France's Marine Le Pen placed under formal investigation

Magistrates in France have placed Marine Le Pen under formal investigation.

This comes after preliminary inquiries into allegations that European Union funding had been misused by the leader of the far-right National Front.

The placement under formal investigation was confirmed by Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut.

He has told reporters he will launch an appeal against the move, describing it as a “violation of the principle of the separation of powers”.

The newly-elected MP was summoned to appear before financial investigators in Paris on Friday afternoon.

Le Pen denies any wrongdoing and laughed off the claims during the recent presidential election campaign.

Read more: France's Marine Le Pen placed under formal investigation | Euronews

Global Warming: New Research Finds Air Pollution is Far Deadlier than Previously Thought: by Dr. Jeff Masters

The U.S. standards for our two deadliest air pollutants--ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM_2.5 )--are not stringent enough to prevent thousands of premature air pollution deaths each year among the elderly, found a study by Harvard University scientists, led by Qian Di, released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was exceptionally vast and lengthy, covering all 61 million Americans on Medicare, age 65 and older, for the thirteen years from 2000 to 2012.

The EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) sets the acceptable annual average concentration of PM_2.5 pollution at 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air. However, the study discovered that PM_2.5 concentrations as low as 5 micrograms per cubic meter caused significantly increased death rates, and found no “safe” level of PM_2.5 below which the risk of death tapered off. In a press release accompanying the paper, the researchers said that if the level of PM_2.5 could be lowered by just 1 microgram per cubic meter nationwide, about 12,000 lives could be saved every year. Similarly, if the level of ozone could be lowered by just 1 part per billion (ppb) nationwide, about 1,900 lives would be saved each year. The current EPA standard for ozone is 70 ppb for an 8-hour average; there is no annual average standard set for ozone, like there is for PM_2.5 , and the researchers said that "our results strengthen the argument for establishing seasonal or annual standards" for ozone.

“This study shows that although we think air quality in the United States is good enough to protect our citizens, in fact we need to lower pollution levels even further,” said Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard and the study’s senior author.

Death certificates never list air pollution as the cause of death. Nevertheless, air pollution is a huge and silent killer: about 3 million premature deaths per year globally are due to outdoor air pollution. Between 91,000 and 100,000 air pollution deaths per year occur in the U.S., according to separate studies done in 2016 by the World Bank and the Health Effects Institute (a U.S. non-profit corporation funded by the EPA and the auto industry.) Even higher U.S. air pollution deaths in excess of 200,000 per year were estimated for 2005 in a 2013 MIT study.

Air pollution deaths are calculated using epidemiological studies, which correlate death rates with air pollution levels. Air pollution has been proven to increase the incidence of death due to stroke, heart attack and lung disease. Since these causes of death are also due to other factors—such as life style and family history—we typically refer to air pollution deaths as premature deaths. A premature air pollution-related death typically occurs about twelve years earlier than it otherwise might have, according to Caiazzo et al., 2013.

Read more: New Research Finds Air Pollution is Far Deadlier than Previously Thought by Dr. Jeff Masters | Category 6 | Weather Underground

Anti-trust laws: EU Fines Google

EU fines Google billions for breaching antitrust rules http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/google-eu-fine-1.4179272 Shared via the CBC News Android App

EU Economy: European markets move higher after Italy bank deal; Nestle up 4.2%

European bourses moved higher on Monday, as banks rallied on the news that Italy had reached a deal to wind up two ailing regional banks.

Read more: European markets move higher after Italy bank deal; Nestle up 4.2%

Britain: Brexit In Reverse? - by George Soros

Economic reality is beginning to catch up with the false hopes of many Britons. One year ago, when a slim majority voted for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, they believed the promises of the popular press, and of the politicians who backed the Leave campaign, that Brexit would not reduce their living standards. Indeed, in the year since, they have managed to maintain those standards by running up household debt.

This worked for a while, because the increase in household consumption stimulated the economy. But the moment of truth for the UK economy is fast approaching. As the latest figures published by the Bank of England show, wage growth in Britain is not keeping up with inflation, so real incomes have begun to fall.

As this trend continues in the coming months, households will soon realize that their living standards are falling, and they will have to adjust their spending habits. To make matters worse, they will also realize that they have become over-indebted and will have to deleverage, thus further reducing the household consumption that has sustained the economy.

Moreover, the BoE has made the same mistake as the average household: it underestimated the impact of inflation and will now be catching up by raising interest rates in a pro-cyclical manner. These higher rates will make household debt even harder to pay off.

The British are fast approaching the tipping point that characterizes all unsustainable economic trends. I refer to such a tipping point as “reflexivity” – when both cause and effect shape each other.

Economic reality is reinforced by political reality. The fact is that Brexit is a lose-lose proposition, harmful both to Britain and the EU. The Brexit referendum cannot be undone, but people can change their minds.

The primary cause of May’s defeat was her fatal misstep in proposing that elderly people pay for a substantial portion of their social care out of their own resources, usually the value of the homes that they have lived in all of their lives. This “dementia tax,” as it became widely known, deeply offended the core constituency, the elderly, of May’s Conservative Party. Many either did not vote, or supported other parties.

By approaching the negotiations that which started on June 19 in a conciliatory spirit, May could reach an understanding with the EU on the agenda and agree to continue as a member of the single market for a period long enough to carry out all the legal work that will be needed. This would be a great relief to the EU, because it would postpone the evil day when Britain’s absence would create an enormous hole in the EU’s budget. That would be a win-win arrangement.

If May embraces such a platform, she could then carry on leading a minority government, because nobody else would want to take her place. Brexit would still take at least five years to complete, during which time new elections would take place. If all went well, the two parties might want to remarry even before they have divorced. 

Read  more: Brexit In Reverse? by George Soros - Project Syndicate

Greece credit rating upgraded at Moody's, outlook revised to stable - Tomi Kilgore

Greece's sovereign bond rating was upgraded one notch to Caa2 from Caa3 at Moody's Investors Service, citing the release of a EUR8.5 billion tranche under the country's adjustment program allowing the repayment of debt, improved fiscal prospects and tentative signs of a stabilizing economy.

The outlook was revised to positive, which implies another upgrade is likely, from stable.

The sovereign bond rating isstill 8 notches below investment grade. The short-term debt rating was
affirmed at not prime.

"Beyond the near-term impact of allowing Greece to repay upcoming maturities, we consider the conclusion of the review to be a positive signal regarding the future path of the program, as it required the Greek government to legislate a number of important
reform measures,"

Moody's said in a research note. "The decision to assign a positive outlook to the Caa2 rating reflects Moody's view that the prospects for a successful conclusion of Greece's third adjustment program have improved, which in turn raises the likelihood of further debt relief."

For additional information go to Market watch

Brexit: EU prepares to move two agencies from London - Laurence Pete

EU leaders have officially launched the competition between member states to decide which will host two London-based EU agencies, responsible for medicines and banking.

The relocation must take place by the Brexit deadline - 30 March 2019
.
Some countries are bidding to host both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Banking Authority (EBA).

It means hundreds of jobs moving from London, along with significant revenue from hotel stays and conferences.

Read more: EU prepares to move two agencies from London - BBC News

USA: There are Trump's claims about jobs. And then there are the numbers - by Chris Isidore

"We've ended the war on clean beautiful coal. And we're putting our miners back to work," he said. "Last week a brand new coal mine just opened in the state of Pennsylvania. First time in decades. Decades. We've reversed it. And 33,000 mining jobs have been added since my inauguration."

"We've ended the war on clean beautiful coal. And we're putting our miners back to work," he said. "Last week a brand new coal mine just opened in the state of Pennsylvania. First time in decades. Decades. We've reversed it. And 33,000 mining jobs have been added since my inauguration."

"We've ended the war on clean beautiful coal. And we're putting our miners back to work," he said. "Last week a brand new coal mine just opened in the state of Pennsylvania. First time in decades. Decades. We've reversed it. And 33,000 mining jobs have been added since my inauguration."

"We've ended the war on clean beautiful coal. And we're putting our miners back to work," he said. "Last week a brand new coal mine just opened in the state of Pennsylvania. First time in decades. Decades. We've reversed it. And 33,000 mining jobs have been added since my inauguration."

Trump has regularly claimed that the United States has added more jobs during his tenure than it actually has.

On June 1 he claimed that there had been "more than 1 million private sector jobs" created since he took office. His chief economic adviser Gary Cohn explained he was using an estimate from payroll service ADP, which said 1.2 million jobs were added from January through May.

But that figure is questionable for a couple of reasons. First, it includes January, when President Obama was in office for most of the month. Without January the number of jobs added slips to under 1 million.

Read more: There are Trump's claims about jobs. And then there are the numbers - Jun. 22, 2017

Structure of EU Debt shows debt mainly held by non - residents in half of the EU Member States

In order to analyze the debt structure in European countries, Eurostat collects additionally results from an annual survey containing Member States' information on government gross debt by sector of debt holder, by instrument, by initial and remaining maturity and by currency of issuance.

The survey also contains information on (one-off) guarantees granted by the general government to non-government units as well as the market value of the Maastricht debt instruments and the apparent cost of government debt. One-off guarantees are contingent liabilities which are not included in general government gross debt.

For the complete report on the EU debt structure click here

US Economy: US current account deficit expands to $116.8 billion

The U.S. deficit in the broadest measure of trade rose to the highest level in a year during the first quarter.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday the deficit in the U.S. current account rose to $116.8 billion in the January-March period, up 2.4 percent from $114 billion in the last three months of 2016. The deficit was the largest since a $119.2 billion gap a year earlier.

The deficit in goods rose to $200.3 billion from $195.1 billion in October-December 2016 as imports grew faster than exports in the first quarter. Leading the increase in imports were industrial supplies, mostly crude oil. The goods gap was partly offset by a slightly higher surplus in trade in services.

The current account is the most complete measure of trade because it includes investment flows in addition to trade in merchandise and service. A deficit means the U.S. is consuming more from overseas than it is selling abroad.

President Donald Trump has pledged to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, contending that it costs U.S. factory jobs and reflects unfair practices by America's trading partners. He has promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada to get a better deal for American manufacturers and workers.

Global Warming: A third of the world now faces deadly heatwaves as result of climate change - by Oliver Milman

Nearly a third of the world’s population is now exposed to climatic conditions that produce deadly heatwaves, as the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere makes it “almost inevitable” that vast areas of the planet will face rising fatalities from high temperatures, new research has found.

Climate change has escalated the heatwave risk across the globe, the study states, with nearly half of the world’s population set to suffer periods of deadly heat by the end of the century even if greenhouse gases are radically cut.

“For heatwaves, our options are now between bad or terrible,” said Camilo Mora, an academic at the University of Hawaii and lead author of the study.

The proportion of people at risk worldwide will grow to 48% by 2100 even if emissions are drastically reduced, while around three-quarters of the global population will be under threat by then if greenhouse gases are not curbed at all.

“Finding so many cases of heat-related deaths was mind blowing, especially as they often don’t get much attention because they last for just a few days and then people moved on,” Mora said.

High temperatures are currently baking large swaths of the south-western US, with the National Weather Service (NWS) issuing an excessive heat warning for Phoenix, Arizona, which is set to reach 119F (48.3C) on Monday.

The heat warning extends across much of Arizona and up through the heart of California, with Palm Springs forecast a toasty 116F (46.6C) on Monday and Sacramento set to reach 107F (41.6C).

“Dying in a heatwave is like being slowly cooked, it’s pure torture. The young and elderly are at particular risk, but we found that this heat can kill soldiers, athletes, everyone.”

The study, published in Nature Climate Change, analyzed more than 1,900 cases of fatalities associated with heatwaves in 36 countries over the past four decades. By looking at heat and humidity during such lethal episodes, researchers worked out a threshold beyond which conditions become deadly.

This time period includes the European heatwave of 2003, which fueled forest fires in several countries and caused the River Danube in Serbia to plummet so far that submerged second world war tanks and bombs were revealed. An estimated 20,000 people died; a subsequent study suggested the number was as high as 70,000.

A further 10,000 died in Moscow due to scorching weather in 2010. In 1995, Chicago suffered a five-day burst of heat that resulted in more than 700 deaths.

Read more: A third of the world now faces deadly heatwaves as result of climate change | Environment | The Guardian

Germany: Aldi fires $3.4 billion shot in U.S. supermarket wars

One of the several Aldi's in Fort Lauderdale

German grocery chain Aldi Inc said on Sunday it would invest $3.4 billion to expand its U.S. store base to 2,500 by 2022, raising the stakes for rivals caught in a price war.

Aldi operates 1,600 U.S. stores and earlier this year said it would add another 400 by the end of 2018 and spend $1.6 billion to remodel 1,300 of them.

The investment, which raises Aldi's capital expenditure to at least $5 billion so far this year, comes at a time of intense competition and disruption in the industry.

German rival Lidl will open the first of its 100 U.S. stores on June 15. In May, Lidl said it would price products up to 50 percent lower than rivals.

The furious pace of expansion by Aldi and Lidl is likely to further disrupt the U.S. grocery market, which has seen 18 bankruptcies since 2014. The two chains are also upending established UK grocers like Tesco Plc (TSCO.L) and Wal-Mart's UK arm, ASDA.

In May, Aldi Chief Executive Jason Hart told Reuters the chain intended to have prices at least 21 percent lower than rivals and would focus on adding in-house brands to win over price-sensitive customers.

"We're growing at a time when other retailers are struggling," Hart said in a statement. Hart added that Aldi's prices were also up to 50 percent lower than traditional grocery chains, a move that appeared to follow rival Lidl's announcement on prices

Read more: Aldi fires $3.4 billion shot in U.S. supermarket wars | Reuters

European Aircraft Industry: Airbus A380 upgrade waits in the wings at Paris Airshow

The Airbus A-380

Airbus is preparing to roll out a novel A380 wingtip design to rally support for the world's largest passenger jet by improving its fuel efficiency, according to a prototype seen on Saturday.

A Reuters photographer got up close to the roughly three-meter-high split wingtip which has been installed on an A380 belonging to the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget airport, where the Paris Airshow opens on Monday.

It confirms an upgrade reported by Reuters and Usine Nouvelle on Friday. Airbus declined comment.

Drag-reducing 'scimitar' split wingtips have been used on Boeing's medium-haul Boeing 737 MAX, but never on a jetliner the size of the A380, which has a 79.9-metre (262-foot) wingspan.

The aircraft sporting the prototype 'winglet' will be towed out to join others on display at the June 19-25 air show, giving airlines a glimpse of an improvement that Airbus hopes will turn around the present weak sales of its flagship double-decker

Read more: Airbus A380 upgrade waits in the wings at Paris Airshow

Greece Economy: A positive agreement for Greece

On 15 June, Greece’s creditors, Eurogroup, acknowledged the achievements of the Greek government on the implementation and outcome of fiscal policy measures.

The release of the next bailout tranche was agreed; more clarity was provided on the debt relief roadmap as well as next steps towards boosting growth.

These developments have delivered a positive signal to the markets and the Greek people, indicating that the Greek economy is steadily exiting the final stages of a longstanding and harrowing financial crisis.

For the first time since 2010, Greece’s creditors have pledged to prioritize a growth-oriented model that entails the participation of the European Investment Bank in medium- and large-scale investment projects, as well as the creation of a Greek Development Bank – a proposal that the Greek government has made since 2015.

The reluctance of the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, to accelerate the conclusion of the bailout review was significantly addressed after the Greek government, the European Commission, the French government and the progressive forces in the European institutions pressured the Eurogroup to agree to Greece’s bailout review.

The French played a mediating role for the need to develop growth policies, so that the Greek economy can start warming its engines.

Read more: A positive agreement for Greece

EU: Migrants lift millions out of poverty, new report shows

More than 200 million migrant workers are now supporting an estimated 800 million family members globally, as migrants send home 51 per cent more money than a decade ago, according to a report by the UN's Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "The small amounts ... that each migrant sends home ... makes an enormous difference,” said IFAD president Gilbert F. Houngbo.

Read more: Migrants lift millions out of poverty, new report shows

Brexit: "the prodigal son" - EU tells UK its door still 'open'

France and Germany have said the UK could still stay in the EU, as Britain confirmed that Brexit talks would start on Monday (19 June).

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, made the comment after meeting British prime minister Theresa May in Paris on Tuesday.

Of course, the [EU] door remains open, always open, until the Brexit negotiations come to an end”, he said.

The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, told the Bloomberg news agency in Berlin the same day that “if they [the British government] wanted to change their decision, of course, they would find open doors”.

Macron and Schaeuble said they “respect” Britain’s decision to leave.

The French leader said: “I would like the negotiation and then the discussions on the future relationship with the United Kingdom to be launched as soon as possible.”

But he added: “Let us be clear … once negotiations have started we should be well aware that it will be more and more difficult to move backwards.”

Schaeuble added that Germany did not want to punish the UK for leaving. “We will minimise the potential damage and maximise the mutual benefit [of Brexit]”, he said.

May’s Brexit manifesto said Britain would quit the single market and impose curbs on EU freedom of movement.

But she said on Tuesday June 13 “we want to maintain a close relationship and a close partnership with the EU and individual member states into the future”.

Read more: EU tells UK its door still 'open'

France election: Macron party set for big parliamentary win

The centrist party of French President Emmanuel Macron looks on course to win a landslide victory following the first round of parliamentary elections.

 

Projections show La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) and its MoDem ally set to win up to 445 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.

The final outcome will be decided at a run-off next Sunday.

Mr Macron's party was established just over a year ago and many candidates have little or no political experience.

Read more: France election: Macron party set for big parliamentary win - BBC News

British Elections: EU chuckles at May’s misfortune, braces for trouble – by David M. Herszenhorn

There was Schadenfreude, for sure, but no trash talk — not yet.

As the world digested the news that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May had lost her majority in a snap election she called hoping to strengthen her hand in the upcoming Brexit negotiations, the EU could hardly resist a chuckle.

But now, facing deep uncertainty over what the inconclusive result means for the Brexit negotiations — Will there be a long delay? Will the U.K. take a new, hard line? Or interpret the result as backing for a soft Brexit? — there was little cause to celebrate for senior EU officials.

Instead, in public at least they took the high road, expressing hope that the U.K. would be able to get its act together and come to the negotiation table as soon as possible. Privately, EU officials reacted with consternation that an already tough

Read more:EU chuckles at May’s misfortune, braces for trouble – POLITICO

German-Mexican Relations: Leaders of Mexico and Germany to meet in 'solidarity' against Trump - by Kate Linthicum

In what her government has called “a sign of solidarity,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Friday.High on the agenda during her two-day state visit to Mexico will be their mutual political dilemma: President Trump.

From the launch of his presidential campaign two years ago through his early days in the White House, Trump made Mexico his punching bag. He called Mexican immigrants criminals, pledged to tax imports from Mexico and insisted that Mexico would pay for construction of a border wall.

But in recent months, he has extended his ire to a much wider circle of nations, many of which, like Mexico, are longtime U.S. allies.

Read more: Leaders of Mexico and Germany to meet in 'solidarity' against Trump - LA Times

The British Election: Tales of the unexpected -by Rodney Barker

In Britain the Conservatives have recognised this more consistently than have their opponents, though the left in the Twentieth Century had a readily demonisable, and readily demonised, target in Margaret Thatcher. In campaigning attacks the Conservatives have gone for the player, not the ball, and still have as well a residue of ruling class disdain for anyone who lies outside either their own charmed circle or beyond the frontiers of currently dominant narratives and ideology. Even to wear the ‘wrong’ clothes can provoke a sneer. They have concentrated on personal attacks on potential rivals, and on presenting a narrative of their opponents as marginal, untypical, out of touch with the mass of voters. This story, like the story about markets, liberal economics, and austerity, has been sustained by the power of ideological carpet bombing, and the marginalisation of alternatives in the tyranny of received opinion.

This goes a long way to explaining one of the many curious features of the 2017 General Election. When the decision to go to the country was made, the predominant media narrative was of a Labour Party doomed to virtual extinction, massively behind in the polls, likely to virtually disappear from parliamentary politics. And if nothing changed, and the current narrative were both correct and unchallenged, that would be true. But things do change, choices are made, and the impossible becomes possible by someone choosing ‘unrealistic’ policies and making ‘unrealistic’ claims and giving ‘out of date’ or (and that’s the alternative) ‘fantastic’ narratives.

But once campaigning began, something happened which took this dominant and pervasive account by surprise. Up until then, the prevailing account of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had been of an unrealistic, extremist, out of touch and old-fashioned.

Once the campaign began, and some account had to be given of the Labour manifesto, and some reporting on the Labour leader’s speeches, it was difficult for a predominantly right wing media entirely to ignore Corbyn, whose values and aims – a simple rejection of austerity on both moral and economic grounds, a belief in the central importance of properly funded public services from health to railways, a rejection of a taxation system which let large corporations off lightly and prioritized making thing better for the wealthy – suddenly seemed sensible and modest not just to actual and potential Labour voters, but to ordinary citizens beyond the left. Corbyn slowly but transformingly was presented and could be seen as someone who, at last, attacked an entire system of privilege and inequality and extreme economic ideologies. He was no longer the impractical leader of an out of date party, but a champion of public services in health, education, and transport, services which were valued by ordinary voters, the many not the few, and a fundamental context for their wellbeing. A manifesto which had been anticipated as a recipe for disaster became the prospectus of a party which seemed every day to narrow the gap.

Read more: mThe UK General Election: Tales of the unexpected | Euronews

EU-US Relations: Donald Trump is wrecking America's 70-year alliance with Europe

The 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan this week should be a celebration of the trans-Atlantic alliance — the most powerful and successful in modern history. Secretary of State George Marshall’s speech at the Harvard commencement on June 5, 1947, set in motion the historic U.S. aid program to revive Europe’s shattered economies. It also set the stage for the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Common Market and eventually the European Union.

Instead of celebrating, however, America and Europe are experiencing their most significant crisis in decades. President Trump’s recent visit to NATO and the EU was the least successful of any U.S. president in seven decades, exposing deep ideological divisions and a widening gulf of trust across the Atlantic.

Last weekend’s terrorist attacks in London had the same effect. Trump repeatedly criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan for telling citizens not to be alarmed by the attacks, when Khan actually said they should not be alarmed by a heavy police presence. Trump’s tweets did not go down well in stoic Britain, where the World War II maxim, “keep calm and carry on,” still holds.

Read more: Donald Trump is wrecking America's 70-year alliance with Europe

Paris climate agreement: : Climate deal will not be renegotiated, EU tells Trump - by Peter Teffer

Founding EU members Germany, France, and Italy have told US president Donald Trump that the Paris climate treaty “cannot be renegotiated”, after Trump announced the US would pull out.

Trump said on Thursday (1 June) that the US is “getting out” of the Paris deal, which he called “unfair” to the country.

“But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great. And if we can’t, that’s fine,” he said.

In their first reactions, European leaders said that renegotiation of the UN treaty is not an option.

Read more:: Climate deal will not be renegotiated, EU tells Trump

Paris Accord: Fact-checking Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement

 President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris accord on climate change. All but two countries signed the agreement. But Trump said the deal puts the United States at a disadvantage.

We reviewed a number of claims Trump made during his White House speech.

Trump: The Paris Agreement would result in "lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production."

Trump cited a number of negative statistics about the predicted economic impact from the climate deal, including a $3 trillion drop in gross domestic product, 6.5 million industrial sector jobs lost and 86 percent reduction in coal production, all by 2040.

Take Trumps statistics with a grain of salt.

Read more: Fact-checking Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement | PolitiFact

Paris Agreement: Leaving Could Hurt American Businesses-by Jeff McDermott

Adopted in 2015, the historic Paris Agreement brought together 195 nations to ambitiously address the impacts and causes of climate change. Donald Trump is now considering withdrawing from it, which would not only have ramifications on new energy technology efforts, but on American economic progress.

Pulling out of the Paris Agreement means the country won’t have to reduce its carbon emissions, which means it won’t have to invest in new wind, solar, or energy-efficiency technologies. But those technologies are where the job growth is. Solar jobs—which require lots of people to put panels on roofs—grew 25% last year, while wind jobs grew 32%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report. Those two industries now employ nearly a half million Americans. Coal mining is mostly done by machine, and now employs just 74,000 people, a decline of 39% from 2009. Because coal mining is largely mechanized, those jobs are not coming back even if we burn more coal. Wind and solar are where the jobs are, and if we don’t have to reduce emissions, they won’t grow as fast.

In communications, defense, and other industries, America has created jobs and enormous wealth by leading in technology advancement. It makes no sense for the Trump administration to throttle new energy technology—wind and solar, batteries for electricity storage, smart grids, and electric vehicles, among others.

Note EU-Digest: President Trumps arguments for pulling out of the Paris Agreement were a number of nebulous financial fake figures that he pulled out of his hat. They made no sense at all and already some of the major signatory members of the Paris Agreement have decided to continue with the agreement.

Read more: The Paris Agreement: Leaving Could Hurt American Businesses | Fortune.com

Paris Agreement on Global Warming: Donald Trump Dumps agreement as US Conservatives and Evangelicals applaud move

Noah Could Be Back In Business

Donald Trump has announced the withdrawal of the US from the global Paris agreement on climate change - in a huge blow to efforts to curb the effects of global warming. The president said he wants to "renegotiate" a "more fair" deal for the US with Democrats and other countries.

He added: "if we can get a deal, that's great. If not, that's fine."

Mr Trump, who had made pulling out of the pact - which has been signed by almost 200 nations - a central plank of his run for the presidency, said that in withdrawing he was "keeping his campaign promise to put American workers first".

He said he wants to talk to citizens of "Pittsburgh, not Paris" to cheers in the crowd of the Rose Garden at the White House.

The President had been put under extreme pressure by allies around the world to stay in the agreement, and though administration said his views on the subject were "evolving" - having previously claimed climate change was a "hoax" - Mr Trump refused to be backed into a corner.

He has said that the deal would hit the US coal industry hard and that it would prove "too costly" for US to stick to the Paris accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But Mr Trump ignores the fact that new money in renewable energy outpaced new investments in fossil fuels for the first time in 2015 to the tune of $350bn.

Pulling out of the agreement outright would take four years under the standard cooling-off period for new international treaties - the route Mr Trump is likely to take, but he said that the US is out "as of today."

Note EU-Digest: Of the world's countries, the climate change denial industry is most powerful in the United States. 

The Koch brothers, industry advocates and libertarian think tanks, often in the United States. More than 90% of papers sceptical on climate change originate from right-wing think tanks.The total annual income of these climate change counter-movement-organizations is roughly $900 million.

Between 2002 and 2010, nearly $120 million (euro 136 million) was anonymously donated via the Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund to more than 100 organizations seeking to undermine the public perception of the science on climate change.. In 2013 the Center for Media and Democracy reported that the State Policy Network (SPN), an umbrella group of 64 U.S. think tanks, had been lobbying on behalf of major corporations and conservative donors to oppose climate change regulation.

Since the late 1970s, oil companies have published research broadly in line with the standard views on global warming. Despite this, oil companies organized a climate change denial campaign to disseminate public disinformation for several decades, a strategy that has been compared to the organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking by tobacco companies.

Also for millions of Americans evangelical Christians belief in the science of global warming is well below the national average.

Recent data from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication suggests that while 64 percent of Americans think global warming is real and caused by human beings, only 44 percent of evangelicals do. 

Evangelicals in general, tend to be more politically conservative, and can be quite distrusting of scientists (believing, incorrectly, that they’re all a bunch of atheists). Plus, since some evangelicals really do go in for that whole “the world is ending” thing—not an outlook likely to inspire much care for the environment. 

EU-Digest 

The Global Order Shuffling The Cards: China and Europe are moving forward without Trump

The EU looks ahead at the future without TRUMPLAND

Beijing is in prime position to capitalize on major policy fissures that have emerged between Europe and the Trump administration on climate, trade and defense.

The new dynamic will be on full display on Thursday (June 1)  in Brussels, when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with EU
counterparts at the annual EU-China Summit.

Hours later, President Trump is expected to announce the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

"If peace and prosperity are the object of the global economic order, the Trump administration offers neither to Europeans," wrote analysts at High Frequency Economics, a research firm. "A new axis of power, based on economic power, will form between Europe and China if the U.S. continues to shirk its role as global leader."
 

Beijing appears to be chomping at the bit, having asked for the summit to be moved forward to June.

A closer relationship between the two giant economies is easier said than done, however. There are major questions over the compatibility of the economic systems promoted by Europe and China, as well as differences over flashpoint issues including human rights.

"If peace and prosperity are the object of the global economic order, the Trump administration offers neither to Europeans," wrote analysts at High Frequency Economics, a research firm. "A new axis of power, based on economic power, will form between Europe and China if the U.S. continues to shirk its role as global leader."

Note EU=Digest: "The United States and Europe appear to be hurtling toward a messy breakup. China, meanwhile, is ready to pounce. The EU, however, better not jump in bed with China immediately, before making certain all bases are covered", said an EU Commissioner.

EU-Digest