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☆ Leaders meet at Commonwealth summit with slavery reparations on agenda
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

APIA, Samoa — The leaders of the Commonwealth grouping of nations met on Thursday ahead of a summit in the South Pacific nation of Samoa that will feature talks on climate change and the question of reparations for Britain’s role in transatlantic slavery. More than half of the Commonwealth’s members are small nations, many of them low-lying islands at risk from rising sea levels caused by climate change. Among them is Tuvalu, whose climate change minister, Maina Vakafua Talia, urged the grouping to strive for the Paris Accord’s warming goal of 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), calling new fossil fuel projects a “death sentence” for his country. Island leaders are expected to issue a declaration on ocean protection at the summit, with climate change being a central topic of discussion. “Climate change is an existential threat,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a press conference after a meeting with counterparts.

Persons: Samoa —, King Charles, Maina Vakafua Talia, ”, Penny Wong, ” King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Chris Jackson, Charles, Antonio Guterres, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Anthony Albanese, Keir Starmer, Starmer, Eric Phillips, Kingsley Abbott, Frederick Mitchell, ” Abbott Organizations: Commonwealth, Government, Getty, United Nations, Australian, Caribbean Community, African Union, London University’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies, BBC, CARICOM Locations: APIA, Samoa, Commonwealth, South Pacific, Tuvalu, Paris, Apia, Zambia, Britain, France, Portugal, Bahamas, Americas, Brazil, Caribbean

☆ Why $3 billion Crestline Summit believes it's different from the 'indentured servitude model' of its multimanager rivals
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For others, such as the $3 billion hedge-fund platform Crestline Summit, it is a part of their expansion plans. One such manager is former Citadel PM Josh White, who started trading at his London-based Regents Gate earlier this year with capital from Crestline. Advertisement"Some of our competitors are kind of an indentured servitude model," said Scott Nelson, who runs the client partnership group. The brand the firm is trying to push externally is that they are "capital partners, not capital providers," Nelson said. AdvertisementA person familiar with the manager's flagship strategy said Crestline was up nearly 12% in 2023, besting funds such as Point72 and Millennium.

Persons: —, Caroline Cooley, Crestline, we're, ExodusPoint, Michael Gelband, Neilson Arbour, multimanagers, Arbour, Cooley, Josh White, Scott Nelson, Nelson Organizations: Service, of, Crestline Summit, Texas, Citadel Locations: Texas, The Texas, of Texas, New York, London, Crestline

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Rivian, Abercrombie & Fitch, CVS, Spirit Airlines and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Pia Singh | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Abercrombie & Fitch - Shares of the teen apparel retailer jumped nearly 8% after JPMorgan added it to its positive catalyst watch list. JetBlue shares jumped more than 15% on the news. Summit Therapeutics – The biopharmaceutical company added 2%. Other international shipping stocks saw losses as well, including Danish shipping giant Maersk at 5% . CVS Health — The company's shares added 3.3%.

Persons: Abercrombie &, Matthew Boss, Hollister, Tencent, — CNBC's Sean Conlon, Hakyung Kim, Christina Cheddar, Berk, Lisa Kailai Han Organizations: Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch, JPMorgan, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways —, Wall Street, JetBlue, Vistra, Nvidia, Therapeutics, Drug Administration, Ubisoft Entertainment, Bloomberg News, Ubisoft, SilverCrest Metals, Mining, Zim Integrated Shipping Services —, U.S, dockworkers, United States Maritime Alliance, Maersk, CVS Health, CNBC, CVS

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Spirit Airlines, Summit Therapeutics, Rivian and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spirit Airlines , JetBlue – Spirit plunged more than 38% following a report from The Wall Street Journal that the discount airliner is considering filing for bankruptcy. Shares of peer airline firm JetBlue, which was previously in talks to merge with Spirit, advanced nearly 6%. Zim Integrated Shipping Services – The international shipping company's stock fell more than 9% after U.S. dockworkers and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed to a tentative deal to end the strike on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. CVS Health – The company's shares added 1.5% as it is considering breaking itself up and undergoing a strategic review of its business. Chubb – The insurance company slipped more than 1% after Bank of America downgraded shares to underperform from neutral.

Persons: Hapag, Lloyd, Rivian, Chubb, SilverCrest, —, Jesse Pound, Brian Evans, Hakyung Kim, Pia Singh, Michelle Fox Theobald Organizations: Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, Wall Street Journal, Food and Drug Administration, Zim Integrated Shipping Services, U.S, dockworkers, United States Maritime Alliance, CVS Health, CVS, Bank of America, SilverCrest Metals, Coeur Locations: East Coast, Gulf Coast

☆ I attended Bryan Johnson's Don't Die Summit in Singapore. It started with a rave.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Bryan Johnson brought his "Don't Die" summit to Singapore in mid-September. This year, Bryan Johnson, the millionaire entrepreneur obsessed with reversing his biological age, brought his "Don't Die" summit to Singapore, less than two weeks after a similar event in San Francisco. The "Don't Die" summit organizers provided Business Insider with access to attend the event. Coinbase's former chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan even talked about how he planned to "build an actual 'Don't Die' community" at his three-month crypto-focused "school" for adults in nearby Malaysia. As he invited several audience members onstage for a discussion about his "Don't Die" philosophy, I surveyed the room.

Persons: Bryan Johnson, Johnson, —, Taki Taki, blared, Amanda Goh, Coinbase's, Balaji Srinivasan, Horacio Villalobos, Dustin Giallanza, Andrea Maier, hasn't, Chrystal Fong, Dr, Fong, Marion Neubronner, Jacky Wang, Wang, Dan Buettner Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, National University of Singapore, FDA, AsiaHealth Partners Locations: Singapore, San Francisco, Miami , New York, Los Angeles, Valley, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Taiwan

☆ A surfer without a degree is worth $16 billion after his biotech company's stock soared 1,100% in a year
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company's stock price has surged by over 1,100% in the past 12 months, lifting its market value to over $16 billion. Summit stock jumped from about $12 on September 6 to a record high of $32 on September 13, but has retreated to around $23 since then. Spurred on by his son's death from brain cancer, Duggan started building a stake in Pharmacyclics, a maker of cancer drugs, in 2004. Pharmaceutical titan AbbVie bought the business for $21 billion in cash and stock in 2015, netting Duggan more than $3 billion, per Bloomberg. He joined Summit's board in 2019 and became CEO and chairman in 2020, making cancer drugs his principal focus.

Persons: —, Bob Duggan, Duggan, AbbVie Organizations: Service, Summit Therapeutics, Bloomberg, Business, Summit, UC Santa Barbara, Wall Street Journal, Computer, of Scientology, Duggan Investments Locations: Pharmacyclics

☆ Quad group expands maritime security cooperation at Biden's farewell summit
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) prepares to pose for a group photo with Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong (2nd R), Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (2nd L) and India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) at the start of their Quad Ministerial Meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 29, 2024. The leaders announced joint coast guard operations next year that will include Australian, Japanese and Indian personnel spending time on a U.S. coast guard vessel. The leaders' joint statement included sharp language about North Korea, condemning its ballistic missile launches and "malicious cyber activity." "But I think China's recent maritime aggression could be changing the equation for India and could be prompting India to become a bit more open to the idea of Quad security cooperation," she said. Before the summit, Albanese met with Biden at his home and discussed bilateral cooperation between the two close allies across defense and security, including in the Indo-Pacific.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Penny Wong, Yoko Kamikawa, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Joe Biden, Biden, Fumio Kishida, Narendra Modi, Anthony Albanese, Xi Jinping, he's, Lisa Curtis, Kishida, Modi, Albanese, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris Organizations: Australia's Foreign, Japan's, India's, of, Indian, Australian, Pacific Partnership, Maritime Domain, House, Analysts, East China Seas, East China, U.S, China, Center, New, New American Security, congressional Locations: Tokyo, of Australia, India, Japan, United States, China, Delaware, U.S, Beijing, South China, South, East, Taiwan, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, North Korea, Islands, Southeast Asia, Asia, New American, Australia, Philadelphia

☆ Ukraine's peace summit lacks clout as Russia, China and others stay away
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a military honour ceremony on June 7, 2024 in Paris, France. Marc Piasecki | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesUkraine's leadership has been talking about this weekend's peace summit in Switzerland for months, desperately trying to drum up international enthusiasm for — and investment in — Kyiv's peace plan. watch nowRussia has repeatedly slammed the gathering, saying a peace summit without its participation is meaningless. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia and China of working together to sabotage the summit and pressurizing other countries not to attend. Dubovyk dismissed the absence of countries like China and Saudi Arabia, saying their presence at previous, similar meetings had not helped to bring peace closer.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Marc Piasecki, wasn't, Russia —, What's, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Zelenskyy, Putin, Shelby Magid, Viola Amherd, Ignazio Cassis, Volodymyr Dubovyk, Dubovyk Organizations: Getty, Peace, Kremlin, CNBC, Kyiv, House, Omaha Beach, Anadolu, Council's Eurasia, Ukraine, Swiss, Democratic, Center for Locations: Paris, France, Switzerland, Peace, Ukraine, Swiss, Bürgenstock, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Turkey, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, cyberattacks, Central, Eastern Europe, U.S, California, Hollywood, Moscow, Normandy, Ukrainian, Bern, Russian, Kharkiv

☆ Britain expands AI safety institute to San Francisco amid scrutiny over regulatory shortcomings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The government on Monday announced it would open a U.S. counterpart to its AI safety summit, a state-backed body focused on testing advanced AI systems to ensure they're safe, in San Francisco this summer. The U.S. iteration of the AI Safety Institute will aim to recruit a team of technical staff headed up by a research director. In a statement, U.K. Technology Minister Michelle Donelan said the AI Safety Summit's U.S. rollout "represents British leadership in AI in action." The AI Safety Institute was established in November 2023 during the AI Safety Summit, a global event held in England's Bletchley Park, the home of World War II code breakers, that sought to boost cross-border cooperation on AI safety. The government said that, since the AI Safety Institute was established in November, it's made progress in evaluating frontier AI models from some of the industry's leading players.

Persons: Ian Hogarth, Michelle Donelan, it's, Anthropic Organizations: LONDON, Monday, AI, Technology, Safety, U.S, Microsoft, AI Safety, Institute, Seoul, European Union Locations: San Francisco, California, United States, U.S, London, British, Bay, OpenAI, England's Bletchley, South Korea, Bletchley Park, Seoul, Britain, European

☆ Polish PM Says There Is No 'Plan B' on EU Aid for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday there was no "Plan B" on European Union aid for Ukraine and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who is stalling it must decide if Hungary is "part of our community". "We need to play hard and play fair, but there is no room for compromise. Orban is the only one of the 27 to have voiced disapproval of an EU aid package and to request a yearly vote on the long-term aid. Thursday summit's is seen as a last opportunity to reach agreement on a four-year plan for 50 billion euros ($53.93 billion) of economic aid for Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since 2022. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 Images($1 = 0.9272 euros)(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Ros Russell)

Persons: Donald Tusk, Viktor Orban, Tusk, Orban, Justyna Pawlak, Anna Wlodarczak, Ros Russell Organizations: Reuters, Polish, Union, EU Locations: Ukraine, Hungarian, Hungary, Russian, Moscow

COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during the Transforming Food Systems in the Face of Climate Change event on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit at Dubai Expo on December 1, 2023. "We delivered world first after world first," the UAE summit presidency said in a further social media update. And we have language on fossil fuels in our final agreement." Many believed the COP28 summit could only be considered a success if it resulted in a deal to phase out all fossil fuels. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber sparked a backlash earlier this month after he claimed there is "no science" behind calls for a phase-out of fossil fuels.

Persons: Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Ludovic Marin, Licypriya Kangujam, Sean Gallup, Wopke Hoekstra, Alok Sharma, Sharma, CNBC's, Simon Stiell, We're, John Kerry, Selma de Montgomery, Avinash Persaud, Mikhail Gitarskiy, Sultan al, Jaber, he'd, Al Organizations: Food Systems, Dubai Expo, Afp, Getty Images, UAE Consensus, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Getty, Russian, BBC, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co Locations: Dubai, UAE, United Arab, United Arab Emirates, Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Asia, North America, Paris, United States, China, Denmark, Barbados, Moscow, Abu Dhabi

☆ Pacific Islands lash out at COP28 presidency: ‘We weren't in the room’ when deal was announced
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-13 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Anne Rasmussen, the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), told the COP28 Presidency in a closing statement: "We are a little confused about what just happened." "It seems that you gavelled the decisions, and the small island developing states were not in the room. Participants attend a presentation at the Moana Blue Pacific pavilion of Pacific islands prior to the opening ceremony of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference at Expo City Dubai on November 30, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesFor Pacific Island nations, however, and many other island and low-lying coastal states vulnerable to rising sea levels, the deal falls severely short. For the Pacific Islands, climate change poses an existential threat.

Persons: Michael Runkel, Tina Stege, Anne Rasmussen, Sean Gallup, Brianna Fruean, we've, Fruean, weren't, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster Organizations: Getty Images, United Arab Emirates — Representatives, Pacific, United Arab, Marshall, Alliance of Small, States, UAE, Expo City, Getty, Big Oil, Pacific Climate Warriors, CNBC, UNITED, Natural Resources, United Arab Emirates Locations: Ouvea, New Caledonia, Getty Images DUBAI, United Arab, United Arab Emirates, Pacific, Expo City Dubai, Dubai, Paris, DUBAI, EMIRATES, Samoa, States

☆ Anger and frustration as COP28 draft text omits fossil fuel phaseout
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-12 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber speaks to the media at the U.N. climate conference on Dec. 10, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The draft text for a COP28 climate deal that does not include the phasing out of fossil fuels has drawn widespread criticism from major players, highlighting enduring rifts on the international summit's final day. The document, published by the United Arab Emirates' presidency of the climate summit, stressed the need to reduce emissions, but did not call for the doing away of fossil fuels altogether. Scientists say fossil fuels are the single biggest factor contributing to potentially life-threatening climate change. Many of us have called for the world to largely phase out fossil fuels, and that starts with a critical reduction this decade."

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, Wopke Hoekstra, Hoekstra, John Kerry Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Pacific Locations: Dubai, United Arab, DUBAI, U.S, Union, Africa

The first option in the draft is listed as "an orderly and just phase-out of fossil fuels". The second option calls for "accelerating efforts towards phasing out unabated fossil fuels". "I don't think we're going to leave Dubai without some clear language and some clear direction on shifting away from fossil fuels," he added. China's fossil fuel emissions rose after it lifted COVID-19 restrictions, while India's rise was a result of power demand growing faster than its renewable energy capacity, leaving fossil fuels to make up the shortfall. "Leaders meeting at COP28 will have to agree rapid cuts in fossil fuel emissions even to keep the 2C target alive," he said.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Jean Paul Prates, Patrick Pouyanne, Jennifer Morgan, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, David Waskow, Exeter, Pierre Friedlingstein, Kate Abnett, William James, Valerie Volcovici, Elizabeth Piper, Katy Daigle Organizations: REUTERS, Petrobras, European, Oxford University, Saudi Arabia's Energy, Bloomberg, World Resources, University of Exeter, Reuters, Thomson Locations: France, Montoir, Bretagne, Saint, Nazaire, DUBAI, COP28, Brazil's, United States, European Union, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Dubai, India, China, Paris

☆ Sheryl Sandberg, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others issue a global call to action to denounce sexual violence at UN Summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Jennifer Cunningham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sheryl Sandberg condemned the violence perpetrated against women during Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7 and called on the world to do the same. Sandberg was joined by a host of luminaries, including Hillary Clinton and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a UN summit on gender-based violence. Gilad Erdan and Debra Messing attend the summit on sexual violence against women in wartime at the United Nations on Dec. 4, 2023. UN Women issued a statement in December condemning the attacks and expressing alarm at the "numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks." Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan addresses the UN Summit on the gender-based violence in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

Persons: Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Hillary Clinton, Sen, Kirsten Gillibrand, —, Debra Messing, Julianna Margulies, Tom Berthal, Amb, Gilad Erdan, Shazar, " Sandberg, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Liel Hetzroni, Ila, Hetzroni, Revivim, Alexi J, Rosenfeld, Simcha Greiniman, Greiniman, York Sen, Gillibrand, Sima Bahous, Erdan Organizations: Hamas, UN, Service, United Nations, Gaza Health Ministry, Be'eri Locations: Gaza, New York City, Israel, Dubai, Revivim, York, Hamas

☆ What to watch at COP28 on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A demonstrator holds a placard, during a climate protest coinciding with COP28 being held in Dubai and ahead of the upcoming Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Monday is finance day at COP28, which means more funding is likely to be announced for the climate cause. Away from the main COP28 venue, Saudi Arabia will host a side event called Saudi Green Initiative to promote its clean energy plans. The COP28 site could also experience more small, pop-up protests, as activists see the U.N.-led event as a rare chance to rally in the United Arab Emirates, where public protests are banned. Reporting by William James; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: COP28, Johanna Geron, William James, Will Dunham Organizations: of, European Union, REUTERS, Rights, Saudi Green Initiative, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Brussels, Belgium, COP28, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

☆ What to Watch at COP28 on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI (Reuters) - Monday is finance day at COP28, which means more funding is likely to be announced for the climate cause. If that sounds familiar, that is because world leaders and the private sector have spent much of the first few days of this year's U.N. climate summit talking about boosting finance for climate action and disaster support. Central to the summit's outcome is how countries will word a final agreement on the future of fossil fuels, and dividing lines are becoming clear. Away from the main COP28 venue, Saudi Arabia will host a side event called Saudi Green Initiative to promote its clean energy plans. The COP28 site could also experience more small, pop-up protests, as activists see the U.N.-led event as a rare chance to rally in the United Arab Emirates, where public protests are banned.

Persons: William James, Will Dunham Organizations: Reuters, Saudi Green Initiative, United Arab Locations: DUBAI, COP28, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

☆ Sue Wagner, Muffy MacMillan, and other big names denounce the enduring gender gap in funding during entrepreneurship summit for women
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Sue Wagner and Muffy MacMillan were among an elite crowd at a women's entrepreneurship summit. The enduring gender gap in funding and a wave of anti-DEI bills were discussed. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementWomen's Entrepreneurship Day Organization celebrated its 10th anniversary last month with a summit of women at the top of their games. She hosted the summit at the UN headquarters in Manhattan on November 17, two days before Women's Entrepreneurship Day.

Persons: Sue Wagner, Muffy MacMillan, —, Wendy Diamond Organizations: Service, Organization, UN Locations: Manhattan

☆ What to watch at COP28 on Friday?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

United Arab Emirates Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - This year's COP28 climate summit, being held in the glitzy Middle East city of Dubai, clicks into its first full day of scheduled events on Friday. Britain's King Charles III, who has spent decades working on environmental issues, is expected to address the conference. A second day of leaders' speeches is planned for Saturday. The summit's opening on Thursday featured pleas by the COP28 president, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, for all parties to work together toward a consensus on the future of fossil fuels.

Persons: Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Amr Alfiky, Britain's King Charles III, William Ruto, Tayyip Erdogan, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Sultan Ahmed al, Jaber, Katy Daigle, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: United Arab Emirates Minister of Industry, Advanced Technology, United Nations, Change, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Rights, Kenyan, Saudi, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, East

☆ Exclusive: World's top MDBs to launch debt-for-nature swap 'task force' - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The task force creation is the most significant step so far in showing that the global club of multilateral lenders, which between them have trillions of dollars worth of firepower, will significantly ramp up their support for these deals. Four sources involved in the plans, which are expected to be announced at the COP summit's 'finance day' on Monday, say the group will formally be called the "Task Force on Sustainability-linked Sovereign Financing for Nature and Climate". It will initially be chaired by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and U.S. government's Development Finance Institution (DFC), said three of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Both lenders have been involved in all the recent swaps which have also included Barbados and Gabon. At their simplest, the swaps work by buying up a country's bonds, often at a discount, and then replacing them with cheaper eco-labelled ones that come with the special MDB guarantees.

Persons: Chico Mendes, Amanda Perobelli, MDBs, Marc Jones, Christina Fincher Organizations: Chico, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Institute for, Environment, Resources, REUTERS, Reuters, Force, Sustainability, Nature, Inter, American Development Bank, government's Development Finance, World Bank, European Investment Bank, Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, ADB, Infrastructure Development Bank, Reuters Graphics, Conservancy, Thomson Locations: Pocone, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Beijing, U.S, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia, Ecuador

Such is the scene at the annual COP conference, this year being held Nov. 30-Dec. 12 in the Emirati city of Dubai. Here's how the climate summit unfolds on the ground. THE OPENING CEREMONYThe UAE has spent the last year laying the diplomatic groundwork for this year's summit. But it officially takes on the COP presidency only at the opening ceremony, which features welcome speeches and opportunities to bang the gavel. THE SCENEDuring the first few days, national leaders jet in for what is called the "High-Level Segment" involving back-to-back speeches in the venue's main plenary hall.

Persons: William James, Katy Daigle, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: UAE, Thomson Locations: Emirati, Dubai, UAE, COP26

Persons: William James, Katy Daigle, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: UAE, Thomson Locations: Emirati, Dubai, UAE, COP26

☆ Hungary's Orban erects billboards vilifying EU's von der Leyen
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUDAPEST, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Hungary's ruling party unveiled billboards vilifying European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Monday, the first time it has made her a personal target in a campaign similar to one against her predecessor that angered Brussels. The billboards, erected overnight to launch a campaign for next June's European parliamentary election, depict Von der Leyen alongside Alex Soros, the son of liberal Hungarian-born financier George Soros, a perennial target of hostility from Orban's Fidesz Party. Soros is Jewish and some critics view the central role he plays in Fidesz propaganda as evidence of anti-Semitism, which Fidesz strongly denies. Similar billboards showing Von der Leyen's predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker alongside the elder Soros drew a rebuke from Brussels in 2019. Orban sent out a survey on Friday to Hungarians asking whether the EU should allocate more funds to Ukraine or grant it membership.

Persons: Ursula Von der Leyen, Von der Leyen, Alex Soros, George Soros, Soros, Von der, Jean, Claude Juncker, Orban, Krisztina, Peter Graff Organizations: Fidesz Party, Jewish, Fidesz, EPP, Thomson Locations: BUDAPEST, Brussels, Hungarian, Hungary, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sometimes it can be easy to forget that President Joe Biden's original foreign policy priority was reasserting American influence in Asia. "The United States remains vital to the future of the region, and the region is more vital than ever to the United States of America," he told a gathering of business executives during one of the summit's many receptions. “From here in San Francisco, America reaches out all across the Pacific, building bridges mightier than the Golden Gate,” he said. Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza shut down all vehicular traffic heading into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge. “We will be glad to see a confident, open, ever-growing and prosperous United States,” he said.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, “ That’s, He's, Donald Trump, ”, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kishida Fumio, Xi Jinping, Xi, “, ” Biden, Yun Sun, Aisha Nizar, San Francisco ”, ___, Colleen Long Organizations: FRANCISCO, Ukraine, Republican, Economic Cooperation, South Korean, Chinese Communist Party, U.S, Xinhua, China Program, Stimson, Palestinian Youth Movement, Biden wasn't, China, Associated Press Locations: American, Asia, Russian, Israel, San Francisco, United States, United States of America, Europe, America, China, Beijing, Bali , Indonesia, Iran, San Francisco ., Washington, Ukraine, Gaza, Bahrain, Fiji, Japan, Mexico, Peru

Biden sought to kickstart SAF production with a $1.25 per gallon production tax credit in the IRA. To be eligible for the credit, SAF producers must demonstrate their fuel is 50% lower in emissions than conventional jet fuel. The DOE spokesperson confirmed that ethanol producers must cut emissions of they want a long-term role in SAF production. Still, ethanol producers need carbon pipelines because many ethanol plants are not near geologically appropriate underground storage sites. Other options for reducing ethanol's carbon intensity include using renewable energy at ethanol plants, or climate-friendly farming practices for corn.

Persons: Tom Mihalek, Valero, Joe Biden's, Homer Bhullar, Biden, MARK, Barry Glickman, Nikita Pavlenko, Pavlenko, Leah Douglas, Laura Sanicola, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Eco Energy, REUTERS, Rights, SAF, U.S, Carbon Solutions, Valero Energy, U.S . Department of Energy, DOE, Honeywell, Biofuels, Growth Energy, Navigator, CCS, International Council, Clean Transportation, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S, Omaha, Iowa, Denver, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wolf's, Illinois

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