Mexico’s auto industry faces formidable challenges

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Electric Vehicle ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Combat Climate Change

Significance Even after these challenges have passed, other factors will hinder the industry's recovery. The sector accounts for 3.8% of GDP and employs nearly 1 million people, and its decline would have a major economic impact: any loss of investment or fall in production would harm growth and employment prospects. Impacts The adoption of more advanced technologies, requiring training that many Mexican workers lack, will erode the country’s low-wage advantage. US efforts to combat climate change may cause more clashes with Mexico, on top of those caused by proposed electric vehicle tax credits. New fuel efficiency rules for vehicles sold in the United States from 2023 could pose further challenges for Mexican manufacturers.

China-US deal sets stage for new climate change regime

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bilateral Agreement ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Game Changer

Significance The United States has already committed, in an unprecedented deal with China in November 2014, to reducing its emissions to 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025 (an improvement on its previous 17% goal). China in return pledged that its emissions would peak around 2030. This agreement is a game-changer for combating global climate change, since the two countries are the world's largest sources of carbon emissions, together accounting for 40% of the total, and were not covered under the now-expired Kyoto Protocol. Impacts Washington is poised to reclaim its place, lost after Kyoto, as a leader in global efforts against climate change. US-China climate cooperation initiatives could serve as templates for other developing countries. There are new opportunities for trilateral cooperation involving the EU. Fears that the bilateral agreement makes the UNFCCC obsolete are unwarranted, but it could preclude more ambitious efforts.

Radical foreign policy turn could undermine Brazil

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Strategy ◽  
Economic Power ◽  
United States Military ◽  
Content Type

Significance Bolsonaro’s visit to Davos was his first foreign trip since taking office on January 1. His speech, while trying to portray Brazil as “open for business”, also reinforced the radical change his government is promoting in the country’s foreign policy, from a tradition of pragmatism and multilateralism to a highly ideological and nationalistic stance. This move is less the result of a calculated international strategy than part of an effort to strengthen Bolsonaro’s domestic agenda. Impacts Bolsonaro will struggle to balance “open for business” promises with his nationalistic foreign policy. Emulating Trump’s aggressive stance without having the United States' military and economic power risks seriously weakening Brazil globally. Brazil’s new climate change scepticism will further weaken global efforts in this area.

Belize elections herald government shake-up

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Visitor Numbers ◽  
Socioeconomic Challenges

Significance Long-standing Prime Minister Dean Barrow will not be running again, so that Belize will experience a change of leadership even if his United Democratic Party (UDP) wins re-election. The key electoral issues will revolve around the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations of corruption affecting the UDP. Impacts Tourism will be slow to recover, with ongoing restrictions and reduced visitor numbers seeing many businesses struggle. The severity of the pandemic in the United States, Belize’s main source of tourists, increases the risks of reopening to visitors. COVID-19 concerns could result in a low election turnout, undermining the mandate of the winning party. Whoever wins the election will inherit major socioeconomic challenges that will curtail any political honeymoon period.

Prospects for renewable energy in 2017

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
The United States ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Tipping Point ◽  
Content Type

Subject Prospects for renewable energy in 2017. Significance The United States and China, the world’s two largest economies as well as the largest carbon emitters, announced their ratification of the Paris Agreement in September. Earlier this year, prices for renewable energy in select regions set historic lows below fossil-fired plants. Renewable energy seems to have passed the tipping point towards gradual adoption as the primary source of electric power while also hopefully preventing catastrophic climate change.

US dock strike unlikely to be repeated

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Stoppage ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Complete Work ◽  
The Us

Significance The slowdown led to extreme backlogs at the ports, which are responsible for about 45.0% of containerised cargo in the United States and goods representing 12.5% of GDP. Importers and exporters are concerned that the tactic of an economically-damaging slowdown or complete work stoppage may be repeated at the end of the contract, or at ports on the East or Gulf Coasts. Impacts The economic impact of the slowdown is calculated to have cost GDP one percentage point in the fourth quarter of 2014. State actions against unions will provide case studies for examining their impact on wage levels. The segmentation of the US economy has made low-income workers suited for greater unionisation. However, they are also most vulnerable to employer action and less able to withstand strikes.

Extreme weather events will hit insurance industry

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Causal Connection ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events

Subject The political and economic implications of greater scientific understanding of extreme weather events. Significance Preparatory talks for the UN climate summit in Paris have seen representatives from developing countries ask the United States and EU for greater compensation for damages caused by extreme weather. The link between climate change and more extreme weather events is clear -- energy from higher temperature levels can be translated into kinetic energy and disrupts usual weather patterns -- but distinguishing the extent of a causal connection, especially for specific events, has until recently been difficult. Impacts Extreme weather events will affect the insurance industry, agriculture, tourism, and food and beverage sectors. In the United States, the South-east will see the highest risks of coastal property losses due to climate change impacts. Hurricanes and other coastal storms combined with rising sea levels are likely to cause growing annual storm losses in the Caribbean. Infrastructure will grow in cost as it must be proofed against new extremes in weather stress.

US-bound investment will get more difficult for China

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Greenfield Investments ◽  
Risk Review ◽  
Trump Administration

Subject Chinese investment in the United States. Significance The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) enacted on August 13 expands the remit of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews incoming foreign investment deals for possible national security implications. China is the implicit target. Since its peak of 46 billion dollars in 2016, Chinese direct investment in the United States has steadily declined, falling to 29 billion dollars in 2017 and dropping another 90% year-on-year in the first half of 2018. Impacts Uncertainty regarding new US regulations will hold some Chinese investors back from entering the market. Chinese businesses will face greater pressure from US policymakers and regulators to clarify their relationship with the Communist Party. Chinese investments in ICT, semiconductors and other advanced technologies will come under sustained scrutiny from US regulators. Chinese greenfield investments might increase as investors seek ways around tariffs and the Trump administration seeks to create jobs.

US tech regulation will develop locally

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
United States ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
The United States ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Facial Identification ◽  
Recognition Software

Subject Tech regulation in the United States. Significance San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors on December 10 amended its ban on facial recognition software to allow for Apple iPhones that use facial identification for unlocking the phone. The move reflects the difficulty cities and states face in regulating artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies that have privacy and security implications: while they are legally permitted to regulate, the efficacy of localities’ reforms runs into challenges in a largely unregulated national scene. Impacts AI in policing will attract attention, since municipalities are the jurisdiction for most US police. AI adoption will accentuate ethical concerns about racial discrimination in policing as reports of bias in algorithms proliferate. AI has a low chance of becoming polarised; the tech sector has Republican and Democratic friends.

Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Romm
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
The United States ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Climate Treaty ◽  
Clear And Present Danger ◽  
Combat Climate Change ◽  
The Right

This is, for my money, the best single-source primer on the state of climate change. (New York Magazine) “The right book at the right time: accessible, comprehensive, unflinching, humane.” (The Daily Beast) “A must-read.” (The Guardian) The essential primer on what will be the defining issue of our time, CLIMATE CHANGE: What Everyone Needs to Know® is a clear-eyed overview of the science, conflicts, and implications of our warming planet. From Joseph Romm, Chief Science Advisor for National Geographic’s Years of Living Dangerously series and one of Rolling Stone’s “100 people who are changing America,” CLIMATE CHANGE offers user-friendly, scientifically rigorous answers to the most difficult (and commonly politicized) questions surrounding what climatologist Lonnie Thompson has deemed “a clear and present danger to civilization.” Questions about climate change addressed in this guide include:· How will climate change affect day-to-day life in the coming decades? · What are the implications of owning coastal property in the age of climate change? · Is retirement to South Florida (or the U.S. Southwest, or even Southern Europe) safe? · What are the implications of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty? · What does Donald Trump’s presidency mean for climate action in the United States and around the globe? · Are efforts to combat climate change making a difference? As the global response to climate change continues to evolve, CLIMATE CHANGE: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers smart, unblemished answers to the most difficult questions in an area dogged by misunderstanding and politicization.

Multilateralism risks will rise amid World Bank change

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
World Bank ◽  
The United States ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
The Us

Significance Kim's departure creates unforeseen turbulence at the institution, whose corporate commitments around climate change, gender and renewable energy are anathema to the current US administration. Impacts If the US nominee is an ideological conservative, World Bank relations with either the United States or other shareholders will be damaged. Short-term impacts on Bank operations will be minimal. Kim’s belief that he can affect “global issues” more in the private sector emphasises the importance of the Bank reviving its global role.

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