Dissanayake’s China visit- Bad news for India.

https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/dissanayakes-china-visit-reinforces-beijings-importance-to-srilankas-development-3363483

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time

On first day back as president, Trump signs letter giving notice to UN of US exit from treaty seeking to curb climate crisis effects 

Dharna Noor Mon 20 Jan 2025 The Guardian UK

Donald Trump on Monday moved to withdraw the US, the world’s second biggest emitter of planet-heating pollution, from the Paris climate agreement for a second time, and put the United Nations on notice.

On his first day back as president, Trump signed an executive order on stage in front of supporters at an arena in Washington DC which he said was aimed at quitting what he called the “unfair one-sided Paris climate accord rip off”.

He also signed a letter to the United Nations giving it notice that the US was exiting, which starts the formal process of withdrawal from the world’s main effort to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

It will take about a year for the withdrawal to be formalized.

When enacted, the US will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries outside the global agreement, which Joe Biden had rejoined in 2021 after Trump confirmed he would exit it in his first term in 2017.

Trump, who also signed eight other executive orders on stage, told his supporters at the arena: “The United States will not sabotage its own industries while China pollutes with impunity. China uses a lot of dirty energy, but they produce a lot of energy. When that stuff goes up in the air, it doesn’t stay there ... It floats into the United States of America after three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half days.”

The confirmation of the move was also in a White House document published earlier Monday outlining America First Priorities, in a package of measures under the headline “Make America affordable and energy dominant again”.

Trump has also pledged to reverse Biden’s efforts to grow the US’s clean energy sector, which Trump has called “the green new scam”, promising in his inauguration address to “drill baby drill” and remove all limits on America’s booming fossil fuel industry.

The fossil fuel industry is expected to expand further during Trump’s second presidency despite already producing record amounts of oil. Under Biden, the country became the world’s biggest gas producer and last year saw a record 758 oil and gas drilling licenses issued.

One estimate before Trump won last November’s election calculated his return to the White House could add 4bn tonnes to US emissions by 2030.

Gina McCarthy, a former EPA Administrator under Barack Obama, said that Trump “abdicated” his responsibility to Americans by leaving the Paris accord.

“The United States must continue to show leadership on the international stage if we want to have any say in how trillions of dollars in financial investments, policies, and decisions are made that will shape the course of our economy and the world’s ability to fight climate change,” she said in a statement.

During Trump’s first term, pulling the US from the treaty had a limited impact. Though he announced the exit shortly after taking the oath of office in 2017, the decision did not take effect until November 2020 due to complicated United Nations regulations. This time, however, Trump’s withdrawal could take as little as one year as the administration will not be bound by the accord’s initial three-year commitment.

In the weeks before Trump’s inauguration, the outgoing Biden administration formally filed new plans under the Paris agreement for tougher 2035 emissions targets for the US, intended as a “capstone” on his legacy on the climate, which included the landmark clean energy investment in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Under Biden’s new target, the US would have had to cut greenhouse gases by between 61% and 66% by 2035, compared with 2005 levels – a substantial strengthening of current goals that administration officials said would put the US on the path to net zero carbon by 2050.

Though he was mindful that Trump would not adhere to the targets rolled out in December, Biden’s senior adviser, John Podesta, at the time said: “Sub-national leaders across the US can continue to show the world that US climate leadership is determined by so much more than who sits in the Oval Office.”

Climate advocates now hope cities and leaders across the US will continue to push the clean energy transition, with Republican districts benefitting most from the IRA investment, and cleaner energy, particularly solar, being cheaper than dirty energy like coal.

“[R]est assured, our states, cities, businesses, and local institutions stand ready to pick up the baton of US climate leadership and do all they can – despite federal complacency – to continue the shift to a clean energy economy,” said McCarthy, who is now managing co-chair of America Is All In, a coalition of climate-concerned American leaders.

Basav Sen, a director at the left-leaning thinktank Institute for Policy Studies, said that though he believes the Paris agreement is inadequate to limit global warming, Trump exiting it is “reprehensible”.

“He and his administration do not care about cooperative global action to avert climate catastrophe, and want to recklessly expand fossil fuel production,” he said.

The fossil fuel industry donated $75m to Trump’s campaign.

The US’s withdrawal from the climate agreement “undermines the collective fight against climate change at a time when unity and urgency are more critical than ever”, said Harjeet Singh, climate activist and founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. The impact of the decisions will be felt most harshly by developing countries, he said.

“These vulnerable nations and communities, which have contributed the least to global emissions, will bear the brunt of intensifying floods, rising seas, and crippling droughts,” Singh said in a statement.

In November 2025, world leaders will meet in Brazil for a global UN summit, which is likely to be the last chance for the world to forge a global plan to prevent temperatures reaching 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Experts say fossil fuel emissions must be cut quickly and deeply to avoid the worst outcomes including more extreme weather, sea level rise, biodiversity loss, food and water insecurity and worsening health impacts.

Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House climate official who now lectures at American University’s Center for Environmental Policy, speaking at the time of the Biden targets being announced in December last year, said: “Trump is risking the climate stability and safety of the planet as part of a culture war political strategy, heedless of billions who will suffer.”

Trump’s announcement confirming he will quit the Paris agreement comes days after the outbreak of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the latest in a growing series of extreme weather disasters linked to the climate crisis. Experts have described how the fires are linked to unprecedented compounding climate conditions of extreme hurricane winds, drought and relatively high temperatures in January. They have caused at least 27 deaths and as much as $250bn of dollars of damage. Trump used the disaster to spread disinformation and stoke political division.⍐

After Musk-Ambani tussle, India bets satellite spectrum policy can attract many companies

By Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah January 21, 2025 

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - India's decision to allocate satellite spectrum, rather than auction it, will give consumers more choice, the telecoms minister said on Monday, playing down concern by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio that it could lose out to Elon Musk's Starlink. Starlink has long wanted to launch in India and has in recent months clashed with billionaire Ambani's company over how the country should grant spectrum for satellite services.

Reliance had urged an auction but the Indian government sided with Musk who wanted it to be allocated administratively, in line with global trends. Analysts say an auction, requiring much more investment, would likely deter foreign rivals.

Ambani said he wanted a level playing field and has been worried that his telecom company, which spent $19 billion in airwave auctions, now risks losing broadband customers to Starlink and potentially even data and voice clients later as technology advances.

Jyotiraditya Scindia 

"My job as telecoms minister is to make sure that you have as many choices as possible," Jyotiraditya Scindia told Reuters during an interview at his ministry's office in New Delhi.

Asked if there was merit in Reliance's concerns, he said, without naming any company: "Technology is never constant", adding that companies need to keep evolving.

Scindia noted that current satellite technology for communications requires devices to have the sky in their sight, and smartphones cannot use that technology for indoor services that are provided by terrestrial networks.

"The minute you come into this building, you're done," he said.

India is one of the world's biggest telecom markets with 942 million users and stiff competition among Reliance and rivals Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS), opens new tab and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS), opens new tab. Data prices are among the cheapest in the world and internet connectivity has risen rapidly.

Deloitte predicts India’s satellite broadband service market will be worth $1.9 billion by 2030, making it lucrative for players like Starlink, Amazon and Ambani.

Scindia said Starlink and Amazon Kuiper's applications for a licence to launch satellite broadband services in the country were still under review.

VODAFONE IDEA

Musk has a reputation for disrupting markets. In Kenya, he priced Starlink at $10 per month, versus $120 in the United States, prompting a complaint by Kenya's Safaricom (SCOM.NR), opens new tab last year.

A former aviation minister, Scindia is also overseeing many more telecom initiatives for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India's government owns a stake in Vodafone Idea, and the company in November disclosed it still had around $24 billion in dues owed to the government.

Scindia repeatedly declined to answer in the interview if there were any plans for relief on the outstanding dues.

The Indian government is, however, working towards reviving state-run telecom player, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which lost market share amid fierce competition over the years, he said.

BSNL has 99 million users but is being supported with expanded offerings of 4G services.⍐

World Economic Forum 2025 - Oxfam’s new report

Amitabh Behar, Executive Director, Oxfam International, reveals the latest findings of Oxfam’s new report, Takers Not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonial inheritance.

As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals draws closer, the gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us has widened.

Over the past year, total billionaire wealth increased by $2 trillion and 204 new billionaires were created.

I am an optimist. But in these very dark times, optimism feels increasingly fragile. Having spent my entire career working with civil society organizations, activists and campaigners, we have often grappled with a fundamental question: “What is ailing our world?” I am convinced, now more than ever, that the root cause lies in the grotesque inequality of our rigged economic system – a system deliberately designed to enrich a wealthy elite, at the expense of ordinary people.

With the clock ticking on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals to deliver a better, more sustainable future for all, our world remains starkly divided. The gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us has widened into a chasm.

Oxfam’s new report, Takers Not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonial inheritance, published today shows that in 2024, billionaire wealth skyrocketed, increasing three times faster than in 2023. Over the past year, total billionaire wealth increased by $2 trillion and 204 new billionaires were created, on average almost four new billionaires per week.

Unmasking unearned wealth: The true origins of billionaire wealth

The report shatters the illusion that extraordinary wealth is a reward for extraordinary talent, or that huge fortunes are built on hard work – the comfortable belief that we live in a meritocracy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our report sheds light on two major areas of unearned wealth.

The first is the rise of a new oligarchy fuelled by inheritance, cronyism, and monopoly power. We are seeing an accumulation of wealth and power, further entrenching an economic system that works only for a select few. Our analysis shows that 60% of billionaire wealth is either from crony or corrupt sources, monopoly power, or is inherited.

In 2024, for the first time, there were more billionaires minted through inheritance than entrepreneurship. Every billionaire under the age of 30 inherited their wealth. In the next decade, trillions will be handed down to heirs, much of it largely untaxed, creating a new Downton Abbey era for the 21st century. That is not good for our economy, democracy, or for our collective future.

Beyond inheritance, monopoly power and crony connections to governments are crucial in perpetuating inequality. Monopolistic corporations control markets, dictate terms, and set prices with impunity, further enriching their billionaire owners. Cronyism and corruption allow the super-rich to ensure government works for them, and not for ordinary people.

Beyond this problem of unearned wealth, our report delves deeply into a painful history of colonialism, that casts a long shadow that continues to rupture our world. We know that colonialism benefited the rich countries of the Global North, over the Global South. But further to this, colonialism benefited primarily the richest in rich nations. Empire coincided with huge inequality in colonising powers. To use one example, the richest 10% extracted 50% of all income in the UK throughout the height of the British Empire.

Colonialism and slavery imposed severe exploitation, violence, racism, and domination on colonized people. The effects of the slave trade, which was crucial to the building of economies of European colonies, are still felt today. For example, after the abolition of slavery and its independence from France, Haiti was forced to borrow to reimburse slave owners 150 million francs – the equivalent of $21 billion, with 80% of this going to the richest slave owners. This started the cycle of debt and disaster that continues to date.

And for those who believe that colonialism, however terrible, was a historical crime, I would argue that there is so much in our modern world that is colonial. A system that continues to extract wealth and power from ordinary workers in the Global South to rich people in the Global North, a phenomenon we call "billionaire colonialism."

To use just one example, rich nations use their hard currencies and privileged position in the economic system to extract a constant rent from the Global South, who are forced to borrow in foreign currencies at exorbitant rates. Using new research from the World Inequality Lab we demonstrate that $30 million dollars an hour is being paid by the Global South to the richest 1% in the richest countries. Time and again we find that the flow of money, of resources, is from South to North, from the poorest to the richest nations, when the opposite should be the case. For every $1 given in aid by richer nations, $4 are paid back to rich countries in this way. We know that these resources are not flowing to everyone in rich nations equally but are instead overwhelmingly benefiting the already wealthy. Those who are struggling to pay their bills or heat their homes in rich nations are not those who are responsible for this new, modern economic colonialism, they too are the victims.

A call to action: Delivering on a just, sustainable future for all

We need to change course and do so fast. Tackling extreme inequality will require fundamental changes to the way we manage our economies, and we can embrace several approaches to achieve this. It is in all our interests to close the gap – both between the Global North and the Global South –and within countries too. It is the key to a peaceful, progressive and prosperous world, which is something we should all be working towards.

First, all governments must set global and national goals to radically reduce inequality. They must commit to aiming for the total income of the richest 10% to be no more than the total income of the poorest 40%.

Secondly, former colonial powers should acknowledge and formally apologize for the injustices committed under colonialism. Addressing the deep wounds of colonialism is essential for moving forward. Offering reparations to the victims can help ensure restitution, provide satisfaction, compensate for damages, enable rehabilitation, and drive trust building.

Third, governments should work to end outdated systems that create division and are no longer relevant to our current times. This includes working with global institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and the UN to reform their governance models to ensure equitable representation globally and reduce the dominance of interests of the wealthy elites and corporations. We need new systems that promote economic sovereignty for all governments and fair wages and labour practices for all workers. Unequal free trade policies and deals must be repealed. Global tax policy should fall under a new UN Tax Convention and facilitate the payment of higher taxes by the richest people and corporations.

Fourth, Global South governments should form alliances and regional agreements that prioritize equitable, mutually beneficial exchanges and promoting economic independence and reducing reliance on former colonial powers or Global North economies

Finally, all existing colonialism must end, and people in the remaining non-self-governing territories must be supported to realize their right to equal rights and self-determination.

Time is ripe to change the path of history and write a new, more equal story that promises a better world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. This is to the benefit of all of us. Our focus must not waiver as we march towards ensuring all people can live free, equal and with dignity.⍐