International Herald Tribune
China's ambassador to the US chides America for its protectionist trade sentiments
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=10322428
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 23, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS: China's ambassador to the United States chided America for its protectionist trade sentiment while touting China's contributions throughout the world.
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, speaking Friday before about 200 people at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, also reiterated his country's hardline stance against Taiwan, saying its independence is out of the question.
"The 1.3 billion people on the mainland and the 23 million people in Taiwan are of the same blood and share a common destiny," he said. "We are willing to make every effort with the utmost sincerity to achieve peaceful reunification of the two sides ... but we will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any name or by any means."
China claims Taiwan as its own and resists anything that appears to give the self-governing, democratic island the trappings of sovereignty. Officials in Beijing vow to attack at any declaration of Taiwanese independence and have stationed hundreds of missiles opposite Taiwan.
Zhou also noted that many "China-related" trade protection bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress.
Americans are worried by claims that Beijing's low valuation of the yuan, its currency, makes Chinese goods cheaper in the United States and American products more expensive in China. U.S. lawmakers are considering bills that would punish China for what they contend are predatory trade practices blamed for contributing to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs.
"The growing protectionist sentiments and the tendency to politicize economic and trade issues are especially worrisome," Zhou said.
Most of Zhou's roughly 40-minute talk focused on China's contributions to a number of world affairs, including negotiations between the two Koreas and improved relationships with Japan, India and Russia.
"We are ready to join hands with people across the world to promote the building of a harmonious world of enduring peace and a common prosperity," he said. "This is China's policy and long-term strategy."
He also noted that China has contributed more than 9,000 peacekeepers to United Nations operations around the globe.
"Working together, China and the United States effectively safeguard and enhance the peace, stability and the prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world," he said.
Two protesters were quickly escorted out of the auditorium when they stood up while Zhou answered an audience question about human rights abuses in China.
Showing posts with label economic reality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic reality. Show all posts
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sudden EU Commission Change of Heart on CO2 Rules Against Industry???? It's the Economy Stupid!!
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/46516/story.htm
EU to Set Easier CO2 Regime for Heavy Industries
Paul Taylor
Planet Ark
January 21, 2008
BRUSSELS - Europe's steel, aluminium and cement industries will have a special, less strict regime for greenhouse gas emissions under European Commission proposals to fight climate change to be announced this week.
After weeks of intense lobbying by business and governments, EU sources said on Sunday those three energy-intensive industries would be introduced more slowly into a new system for auctioning permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) from 2013.
The sources insisted on anonymity because wrangling is continuing in the Commission on final details of the proposals on CO2 emissions, renewable energy sources, biofuels and carbon sequestration to be unveiled on Wednesday.
A key flaw of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme -- the main instrument for curbing pollution blamed for global warming -- has been that governments issued emission permits for free, handing industry windfall profits.
Under a planned reform, the sources said most sectors covered by the ETS will have to buy about one-fifth of emission permits from 2013 -- fewer than in early drafts of the proposal -- rising annually to reach 100 percent in 2020.
Those sectors include energy and power generation, including refineries, despite fierce lobbying by European oil majors BP and Shell to go easy on refineries.
The overall aim is to reduce European emissions of CO2 by at least 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
[MY, MY: HOW EU ASPIRATIONS FOR ENLIGHTENED ENVIRONMENTALISM HAVE FALLEN!!]
However, the sources said the EU executive was sensitive to concerns that the three big energy-intensive industries could be driven out of Europe if subjected to the same regime.
[EU COMMISSION SMELLS THE COFFEE!!]
"Those concerns are being sufficiently taken into account through the benchmarking regime and a different allocation regime," one official said.
WHITTLED DOWN
He declined to give figures but said energy-intensive industries would have a bigger initial allocation than originally planned, a lower starting point for the percentage of emissions permits to be auctioned and a slower phase-in.
The Carbon Trust, a British government-funded body charged with helping companies cut emissions, warned earlier this month that cement, steel, aluminium, chemicals, fertiliser and pulp and paper businesses might be hurt by the stricter EU regime.
But the sources said officials had whittled down the number of energy-intensive sectors likely to enjoy special treatment to just the three.
Europe's top business lobby last week attacked Commission plans to implement the deep emissions cuts agreed by EU leaders last year, saying that auctioning pollution permits could hurt industry in global competition.
"In the absence of a comprehensive international agreement, auctioning of allowances will harm the competitiveness of European companies, especially in energy-intensive industries," BusinessEurope Secretary-General Philippe de Buck wrote in a letter to Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The draft proposal provides for a review in 2011 of the impact on energy-intensive industries, depending on whether there has been an international pact on curbing emissions by then.
The EU package will also propose mandatory national targets for cutting CO2 emissions from buildings, heating and cooling and transport, as well as binding national targets for using renewable energy sources in power generation. (Editing by Caroline Drees)
EU to Set Easier CO2 Regime for Heavy Industries
Paul Taylor
Planet Ark
January 21, 2008
BRUSSELS - Europe's steel, aluminium and cement industries will have a special, less strict regime for greenhouse gas emissions under European Commission proposals to fight climate change to be announced this week.
After weeks of intense lobbying by business and governments, EU sources said on Sunday those three energy-intensive industries would be introduced more slowly into a new system for auctioning permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) from 2013.
The sources insisted on anonymity because wrangling is continuing in the Commission on final details of the proposals on CO2 emissions, renewable energy sources, biofuels and carbon sequestration to be unveiled on Wednesday.
A key flaw of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme -- the main instrument for curbing pollution blamed for global warming -- has been that governments issued emission permits for free, handing industry windfall profits.
Under a planned reform, the sources said most sectors covered by the ETS will have to buy about one-fifth of emission permits from 2013 -- fewer than in early drafts of the proposal -- rising annually to reach 100 percent in 2020.
Those sectors include energy and power generation, including refineries, despite fierce lobbying by European oil majors BP and Shell to go easy on refineries.
The overall aim is to reduce European emissions of CO2 by at least 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
[MY, MY: HOW EU ASPIRATIONS FOR ENLIGHTENED ENVIRONMENTALISM HAVE FALLEN!!]
However, the sources said the EU executive was sensitive to concerns that the three big energy-intensive industries could be driven out of Europe if subjected to the same regime.
[EU COMMISSION SMELLS THE COFFEE!!]
"Those concerns are being sufficiently taken into account through the benchmarking regime and a different allocation regime," one official said.
WHITTLED DOWN
He declined to give figures but said energy-intensive industries would have a bigger initial allocation than originally planned, a lower starting point for the percentage of emissions permits to be auctioned and a slower phase-in.
The Carbon Trust, a British government-funded body charged with helping companies cut emissions, warned earlier this month that cement, steel, aluminium, chemicals, fertiliser and pulp and paper businesses might be hurt by the stricter EU regime.
But the sources said officials had whittled down the number of energy-intensive sectors likely to enjoy special treatment to just the three.
Europe's top business lobby last week attacked Commission plans to implement the deep emissions cuts agreed by EU leaders last year, saying that auctioning pollution permits could hurt industry in global competition.
"In the absence of a comprehensive international agreement, auctioning of allowances will harm the competitiveness of European companies, especially in energy-intensive industries," BusinessEurope Secretary-General Philippe de Buck wrote in a letter to Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The draft proposal provides for a review in 2011 of the impact on energy-intensive industries, depending on whether there has been an international pact on curbing emissions by then.
The EU package will also propose mandatory national targets for cutting CO2 emissions from buildings, heating and cooling and transport, as well as binding national targets for using renewable energy sources in power generation. (Editing by Caroline Drees)
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