global economy and energy demand. Adding to high crude oil inventories and no decrease in production meant a decline in energy prices. He mentioned that they do see early signs of recovery in the energy sector.

Burger said that 71 percent of businesses saw their sales decrease. Some saw higher losses than others. Pretty much everything was impacted with just a small minority, just twelve percent of businesses interviewed, saying they saw an increase in sales. That was really pandemic-driven. Restrictions on foreign travel meant people were spending on recreational products like ATVs and RVs. There was an increase in residential investment in some areas, which led to a strong year for lumber producers. We also had lower residential financing costs, said Burger. In Whitecourts case, he said that it translated to more robust sales in the upper end of the residential sales market.

For businesses deemed essential services, demand remained. Pharmaceuticals, compliance and safety services, wellness products, many of those companies had a good year, but this is a small minority in the overall business community. And even smaller minority were able to proactively target new markets with some pivoting their business. Burger said that many businesses repurposed equipment for other uses or offered curbside pickup and delivery in response to decreasing revenues. Only 29 percent of companies described their sales as highly resilient to more public health restrictions even with those changes.

Shifting to online retailing showed uncertainty, especially for small businesses. Barriers included shipping and delivery costs and the limited discounting capacity for smaller companies compared to big box stores. As we begin to see an increase in demand, there is a challenge with supply chain constraints more than anything, so its kind of a double hit, said Burger. We hear of significant shipping problems, and thats just compounded further from when the Suez Canal was blocked off, which created a backlog that we still see today.

Burger provided an example. One business I spoke with, their pre-pandemic shipping container cost was $2,500 to bring in a container full of product. The current pricing is $16,000. So, an exponential increase in shipping costs makes many products unviable for sale. In that case, they simply stopped bringing those containers in.

One thing that was vital for keeping business afloat was public support. We are really happy to see the town proceeding with recommendations on micro-grant funding and business visitation. You are doing pretty much everything you can in terms of supporting these businesses that are struggling, said Burger. Once the dust settles, we have to determine what this looks like in terms of debt repayment. A significant share of businesses indicated that their closure or downsizing risks are elevated in the region of 40 percent. Their capacity to repay loans is impacted.

He said that despite issues with funding supports, it was clear that the money was a vital lifeline for many businesses. For some sectors, especially those that saw multiple closures during the pandemic, financial assistance has ensured their survival. Burger said that building up the resiliency of the region is essential moving forward. He noted that more regional supply chains and boosts to the labour market with local skill development are two ideas.

I hear this time and time again whether, from smaller businesses or larger employers, theres so much more success in hiring local people that are going to stay in the area versus people that come from outside, stay one to two years and then move on. To leverage that local talent through RAP programs, internships, co-ops and pairing with local high schools and post secondaries, all that will be very important going forward.

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For viability, 35 percent of businesses view their risk of closing as moderate or high. During our May and June engagement, the number of businesses started to expand on that and indicated that they would not survive another lockdown, said Burger. We had some very heavy conversations, and my heart goes out to the business owners.

In wrapping up his presentation, Burger said he felt that Whitecourt could become a model for other resource-based municipalities seeking to make similar shifts with proactive approaches. He commended the steps already taken to identify and address barriers to growth.

More:

An update on how area businesses are doing from a recent COVID-19 Impact Assessment and Recovery Project - Toronto Star

Ahead of the publication of the governments Net Zero Strategy, which sets out where carbon emissions savings will be made, a coalition of local government, environmental and research organisations have called for urgent powers and resources for local authorities.

Recognising local authorities as key partners in the Net Zero Strategysets out how local authorities have developed plans and could rapidly scale up actions to meet climate targets, but only if they are supported by government.

The coalition believes that the Net Zero Strategy must include a clear commitment to a mutually agreed central framework.

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), Ashden, Friends of the Earth, Grantham Institute at Imperial College, Green Alliance, Greenpeace UK, London Environment Directors Network (LEDNet), Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN) and Solace are seeking recognition of local government as key partners in achieving net zero.

The paper is supported by the Local Government Association and London Councils.

The coalition recognises that significant reductions in carbon emissions have been made by the power sector, in particular, but argues that government must now focus on sectors such as housing and transport which are far harder to decarbonise.

Tackling these requires on behavioural change as well as the delivery of low carbon solutions, which is why the coalition is advocating that local government is best placed to influence due to having a closer relationship with local communities.

Local authorities also have control over key sectors in the push to decarbonise. Transport planning, waste management, economic regeneration, land use planning and regulation of energy efficiency standards are all managed by local government.

The government will not meet its targets without the work of local authorities, and we want to ensure the transition to a low carbon society is just.

They also have huge influence over emissions through their procurement, which was worth at least 63 billion in 2019/20 and accounts for 70-80% of an individual councils carbon footprint. But in some of these areas like planning national policy and regulations can hinder not help local climate action.

The coalition says that empowering local authorities is not a nice to have, but essential not just in decarbonisation, but also in contributing to other government priorities, including levelling up, reducing inequality, health and wellbeing, and delivering a green economic recovery.

Paula Hewitt, ADEPT President said:The government will not meet its targets without the work of local authorities, and we want to ensure the transition to a low carbon society is just.

As leaders in our areas, we bring together partnerships from across different sectors, as well as our communities, businesses, suppliers, strategic bodies and the voluntary sector.

No-one else has the reach, the levels of trust or ability to provide targeted support that will encourage and enable behavioural change. We have already started this work as our case studies show. What we need now is the recognition and resource to go further, faster.

The organisations have called on the government to adopt four key priorities to ensure the success of the Net Zero Strategy:

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Government urged to recognise the role of councils in 'tackling climate crisis' - Circular Online

Council Starts Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

30 June 2021AFTERNOON

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and started an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said a Global Fund for Social Protection should be set up to increase the level of support to low-income countries, thus helping them to both establish and maintain social protection floors in the form of legal entitlements, and to improve the resilience of social protection systems against shocks. Such a Fund was affordable. He also spoke on his visit to the European Union.

European Union spoke as a country concerned.

In the ensuing dialogue, speakers expressed concern that nearly 700 million people in the world were living in extreme poverty, and that COVID-19 may drag over 100 million people into poverty. Some nations suffered disproportionately from the poverty effects of the pandemic due to multiple challenges they were facing. Some speakers said that the COVID-19 pandemic had only exacerbated what already existed before: extreme inequality had its origins in the global order imposed by powerful countries for their own benefit.

Speaking were Egypt on behalf of the Group of Arab States, Peru on behalf of a group of countries, China on behalf of a group of countries, United Nations Children's Fund, Paraguay, France, Sovereign Order of Malta, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Ecuador, Cuba, Senegal, Iraq, Armenia, Togo, Burkina Faso, China, India, Morocco, Algeria, Venezuela, Egypt, Kenya, Nepal, Botswana, Namibia, Malaysia, Sudan, Pakistan, Belgium, Nigeria, Timor-Leste, Mali, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Philippines, Viet Nam, Yemen, Panama, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Albania, Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia, Cameroon, Djibouti, Bahamas, Iran, and South Sudan.

The following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Consortium for Street Children, VIVAT International, FIAN International e.V., Instituto Brasileiro de Analises Sociais e Economicas, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Rahbord Peimayesh Research & Educational Services Cooperative, Lutheran World Federation, Sikh Human Rights Group, and Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit - COC Nederland.

The Council then began an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presenting two reports by his predecessor, said that the first report was an overview of the work conducted during the tenure of the former Special Rapporteur Agns Callamard, in which she recommended that the title of the mandate be renamed as Special Rapporteur on arbitrary deprivation of life or, alternatively, on unlawful killings and unlawful deaths or on the right to life. He also spoke about Ms. Callamards visit to Nigeria.

Nigeria spoke as a concerned country.

Speakers noted that the reports demonstrated a grim reality of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions that continued to be committed by both State and non-State actors. Some speakers thanked the Special Rapporteurs predecessor, especially for her report on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the gender-sensitive approach she incorporated in her work. Other speakers said that the former Special Rapporteur went beyond her mandate and politicised her work, hoping the new Special Rapporteur would remain impartial. What was the view of the Special Rapporteur on renaming the mandate to on the right to life?

Speaking were the European Union, Sweden on behalf of a group of countries, China on behalf of a group of countries, Liechtenstein, Sierra Leone, Libya, France, Indonesia, Switzerland, Cuba, Fiji, Iraq, Armenia, Syria, Chile, and China.

Indonesia and Brazil spoke in right of reply.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Councils forty-seventh regular session can be found here.

The Council will next meet on Thursday, 1 July at 10 a.m. to continue the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, followed by an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Reports

The Council has before it the reports of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/HRC/47/36) on the Global fund for social protection: international solidarity in the service of poverty eradication, and (A/HRC/47/36/Add.1) on his mission to the European Union, as well as comments by the State (A/HRC/47/36/Add.2)

Presentation of the Reports

OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to protect populations, an estimated 115 million additional people may have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020, and 35 million more may follow this year. The COVID-19 pandemic had caught the world unprepared: 61 per cent of the global workforce was still made up of informal workers or workers in precarious forms of employment, with little or no access to social protection; 55 per cent of the world's population, 4 billion people, had no social protection whatsoever; and an additional 26 per cent were covered only against some forms of economic insecurity. A Global Fund for Social Protection should be set up to increase the level of support to low-income countries, thus helping them both to establish and maintain social protection floors in the form of legal entitlements, and to improve the resilience of social protection systems against shocks. Such a Fund was affordable.

The International Labour Organization estimated that the funding shortfall for low-income countries, representing 711 million people, was $ 79 billion per year, including $ 41 billion for health care. While this represented 15.9 per cent of the gross domestic product of low-income countries - an altogether unaffordable amount for these countries - it was half the total level of official development assistance provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in 2020. The international community could and must do better. While international support was crucial, it should not be seen as a substitute for the mobilisation of domestic resources to finance social protection floors, but rather as an incentive to encourage recipient countries to build capacity and to invest more in this area. International support therefore should be seen as launching a process that would allow recipient countries to gradually increase the levels of domestic resource mobilisation: it would ensure a predictable level of support to countries committed to establishing social protection floors. The Human Rights Council was now being given an opportunity to support what the Special Rapporteur saw as a major step towards the realisation of the right to social security as a human right.

On his visit to the European Union, he noted that while the bloc had launched a number of programmes to combat poverty, Member States still encountered a number of obstacles to effectively address poverty and inequalities, including unhealthy social and fiscal competition between countries and socio-economic governance frameworks that did not favour social investment. The economic recovery provided a unique opportunity to rethink these constraints.

Statement by Country Concerned

European Union, speaking as a country concerned, said its social policy was in full compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals and international human right frameworks. In the European Union, economic considerations and social rights were both components of a highly competitive and sustainable development. In international comparisons, the European Union as a whole ranked among the best performers in terms of equality of income and opportunities and social policies. While differences persisted among and within the Member States, upward social convergence towards the best performing countries not only in the European Union, but at the global level too - had been steadily continuing before the current crisis. At the European Union level, poverty and exclusion were considered as multidimensional phenomena, as regards their components, their drivers and the policy measures to tackle them. The agreed definition related to people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which was a much more ambitious concept than extreme poverty and demonstrated the determination of the European Union to strive for high standards of living for all.

Discussion

Speakers were very concerned that nearly 700 million people in the world were living in extreme poverty, and that COVID-19 may drag over 100 million people into poverty. Some nations suffered disproportionately from the poverty effects of the pandemic due to multiple challenges they were facing. Speakers called on the international community to expand resources on combatting poverty. Other speakers noted that it was important to ensure that the proposed Global Fund was well integrated with the multitude of existing regional and international mechanisms working on this issue. Some speakers said that the COVID-19 pandemic had only exacerbated what already existed before: extreme inequality had its origins in the global order imposed by powerful countries for their own benefit. At the same time, these developed countries were also experiencing unprecedented income inequality at home, with millions sliding into poverty. Speakers hoped that the Special Rapporteur would pay particular attention to the situation in these countries.

Interim Remarks

OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the International Labour Organization had received a mandate from its constituent members to initiate proposals and launch discussions on such a fund. His mandate and the International Labour Organization would cooperate in that context. The International Labour Organization had the capacity to support a secretariat for the Fund. Rather than reinvent the wheel, all should strive to build on existing structures and achievements. The Fund would encourage States to invest their own resources in social protection; it would not replace such investments. In an interlinked, global world, all populations needed to benefit from social protection.

Discussion

Speakers said foreign debt was an impediment to the provision of social protection in developing countries and encouraged Member States of the Council to support the creation of a Global Fund for Social Protection. Pointing out that gaps in social protection were mostly due to a lack of financial resources, speakers said if such a fund was to offer a meaningful, dignified and rights-based approach to helping countries scale up social protection, it should prioritise unconditional and universal support. Speakers urged the allocation of resources to non-governmental and community-based organizations to assist with implementation and monitoring. A wider recognition of women partaking in the non-monetised care economy was required as they desperately needed access to social security. Several speakers expressed their deep concern for the ongoing increase in extreme poverty, hunger and human suffering and the lack of basic protection of impoverished communities, especially in low-income countries. They pointed out that, meanwhile, global wealth continued to grow.

Concluding Remarks

OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said social protection was not the end result of a development process but rather a precondition for sustainable growth. Countries facing conflict as a result of poverty showed that deprivation could beget violence. Rich countries would only deliver if civil society and labour unions maintained the pressure. The Special Rapporteur said he was nevertheless convinced that Governments would be responsive to his proposals, and concluded by saying he was looking forward to engaging with them.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

Reports

The Council has before it the report of the former Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (A/HRC/47/33) on a reflection of her work over the past five years, and (A/HRC/47/33/Add.2) on her mission to Nigeria.

Presentation of the Reports

MORRIS TIDBALL-BINZ, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, stated that during the short time since his appointment last April, he had issued, alone or jointly with other Special Procedures, a total of 37 communications to States and non-State actors as well as 16 press statements, and had met with 18 Permanent Missions. The stark reality of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions continued to be brought to his mandates attention from around the globe and on a daily basis. From cowardly killings of humanitarian health workers and mine-clearance personnel; to massacres, including of children; from the pandemic proportion of gender-based murder, in particular femicides; to State-sponsored and often racist-driven killings of those labelled as undesirables; as well as the imposition of the death penalty in violation of international law.

The first report he was presenting was an overview of the work conducted during the tenure of the former Special Rapporteur Agns Callamard, in which she recommended that the title of the mandate be renamed as Special Rapporteur on arbitrary deprivation of life or, alternatively, on unlawful killings and unlawful deaths or on the right to life. In the second report on her visit to Nigeria from 19 August to 2 September 2019, she had specifically examined the situation of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and included a focus on Nigerias criminalisation of abortion.

Turning to his work so far, Mr. Tidball-Binz identified the following themes for engagement: deaths in custody, their documentation and prevention; femicide; the role of medico-legal and death-investigation systems in preventing unlawful killings; the protection and respect for the dead following unlawful killings; lessons learned from the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and 2015 and from the COVID-19 pandemic; and the right to life in disaster prevention and response. In addition, the Special Rapporteur committed to continue monitoring the implementation of all standards relating to the imposition of capital punishment. He may also engage research into the growing view that the death penalty raised serious issues in relation to the dignity and rights of all human beings, including not only the right to life but also the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Statement by Country Concerned

Nigeria, speaking as a country concerned, thanked the former Special Rapporteur for her visit, adding that Nigeria had taken copious notes while reading the report, even though it disagreed with some of its conclusions. The Government had faced several security challenges in the past years, including Boko Haram and kidnappings, and had taken adequate measures to ensure security and uphold human rights in that context. Nigeria condemned all acts of extrajudicial or summary executions. It should be remembered that human rights violations were contributing factors to numerous conflicts around the world. Stressing that they were a reflection of broader problems related to criminal justice and law enforcement, Nigeria said it had improved its judicial framework to ensure accountability and provide reparation to victims while bringing an end to extrajudicial killings by investigating and prosecuting all allegations related to this practice. Nigeria remained strongly committed to human rights.

Discussion

Speakers noted that the reports demonstrated a grim reality of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions that continued to be committed by both State and non-State actors. They thanked the Special Rapporteurs predecessor, especially for her report on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the gender-sensitive approach she incorporated in her work. Other speakers said that the former Special Rapporteur went beyond her mandate and politicised her work, hoping the new Special Rapporteur would remain impartial. Summary killings had no place in the modern world. Wealthy nations had amassed COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines hoping to protect their citizens, but no one would be safe in an interconnected world of migration and international travel until everyone, including those in the global south, had access to these medicines. Was this state of affairs tantamount to an infringement on the right to life in the opinion of the Special Rapporteur? Speakers expressed their hope that the Special Rapporteur would continue to focus on the abolition of the death penalty. What was his view on renaming the mandate to Special Rapporteur on the right to life?

Link: https://www.ungeneva.org/fr/news-media/meeting-summary/2021/06/afternoon-special-rapporteur-extreme-poverty-calls-creation

For use of the information media; not an official record

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Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty Calls for the Creation of a Global Fund for Social Protection during Interactive Dialogue with the Human Rights...

TANZANIA

The allocation will be done as part of the World Banks Higher Education for Economic Transformation Project.

According to Dr Roberta Malee Bassett, a senior education specialist at the World Bank, about 80% of the funding will be used to boost enrolments and to improve the quality of teaching at Tanzanian universities.

But the ongoing expansion of Tanzanias upper secondary education, with a current gross enrolment ratio of 7%, is expected to put pressure on the tertiary education system to admit more students.

According to the governments predictions, the demand for higher education is expected to surge to at least 482,000 places by 2030 and, in this case, the World Bank says, there is an urgent need for expansion of university education in Tanzania to accommodate the growth.

Annual enrolment numbers at Tanzanias higher education institutions grew from about 112,000 in 2016-17 to more than 210,000 in 2017-18, thanks to improvements in infrastructure and initiatives to provide higher education loans, but then dropped again as the government closed down some programmes at private universities because of quality concerns.

Tanzanias tertiary gross enrolment rate of 3.1% is one of the lowest in Eastern Africa and lags behind Kenyas 11.5%, Ethiopias 8.1%, Rwandas 6.2% and Ugandas 4.8%, according to UNESCO.

Bassett says the overall quality of post-secondary education in Tanzania is also low and does not adequately prepare university graduates for current and future formal jobs or self-employment.

The reasons for this include a shortage of qualified lecturers. Currently, only 52% of academic staff members have a masters degree and about 33% have a PhD. The rest have lower qualifications.

Outdated teaching methods

The World Bank notes that many lecturers are not trained in the use of the latest technical developments and global knowledge in their fields, and use outdated, mostly lecture-based teaching methods, [thereby] limiting the development of adequate competencies among students.

Although the Tanzanian economy needs more skilled workers, many university graduates have struggled to find jobs.

The reasons for this include a mismatch between the skills that are taught and those that are in demand on the labour market. Curricula and teaching and learning facilities in Tanzania are often outdated, the World Bank says.

In terms of the project, several public universities have been selected to become high-quality centres of learning that will focus on priority areas.

These universities include the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, the University of Dodoma, the Moshi Cooperative University, the Dar es Salaam University College of Education, the Mkwawa University College of Education, the Sokoine University of Agriculture, the Mbeya University of Science and Technology, the University of Dar es Salaam and the Open University of Tanzania.

Bassett says 14 priority areas have been selected based on the key disciplines required to build the countrys industrial economy and propel its development agenda.

These areas include engineering and technology, information communication and technology, material sciences, health sciences, urban and environmental engineering and technology and renewable energy. Others are water resources, climate change, agriculture, wildlife conservation, tourism and hospitality, academic industry linkages, humanities, and education.

The challenge is to build a higher education system with the capacity to provide skills and create jobs for the growing number of young people entering the labour market each year. Although Tanzania has, in the past 10 years, expanded access to education, only 9% of the labour force has completed secondary education and just 1.3% has a university education.

Looking for jobs

About one million young people have been entering the Tanzanian labour market annually since 2015. By 2030, this number is projected to reach 1.6 million per year, the World Bank says in the project report.

The project will also assist universities to promote an inclusive and equitable environment for students with disabilities. Specifically, this will include renovation and the rehabilitation of classrooms and lecture rooms to suit special-needs education, as well as the construction of hostels, specialised examination rooms and resource centres for students with disabilities.

The project also has an explicit focus on reducing gender gaps while increasing access to higher education for both women and men. Bassett says special attention will be given to disabled women, women living with albinism, and women from vulnerable groups who may be more subjected to barriers to higher education by negative socio-cultural factors.

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World Bank project set to boost Tanzanian higher education - University World News

Thick forest covers most of Bhutan, making the tiny Himalayan nation famous for its pristine natural landscape. But increasingly, a stark sight is appearing amid the lush greenery: across the country, mines are springing up.

With the issuance of new licences, the past decade has ushered in a golden age for mining in Bhutan. As of 2013, the latest year for which official data is available, there were 27 mines and 46 quarries in operation, from just 17 mines and 10 quarries in 2006.

The sector has long been embroiled in controversies and criticised for putting corporate interests before people and the environment. Critics say that the current system benefits only a few rich individuals while burdening local communities with a host of environmental impacts, from air pollution to road and infrastructure destruction and poorly managed waste.

Corruption allegations are rife. As the mining industry grows, Bhutan is struggling to reform it and its chronic issues are becoming more severe.

The government acknowledges that mining and quarrying have an impact on the environment, stripping vast swathes of land of their vegetation and affecting ground stability and water reserves. But it has also stated that taking advantage of the countrys rich mineral resources can help the economy.

Mineral deposits in Bhutan include a vast wealth of resources such as coal, dolomite, limestone, slate and copper. According to the 2017 Mineral Development Policy, 33% of the country has been geologically mapped on a scale detailed enough to enable exploration.

Currently, only 0.04% of the land is used for mining activities. Despite its relatively small size, the sector is due to play a significant role in Bhutans economic development, and the government is determined to tap into the potential of its unexplored resources.

Loknath Sharma, the minister for economic affairs, told The Third Pole that there is a need for resource mapping of the country to enhance geological information, and create an environment for attracting investment and promoting the sustainable development of mineral reserves.

Sharma said that Bhutans mining sector accounted for 4.81% of the gross domestic product in 2019, and supplies more than half of the top-10 export commodities. The sector also plays a vital role in revenue generation, he added. Mining is becoming increasingly strategic for Bhutan as it strives to diversify its revenue streams and reduce the gap between its imports and exports.

However, with the sectors expansion, many are starting to question whether the environmental trade-offs are worth it.

Environmental conservation remains a key principle at the heart of Bhutans development path, and one of the four pillars of its Gross National Happiness guiding philosophy.

The only existing assessment of the mining sectors impact was released in 2013 by the upper house of Bhutans bicameral parliament, the National Council. It found that the non-renewable nature of the mining industry does not align with sustainable development. Despite controversies engulfing Bhutans growing extractive activities, no other studies have been carried out to date.

In Bhutan, all mines extract minerals from an open pit, a technique that has a particularly severe impact on landscapes, wildlife and water systems, which are often altered and polluted. Because mines are long-lasting infrastructure and involve activities such as extensive drilling, blasting, road construction and heavy machinery usage, experts warn the deep environmental damage they cause are difficult to repair after projects end.

In light of what they perceive as government inaction, communities affected by mining are taking the matter into their own hands. Choney Dorji Tamang, a 30-year-old resident of the western district of Samtse, said: We have lodged a complaint with the local government against the mining and quarrying operators in the locality for causing cracks in our homes and dust pollution.

He added that pollution from the activities of mining companies operating in the area is threatening his communitys health, crop production and water resources.

Prem Bdr Yakha, who also lives in Samtse district, said his community is surrounded by four mining sites. With so many industrial activities being carried out on a daily basis, we are living in and breathing polluted air, and are exposed to all kinds of pollution including sound, water and environment more generally, Yakha said. We are worried about our future and also about our childrens future.

He also complained that mining operators dump unwanted materials into nearby water bodies. This increases the risk of flooding during the monsoon season, posing a threat to local peoples homes, Yakha said.

The 2013 assessment report found that illegal dumping of soil in ravines and rivers was a common sight in the vicinity of mining and quarrying operations. It also highlighted the damage caused by dust to crops such as oranges and chillies, as well as the impact of blasting on heritage sites such as monasteries.

In another claim against mine operators, residents of Neygang, part of the broader Pugli village cluster in Samtse, have requested the local government find them alternative drinking water sources, because traditional water sources have dried up due to mining activities.

All complaints lodged so far are currently with the local authorities, but villagers are yet to receive an answer to their plight.

Mines and quarry operators need to obtain public clearance prior to seeking official approval. Rinzi, a local leader of the Mewang village block near the capital Thimphu, said that when seeking public clearance and approval, mining companies promise to rigorously comply with existing laws and also to contribute to the development of local communities. But once they get hold of the contract, you can expect that most of these pledges will be all but forgotten, he said.

In 2020, several villagers in Dewathang block, Samdrup Jongkhar district, filed an official complaint against a coal mining company for causing cracks in their houses. The coal mine covers a lease area of 27.5 hectares.

The Third Pole was able to carry out a rare interview with Bir Bdr Ghishing, the senior general manager of the operator responsible for the project involved in the complaint, SD Eastern Bhutan Coal Company. Ghishing discussed some of the controversies and allegations facing the mining sector in Bhutan.

In response to the Dewathang residents allegations, he said that the nearest private house with cracks was not less than 150 metres away, and there was a buffer area between the village houses and the mining site. If these houses are affected by mining there should be cracks developed in the buffer zone, but there were no such cracks noticed in that area.

Ghishing said that while mining disturbs the local environment, it also transforms difficult terrains into proper landscapes. Some of the mines his company has developed have been repopulated with greenery once the government lease expired, he added.

Back in 2013, the environmental impact assessment report found that restoration efforts were minimal across most mining and quarry sites. Similarly, the Performance Audit Report on Mining and Quarrying 2014, the only study to have assessed the performance of Bhutans mines, flagged companies widespread failure to pay compensation for the environmental impacts of excavations and plan for sites restoration.

Ghishing rejected the accusations, saying that we would not have been allowed to operate a mine without an approved environmental restoration plan. Local people say they still have not seen any restoration carried out at the site.

Lam Dorji, an environmentalist and chief executive at the Centre for Environment and Development, was also a lead researcher for the National Councils 2013 report. Dorji told The Third Pole that the natural resources are currently exploited in the context of relaxed regulatory and monitoring mechanisms.

He said that Bhutan needs stronger governance, so that the probability of [rogue] mine operators being caught is high. This would improve the condition of affected communities and reduce environmental impacts, as well as increasing the mining sectors contribution to the countrys tax revenues.

A senior expert with direct knowledge of the mining sector agreed to speak with The Third Pole, on condition of anonymity, about how poor oversight is exacerbating the impacts of mining operations. They explained that the Department of Geology and Mines is required to deploy an inspector at every mine and quarrying site, maintaining a record of the minerals extracted and transported across the country.

These records, the expert said, are key to helping the government calculate royalties and other taxes based on the amount of minerals being extracted. However, the mine inspectors routinely hand the record-keeping duty to the mine operators and their employees. This enables a number of operators to manipulate extraction and sales figures, the expert said.

A lack of transparency also has serious environmental consequences, a former mine inspector, who asked to remain anonymous, said. On-site monitoring ensures that operators take the right steps to reduce dust and noise pollution, manage their waste appropriately and ensure that mine owners carry out the promised environmental restoration.

Choiten Wangchuk, the director-general at the Department of Geology and Mines, told The Third Pole that he could not categorically deny that such fraudulent episodes may have happened, but in the year since he joined the department he had not received any such complaints.

In January 2020, the Economic and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, the elected lower house of Bhutans bicameral parliament, conducted a public hearing that brought together mine operators, affected communities and governing agencies. Residents of the affected areas said mine operators have not contributed to villages development and caused irreparable environmental damage.

During the hearing, the current opposition leader Dorji Wangdi stated that mines and minerals are national wealth, but hard evidence proves that only a few individuals are reaping the benefits.

At the time, Wangdi was one of the 13 members of the Economic and Finance Committee tasked with reviewing the Mines and Minerals Bill 2019. To ensure all voices were heard in the policymaking process, the committee organised a bipartisan field visit to mine sites across the country.

Talking to The Third Pole, Wangdi said his concerns are based on the shocking reality on the ground he and the committee members witnessed during their visit.

After personally assessing the impacts of mining on both the community and environment, he said, I can conclude that mining is both a human and an environmental catastrophe.

He described the scale of destruction brought by the industrial development, with air, drinking water, homes and crops polluted, as well as damage to infrastructure and even roads.

The bipartisan committee agreed that despite suffering large-scale destruction, local communities have not reaped any benefits. The mining industry has brought some benefits in terms of jobs, but the experts agreed their prospects would have been much better without mining activities.

Considering Bhutans emphasis on environmental conservation and the mining impacts on communities and environment, I am convinced that large-scale industrial mining should be avoided as much as possible, while smaller quarries and mines for cement production can be continued to meet local developmental needs, the opposition leader concluded.

Mining and quarrying companies contribute to society through royalties, lease fees and corporate income tax, which constitutes the lions share of the governments revenues from the sector. However, a lot of substantial potential taxes are cut by adding various kinds of fake expenses, said an official source, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Dorji Wangdi, the opposition leader, confirmed that the 2019 bipartisan commission uncovered several instances of tax avoidance in the mining sector, mostly through accounting manipulation.

He recalled how a mining company he audited had created a long list of ghost employees, including the chief executive, who was supposedly paid a monthly salary of 5,00,000 Bhutanese ngultrums. But when I asked the mineworkers about the whereabouts of that CEO, the staff had no clue and told me the CEO had not visited the site for two years, he said.

Corporate income tax is calculated based on net profits. Miners have been found to create a vast pool of fake roles, ranging from chief executives to various directors, including fictional expenses such as duty vehicles, fuel payments, housing and travel, all of which could be deducted from the taxes due.

Without conducting an inspection and audit, it becomes difficult for the government to unveil the truth, the anonymous officer said. The issue calls for a revision of royalty and lease fees as well as the annual auditing of all mines and related companies.

Minister Loknath Sharma conceded that mining in Bhutan is still a developing and dusty affair, and without proper pollution-control technologies and modern extraction methods, affected people have a point when they complain they are not benefitting from the industry.

While the expansion of large-scale mining remains controversial, he said that most mining activities in Bhutan remain small-scale, with much lower impacts on the environment.

The government will discuss mining reforms during the next parliamentary session, which usually takes place between November and December. Whether to nationalise the mines to address some of the corruption issues plaguing the sector will be on the agenda.

This article first appeared on The Third Pole.

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As mining booms in Bhutan, environmental damage and allegations of corruption are rampant - Scroll.in

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BioTalent Canada announced the continuation of its Science and Technology Internship Program Green Jobs (STIP) wage subsidy. This programfunded in part by Natural Resources Canadafurther supports a vibrant green economy essential to Canada's sustainability. The $3.7M in funding will help to replenish the one resource the sector needs to thrive: young, skilled talent.

STIP provides qualified employers up to a maximum of $25,000 per year$32,000 for youth furthest from employmentfor new hires in natural resource-based STEM positions linked to the green economy. The program proved so successful the first two times that renewing it for a third was a necessary step.

"Canada's green economy is growing rapidly in size, prominence, and importance," says Rob Henderson, President and CEO of BioTalent Canada. "Extending STIP is an opportunity to ignite the sector's growth and provide young talent with an access point to a career in the bio-economy."

The enthusiasm, hard work and vision of youth are shaping Canadas future. Theyre looking for green jobs and green internships, so were providing them with the opportunities to build our low-emissions energy future. Youth - above all - will get us to net-zero. Minister of Natural Resources, The Honourable Seamus ORegan Jr.

By taking bold action and thinking outside of the box, our government is setting up young Canadians for success and ensuring an inclusive recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The STIP program is a great example of how government can work with community organizations to break down barriers to employment and create long-lasting change in the lives of young people. When we make skills-building and job opportunities available to young Canadians, we all succeed. Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, The Honourable Carla Qualtrough

According to BioTalent Canada's latest labour market report Growing the bio-economy: youth in focus, between March 2019 and March 2021, 75 employers across 42 cities in 11 provinces and territories accessed talent. Incredibly, 87% of participants received permanent offers following their internships.

Green economy employers were not immune to the effects of COVID-19. Like Vancouver-based Ensero Solutions, many turned to STIP to bolster workforces with young, energetic, skilled new hires. The results, to date, have been nothing short of transformative.

"We wouldn't have hit a lot of our field goal requirements and commitments without (STIP hires) Talor (Osberg) and Sara (Battaglia)," says Mitch Strom, Chief People Officer at Ensero Solutions. "The STIP subsidy helped during a tough year due to COVID."

As part of their internships, Talor and Sara got to do meaningful fieldwork and gain exposure to active mining sites. Ensero hired both permanently because of their internships.

"Canada's youth are ready and eager to contribute in a big way to the green economy," says Henderson. "And STIP provides them with an entry point to a career in the sector. The industry has already felt the results, but just wait because the long-term impacts are going to be astonishing."

Rob Henderson is available for comment.

BioTalent Canada is actively accepting applications. For more information, visit biotalent.ca/greenjobs.

About BioTalent Canada

BioTalent Canada supports the people behind life-changing science. Trusted as the go-to source for labour market intelligence, BioTalent Canada guides bio-economy stakeholders with evidence-based data and industry-driven standards. BioTalent Canada is focused on igniting the industrys brainpower, bridging the gap between job-ready talent and employers, and ensuring the long-term agility, resiliency, and sustainability of one of Canadas most vital sectors.

Recently named one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada with 10-50 employees and certified as a Great Place to Work for 2021, BioTalent Canada practices the same industry standards it recommends to its stakeholders. These distinctions were awarded to BioTalent Canada following a thorough and independent survey analysis conducted by Great Place to Work.

For more information, please visit biotalent.ca.

About Science Technology Internship Program Green Jobs

The Science and Technology Internship Program Green Jobs covers the cost of a new hire's salary by 80% to a maximum of $25,000/yr and $32,000/yr for youth furthest from employment. These funds help employers hire the talent they need and help youth initiate a career. Employers can bring on an eager, young worker for a special project and at the end of the placement, end up with a skilled candidate already oriented to their company. Youth from northern and remote communities have an opportunity for an increased subsidy. For more information, visit biotalent.ca/GreenJobs

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Green Economy to Receive Big Talent Boost From $3.7M Wage Subsidy Program - Business Wire

The inflated expectations of the unexpected resources boom were also built into the spending monuments of the Rudd-Gillard government. However worthy in intent, the billions of dollars ploughed into secondary schools and disability services have not generated any financial return and, as a result, have helped to drag down Australias productivity performance.

Our school performance has actually declined in absolute terms even as schools have been given more taxpayers money to play with.

This is a sub-par outlook for a prosperous, resource-based frontier economy at the foot of Asia.

As IGR 2021 shows, labour productivity basically stalled from about 2015, in turn delivering the slowdown in wages growth that attracts so many complaints. But at the time this was disguised in the afterglow of the resources development boom.

So IGR 2015 projected four decades of budget surpluses that would pay off all the net public debt by the 2020s.

Six years later, the global pandemic has smashed that rosy outlook, returning it to a further four decades of budget deficits and net debt at 35 per cent of GDP in 2060-61.

The cost of the failed 2014 Abbott-Hockey budget attempt to properly repair the fiscal excesses of the Labor years is now being revealed. The closing of the international border to migrants has led to the first downgrading of population growth since IGR 2002.

The flow-on effects of a less expanded economy, slower growth, an older population and smaller workforce will sharpen the fiscal challenge of growing our way out of the deficit and debt blowout.

Yet even this sobering outlook is propped up by the wildly optimistic assumption that Australias productivity performance will recover over the next decade to a 30-year trend rate that was pushed up by the huge gains made during the 1980s and 1990s reform era.

So the actual outlook has deteriorated more than IGR 2021 admits.

The capacity of the political system to deal with this has been undermined further by both the shock of COVID-19 and Australias surprisingly rapid economic and jobs rebound.

Amid freakishly low interest rates, this has further disoriented the public debate over debt and deficits and what needs to be done to drive the assumed recovery in productivity growth.

But the Morrison government dare not seriously prepare the ground for genuine budget repair before the next election. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg insists there will be no fiscal austerity.

The government has pushed modestly on policy reforms, including to superannuation, insolvency laws and the personal income tax structure. But even its proposed tinkering with our antiquated industrial relations regulation was blocked by Labor and the crossbench in the Senate. Any further tax reform has been pushed off to the states.

But as the boost to demand from borrowed money wears off, even the official budget numbers forecast that Australias economic growth will settle closer to 2 per cent before the hoped-for resumption of immigration kicks in.

This is a sub-par outlook for a prosperous, resource-based frontier economy at the foot of Asia.

After the pandemic is over, Australias national debate inevitably will be gripped by the disappointing future that IGR 2021 projects.

Unfortunately, just not now.

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Intergenerational Report 2021: Three things can brighten the fiscal outlook - The Australian Financial Review

[co-author: Haley Nieh*]

For the past two legislative sessions, the Oregon legislature triedand failedto pass comprehensive climate legislation. Those efforts, which were focused on a cap-and-trade, economy-wide approach, were met with such harsh resistance that opponents walked out of the legislature, grinding the sessions to a halt and leading Governor Kate Brown to take matters into her own hands through executive action.

With that history still fresh, a broad coalition of stakeholders took a different approach this year by targeting the elimination of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electric generating sector while focusing on the effects of climate change on a community-by-community basis, and giving a stronger voice to environmental justice stakeholders.

On June 26, 2021, those efforts resulted in the passage of House Bill 2021, a far-reaching clean electricity bill that requires the state's two largest investor owned utilities (IOUs) and retail electricity service suppliers to reduce GHG emissions associated with electricity sold to Oregon consumers to 100 percent below baseline emissions levels by 2040, with interim stepsincluding an 80 percent reduction in just nine years (2030)along the way. The 2040 deadline is even faster than the 2045 deadline set by neighboring Washington in 2019, a goal that was seen as remarkably ambitious at the time.

Moreover, the legislation ensures broad stakeholder input in shaping how Oregon reaches those targets. It also encourages more renewable development within the state while setting labor standards for such projects; prohibits the siting of new natural gas, coal, or other fossil fuel based electric generating facilities unless demonstrated to be "nonemitting" (defined as not emitting GHGs into the atmosphere); and allocates $50 million for the development of community-based renewable energy projects.

Here we highlight some of the most significant aspects of this new legislation, which Governor Brown is expected to sign. But the legislation's passage is only a first stepmany of the significant details will be determined by the agencies tasked with implementing it.

Retail electric service in Oregon is provided by a mix of IOUs, public or consumer owned utilities, and "electricity service suppliers" serving commercial and industrial customers under Oregon's "direct access" laws. HB 2021's mandates are directed at the state's two largest "electric companies"IOUs PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric (both of which supported the legislation)and electricity service suppliers, which together account for the lion's share of retail electricity supply in the state.1

Under HB 2021, the Department of Environment Quality is tasked with determining the amount of emissions reduction necessary for each retail electricity provider covered by the law to meet clean energy targets. The targetswhich do not replace the separate renewable portfolio standards previously established in Oregonincrease over time: electricity sold to Oregon consumers would first need to meet an 80 percent below baseline emissions threshold by 2030 and 90 percent below baseline emissions by 2035.2

The legislation requires electric companies to develop and submit to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) clean energy plans to meet the law's targets. These plans, which are to be developed in conjunction with the electric companies' established integrated resource planning processes, must address a series of topics, including the anticipated means for, and progress towards, meeting the clean energy targets; resiliency benefits; and the associated costs and benefits. The OPUC is tasked with monitoring the electric companies' progress towards meeting the established targets and acknowledging the plans found to be consistent with the reduction targets and in the public interest.

The legislation authorizes the OPUC to grant electric companies a temporary exemption from the targets on a case-by-case basis. The electric company must persuade the OPUC that achieving a target would conflict with its ability to comply with mandatory reliability standards or resource adequacy obligations, compromise its ability to provide service at fair and reasonable rates, or otherwise compromise the power quality or integrity of the electric company's system. If granted a temporary exemption, the OPUC is to require specific actions within a specified timeframe in order to remedy the potential problems.

The bill also establishes a cost cap process for the OPUC to grant a "narrowly tailored" and "limited duration" exemption to the targets for electric companies or electricity service suppliers if compliance costs are determined to exceed a specified limit (6 percent of the annual revenue requirement for electric companies, with a "comparable exemption" to be provided for electricity service suppliers).

In addition to its clean energy targets, HB 2021 has a strong environmental justice component, similar to Washington State's recent climate legislation. Among other things, Oregon focuses on ameliorating the impacts of climate change on environmental justice communities, which the legislation defines as communities of color, communities experiencing lower incomes, tribal communities, rural communities, coastal communities, and communities with limited infrastructure. It also includes other communities traditionally underrepresented in public processes and adversely harmed by environmental and health hazards, including seniors, youth, and persons with disabilities. The legislation emphasizes the development of community-based renewable energy, increased resiliency, local job development, and reducing energy costs for families and businesses.

The legislation requires an electric company filing a clean energy plan to convene a Community Benefits and Impacts Advisory Group to gather input from community stakeholders. The Advisory Group is to submit to the OPUC a biennial report analyzing the energy burden and disconnections impacting residential and small business customers, and identifying opportunities to increase contracting with women-, veteran-, Black-, Indigenous-, or People of Color-owned businesses. It is also to review resiliency opportunities and the social, economic, and environmental justice co-benefits that result from the utility's investments or practices.

The legislation establishes a $50 million Community Renewables Investment Fund that will make grants to Indian tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities to develop community renewable energy projects. The grants are to promote small-scale (not more than 20 MW) renewable energy projects that will benefit qualifying communities by providing energy resilience, local jobs, economic development, and direct energy cost savings to families and small businesses.

Under current law, electric companies are required to provide residential consumers with a portfolio of rate options for electric service, including both a market-based rate and at least one other rate "that reflects significant new renewable energy resources." The new legislation expands on this portfolio by providing local governments with the ability to coordinate with the electric companies serving consumers within their boundaries on the establishment of more specific rates for their constituents that are directly tied to the specific local government's clean electricity goals, such as to promote community-based renewable resources.

HB 2021 also establishes contractor labor standards for the construction and repowering of "large-scale" energy projects (generally those with a capacity of 10 MW or more). The standards include apprenticeship outreach to women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities and establishes policies to prevent harassment and discrimination and promote workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. The legislation also requires the payment of wages in accordance with the same trade or occupation in the locality where the labor is performed.

HB 2021 authorizes a number of rulemakings and other agency proceedings to implement its various provisions. DWT will be closely tracking those developments.

* Haley Nieh is a Summer Associate in DWT's San Francisco office and a rising 2L at Santa Clara Law.

1 The legislation's GHG target reduction provisions do not apply to electric companies serving fewer than 25,000 Oregon retail electric customers.2 Measured and reported as GHG emissions per megawatt-hour as reported under ORS 468A.280.

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Oregon Legislation Mandates 100% Clean Electricity by 2040 With a Focus on Environmental Justice - JD Supra