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World

Vietnam president quits as Communist Party intensifies graft crackdown

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  • President highest-profile casualty of graft crackdown
  • Phuc blamed for conduct of officials under him
  • Hundreds of officials hit by ‘blazing furnace’ campaign
  • Phuc’s downfall widely expected

HANOI, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned after the ruling Communist Party blamed him for “violations and wrongdoing” by officials under his control, the government said on Tuesday, in a major escalation of the country’s anti-graft campaign.

Phuc, a former prime minister widely credited with accelerating pro-business reforms, held the largely ceremonial post of president since 2021 and is the highest-ranking official targeted by the party’s sweeping corruption crackdown.

Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four “pillars”: the party’s secretary, the president, prime minister and speaker of the house.

Phuc, 68, was ultimately responsible for offences committed by many officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, the government said.

“Fully being aware of his responsibilities before the party and people, he submitted an application to resign from his assigned positions, quit his job and retire,” it said in statement.

Phuc’s office could not immediately be reached for comment and it was not clear if a replacement has been chosen.

Vietnam has been rife with speculation he would be removed following January’s dismissal of two deputy prime ministers who served under him, as the party doubles down on a “blazing furnace” anti-corruption drive led by its powerful long-serving chief, Nguyen Phu Trong.

Last year, 539 party members were prosecuted or “disciplined” for corruption and “deliberate wrongdoings”, including ministers, top officials and diplomats, according to the party, while police investigated 453 corruption cases, up 50% from 2021.

Trong earlier this month said the party was “more determined” and “more effective and methodical” in its approach, and vowed to deliver results.

IMPACT UNCERTAIN

Opinions vary on the impact of the anti-graft drive on investment and policy.

Le Hong Hiep of the Vietnam Studies Programme at the Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said the purge could pave the way for cleaner more capable leaders to rise.

“As long as the leadership reshuffles do not lead to radical policy changes, their impact on the economy will also be limited,” Hiep posted on his Facebook account.

However, Ha Hoang Hop, a senior visiting fellow at the same institute, said Phuc’s demise and uncertainty over the impact of the crackdown could unnerve investors.

“This could lead Vietnam to a time of instability that would worry foreign friends and investors,” he said.

Phuc’s resignation requires approval from the legislature, which sources on Monday said would hold a rare extraordinary meeting this week, adding to expectation that Phuc’s fate had been sealed.

Phuc, who was known in Vietnam for his friendly approach and love for the national soccer team, was once tipped as a future party General Secretary, the state’s most prestigious job.

As prime minister from 2016 to 2021, he oversaw an average 6% annual economic growth for Asia’s burgeoning manufacturing powerhouse and helped further a liberalisation drive that included trade deals with the European Union and Pacific powers.

Despite his downfall, the government on Tuesday praised his achievements, particularly his pandemic response.

“He has made great efforts in leading, directing and administering the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, achieving important results,” it said.

Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Martin Petty

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World

German car giants and Asian battery kings: a match made in Hungary

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  • German, Chinese and S.Koreans head to Hungary
  • They dominate auto investment and subsidies
  • Orban’s Hungary keen to court foreign business

BERLIN/BUDAPEST, Dec 13 (Reuters) – German automakers and Asian battery suppliers are getting together in Hungary in a multi-billion-dollar marriage of convenience to drive their electric ambitions.

The companies are flocking to central Europe, where Viktor Orban’s government is defying Western wariness of China and offering generous benefits to host foreign operations and stake Hungary’s claim as a global centre for electric vehicles (EVs).

Investment in the Hungarian auto industry is being dominated by three countries – Germany, a champion carmaker, plus China and South Korea, EV battery leaders way ahead of European rivals.

Companies from those three countries have accounted for 29 out of the 31 cash subsidies handed out by Hungary for major investments in its auto and battery sector over the past decade, according to a Reuters analysis of government data that shows the scale of German, Chinese and Korean convergence there.

“Cathodes, anodes, separators, assembly lines, the full battery supply chain is here,” said Dirk Woelfer of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce in Budapest. “This is a foot in the door to Europe.”

Recipients of such subsidies included the likes of German automakers BMW (BMWG.DE) and Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), and battery makers such as China’s BYD and Korean rival Samsung SDI (006400.KS). The median subsidy level has been 15% of investment.

In total, Hungary has received over 14 billion euros ($15 billion) in foreign direct investment into its battery sector alone in the past six years, according to government figures.

Major investments are broadly classed as those worth over 5-10 million euros, varying with factors such as jobs created.

State incentives and the opportunity for automakers and battery suppliers to work next door to each other is proving a strong pull, according to interviews with about 20 industry players and consultants in Germany, Hungary, China and South Korea.

China’s CATL (300750.SZ), the world’s No. 1 EV battery maker, and Korean battery giants SK Innovation (096770.KS) and Samsung SDI, all told Reuters that the planned proximity to German carmakers was a key factor in their decisions to invest in Hungary, as well as being able to source separators and other components there.

CATL is investing $7.6 billion to build Europe’s largest battery plant in Hungary. This plant and the $2.1 billion BMW factory will both be sited in the city of Debrecen, which is attracting an ecosystem of suppliers, ranging from makers of brakes and battery cathodes to industrial machinery.

Mercedes-Benz is converting its factory in Kecskemet to produce electric cars, while Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) Audi is making cars and electric motors in Gyor.

Such big business could present a boon for Prime Minister Orban’s government as the country faces its toughest economic environment in more than a decade, with inflation running above 20%, the economy slowing and EU funds in limbo.

Yet the Hungarian EVs project also faces stiff obstacles, according to many of the industry insiders.

One key concern is the huge demands that massive battery plants will place on the electricity grid, which needs to shift away from fossil fuels towards renewables to meet the net-zero emissions targets of much of the auto industry, the people said.

A lack of specialised workers in Hungary to work in battery cell manufacturing could also drag on capacity, they added.

HIPA, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry agency responsible for attracting investments in areas ranging from batteries and cars to logistics, did not respond to Reuters queries about the EV industry.

‘CHINA’S MADE GOOD STEPS’

Hungary’s welcome to Asian battery makers might jar with concerns expressed by Brussels and Berlin about the perils of Europe becoming too dependent on China and other foreign powers, particularly in technologies central to the green transition.

Still, for now, the need to ramp up EV output leaves the European auto industry little choice but to source from Asian players, said Csaba Kilian of Hungary’s automotive association.

“I absolutely agree that European manufacturers should have their own sources … but it’s a competition, and China has made good steps,” he added. “There is a learning curve.”

Europe should have a EV battery manufacturing capacity of 1,200 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2031 if current plans come to fruition, outstripping expected demand of 875 GWh, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) estimates. But of that 1,200 GWh, 44% will be provided by Asian companies with factories in Europe, ahead of homegrown firms on 43% and U.S. pioneer Tesla (TSLA.O) with 13%, according to a Reuters calculation based on BMI data.

The prospects for developing a battery sector in Germany have been set back by record energy there as a result of the loss of Russian gas, according to autos consultants at Boston Consulting Group and Berylls Strategy Advisors.

Hungary offers a comparatively stable energy system bolstered by nuclear energy, as well as high subsidies and Europe’s lowest corporate tax rate of 9%.

The entire battery supply chain has come to the country, said Ilka von Dalwigk, policy manager at the European Battery Alliance, launched by the European Union in 2017 to kick-start a homegrown industry.

“Everything is located there. When we look at the forecast for 2025 and 2030, it looks like it will have one of the largest production capacities in Europe,” she added.

“It might very well be that Hungary is in fact the next big battery production cluster in Europe.”

Asked about concerns about reliance on Asia for technology, an EU official said the bloc – which must approve member state subsidies to investors – had a system in place to cooperate and exchange information on investments from non-EU countries that may affect security.

The European Commission is currently in talks with Hungary over the size of the subsidy the country will offer to CATL for building the Debrecen plant, the official added.

‘SENDING THE WRONG SIGNAL’

For some Western companies, setting up shop in Hungary is a tough decision.

German autos supplier Schaeffler said it was on the verge of setting up its primary electric motor plant in Hungary rather than Germany in August because of the appeal of Hungary’s incentives, but decided on Germany for fear of sending “the wrong signal” to Germans who fear a loss of jobs to overseas.

Other industry players expressed a range of concerns over potential pitfalls for the burgeoning Hungarian auto industry as factories ramped up, including the power grid issue.

Batteries, in particular, are highly energy-intensive parts of EVs to produce, requiring high amounts of power for the drying the materials and machine operation.

Hungary’s sources of energy in 2021 comprised 80% fossil fuels, 14.5% nuclear and 3.6% solar, according to a Reuters calculation of data from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

The mix spells trouble for carmakers who will soon need to showcase carbon-free credentials across their supply chains under new German and European legislation.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met senior executives from BMW and auto suppliers including Schaeffler and Knorr-Bremse in Munich last month, ahead of the German carmaker announcing it was beefing up its investment in the country.

Topics discussed included plans to improve logistics infrastructure in Hungary and increasing the amount of renewables energy used for the power grid, according to one of the companies that attended.

When BMW first announced its plan to build its Debrecen plant, in 2018, the government committed to spending around 135 billion forints on improving local infrastructure, according to calculations by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce.

On the battery side, CATL told Reuters it was considering developing solar power with local partners in Hungary.

Despite the risks, Alexander Timmer, a partner at Munich-based consultants Berylls Strategy Advisors who has worked on several autos and battery projects in Hungary, said the country presented an appealing package.

“The combination of cost advantages, state subsidies, and closeness to automakers’ plants makes Hungary increasingly attractive to battery producers, he added.

($1 = 397.54 forints; $1 = 0.9483 euros)

Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin, Gergely Szakacs in Budapest; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang, Zhang Yan; Editing by Pravin Char

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Business

Foxconn’s woes to take bigger toll on giant China iPhone plant as more workers leave – source

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  • Foxconn Zhengzhou plant’s Nov shipments to fall further – source
  • Worker unhappiness at plant escalated into protests this week
  • Over 20,000 workers, mostly new recruits, have left – source

TAIPEI, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Foxconn’s (2317.TW) flagship iPhone plant in China is set to see its November shipments further reduced by the latest bout of worker unrest this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday, as thousands of employees left the site.

The company could now see more than 30% of the site’s November production affected, up from an internal estimate of up to 30% when the factory’s worker troubles started in late October, the source said.

The site, which is the only factory where Foxconn makes premium iPhone models, including the iPhone 14 Pro, is unlikely to resume full production by the end of this month, the source added.

The world’s largest Apple (AAPL.O) iPhone factory has been grappling with strict COVID-19 restrictions that have fuelled discontent among workers and disrupted production ahead of Christmas and January’s Lunar New Year holiday, as many workers were either put into isolation or fled the plant.

It has fuelled concerns over Apple’s ability to deliver products for the busy holiday period.

On Wednesday workers, most of whom were new recruits hired in recent weeks, clashed with security personnel at the Zhengzhou plant in central China.

Many claimed they were misled over compensation benefits at the factory, and others complained about sharing dormitories with colleagues who had tested positive for COVID.

Foxconn apologised for a pay-related “technical error” when hiring on Thursday, and later offered 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to protesting new recruits who agreed to resign and leave.

The source said more than 20,000 workers, mostly new hires not yet working on production lines, took the money and left. Videos posted on Chinese social media on Friday showed crowds and long lines of luggage-laden workers queuing for buses.

[1/2] The logo of Foxconn is seen outside the company’s building in Taipei, Taiwan November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang

“It’s time to go home,” one person posted.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, declined to comment. Apple, which said on Thursday it had staff at the factory, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The plant, before its woes began, employed more than 200,000 staff. It has dormitories, restaurants, basketball courts and a football pitch across its sprawling roughly 1.4 million-square-metre (15 million-square-foot) facility.

Another Foxconn source familiar with the matter said some new hires had left the campus but did not elaborate on how many. This person said that because the people leaving had not yet been trained or begun to work, their departures would not cause further harm to current production.

“The incident has a big impact on our public image but little on our (current) capacity. Our current capacity is not affected,” the source said.

“There’s only so much corporate can do on pandemic prevention … It’s been a problem for a while. This is a problem faced by everyone,” the person said, pointing to other worker unrest triggered by rigid COVID restrictions, including upheaval at another Apple supplier, Quanta (2382.TW), in May.

Foxconn shares closed down 0.5%, lagging the broader market, (.TWII) which ended flat.

Hundreds of workers joined protests at Foxconn’s major iPhone plant China’s Zhengzhou this week, with some men smashing surveillance cameras and windows, footage uploaded on social media showed.

($1 = 7.1616 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting By Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, William Mallard and Gerry Doyle

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World

China plans peace envoy for conflict-riven Horn of Africa

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  • Chinese minister visits Kenya, Eritra, Comoros
  • Region destabilised by conflict in Ethiopia, Somalia
  • Minister Wang suggests regional pece conference
  • Deal signed for Kenya to sell avocados to China

MOMBASA, Kenya, Jan 6 (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it would appoint a special envoy to foster peace in the turbulent Horn of Africa and wanted to shift focus on the continent to trade over infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the comments in Kenya, which has been active in diplomatic efforts to halt war in Ethiopia since late 2020 between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government.

He also visited Eritrea, which borders the northern Tigray region and has been an ally of Abiy in a conflict that has killed thousands of people, uprooted hundreds of thousands, and spread hunger. read more

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“To share political consensus and to coordinate actions, China will appoint a special envoy of the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs for the Horn of Africa,” Wang told a news conference in the port city of Mombasa, via an interpreter.

Horn of Africa nations should decide their own destiny and convene a peace conference, Wang added. The region’s other major war is in Somalia where Islamist militants al Shabaab are battling a Western-backed government.

China has traditionally been more focused on economic development and trade in Africa than politics and diplomacy, and Wang gave no further details of the envoy’s role.

Beijing wants to help develop Eritrea’s Red Sea coastline, he added, without elaborating on that either.

Eric Olander, managing editor of The China Africa Project website and podcast, saw the visit to Eritrea as strategic in China’s rivalry with the United States, which has sanctioned Eritrea for its role in Tigray. read more

“This is part of a big push to rally countries against the use of sanctions,” he said. “I think they (China) feel they’re gaining momentum against the U.S.”

U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman was due to visit the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Kenyan counterpart Raychelle Omamo bump elbows during a news conference in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Joseph Okanga

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Feltman will step down from his post this month after more than nine months in the job, and David Satterfield, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Turkey, will take up the role, Reuters reported on Wednesday. read more

AVOCADOS AND VACCINES

Chinese officials signed six agreements with Kenyan counterparts, including one allowing Kenyan farmers to export fresh avocados to China. That will enable Kenya to narrow its considerable trade imbalance with China, said Rachel Omamo, Kenya’s foreign minister.

Kenya will receive a donation of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from China, both sides said, part of 1 billion extra doses pledged to Africa by China late last year.

China has been shifting from offering African nations hard infrastructure loans towards increasing trade. “It is never about what China wants to do, it is about what Africa wants to do,” he said.

The continent’s needs were expanding from the building of roads and railways, Wang said, citing the need for vaccines and export opportunities.

Analysts have also attributed the slowdown in Chinese infrastructure lending in Africa to China’s own economic troubles and a commodity price crash that has complicated African debt servicing.

China’s interests in the Horn include its naval base in Djibouti, overlooking a key global shipping route. Beijing has granted large loans to landlocked Ethiopia, which relies on Djibouti’s port for trade.

The region is also threatened by instability in South Sudan, where China has substantial oil investments, and spillover from Somalia that has brought deadly attacks in neighbouring Kenya.

After Kenya, Wang was due to travel to Comoros, an Indian Ocean archipelago. “They (China) see the Indian Ocean as a contested space, so it’s a priority,” Olander said. “Wang simply going to a tiny country like Comoros is symbolic in itself.”

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Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Joe Bavier, writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

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World

Japan admits overstating some government economic data for years

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TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) – The Japanese government overstated construction orders data received from builders for years, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, an admission that could dent credibility of official statistics widely used by investors and economists.

It was not clear why the government started the practice of rewriting the data. It is also unclear how gross domestic product (GDP) figures may have been affected, though analysts expected any impact to be minimal, particularly as the builders involved were likely to be smaller firms.

“It is regrettable that such a thing has happened,” Kishida said. “The government will examine as soon as possible what steps it can take to avoid such an incident from happening again.”

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He made the comment in a parliamentary session after the Asahi newspaper reported the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism had been “rewriting” data received from about 12,000 select companies since 2013 at a pace of about 10,000 entries per year.

Kishida said “improvements” had been made to the figures since January 2020 and that there was no direct impact on GDP data for fiscal year 2020 and 2021.

While the impact on past GDP numbers may be small, the revelation is likely to raise questions about the reliability of data that is a cornerstone for economists and investors looking to understand and forecast trends in the world’s third-largest economy.

It is also not the first time that issues have been raised about government data, including a flaw in health ministry data in 2018.

“The biggest problem is not the effect on the GDP per se but the damage to reliability of (official) statistics,” said Saisuke Sakai, senior economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies.

“We can’t help doubting this kind of issue could happen across government ministries,” Sakai said.

SLOPPY

The survey compiles public and private construction orders which in the 2020 fiscal year totalled roughly 80 trillion yen ($700 billion), and is among data used to calculate GDP.

For the survey, the ministry collects monthly orders data from construction companies through local prefecture authorities.

Companies that were late in submitting data would often send in several months’ worth of figures at once, the Asahi said. In these instances, the ministry would instruct local authorities to rewrite the orders for the combined months as the figure for the latest, single month.

“Overall GDP data is unlikely to change much,” said Akiyoshi Takumori, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Considering Japan has hundreds of thousands of construction companies, the ratio of those concerned is very small, he said.

“How much influence do they have? The kind of sloppy company – which puts out numbers late – is probably not a big one.”

Land Minister Tetsuo Saito, a member of the Komeito party – the junior partner of the ruling coalition – confirmed the practice in parliament, calling it “extremely regrettable”.

Asked about the issue, the government’s top spokesperson said only that the land ministry had been instructed to analyse “as soon as possible” what led to the practice.

“We will first wait for the results of that investigation,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference when asked whether past GDP figures, the government’s monthly economic report or other data may need to be revised.

The rewriting of the data, which may be in breach of law, continued until this March, the Asahi said.

($1 = 113.7100 yen)

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Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Kantaro Komiya, Leika Kihara and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Christopher Cushing and David Dolan

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World

How green champion Sweden could end up exporting its carbon sins

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  • Court ruling threatens Sweden’s biggest cement factory
  • Any closure could lead to imports with higher carbon costs
  • ‘Carbon leakage’ an issue for leaders at COP26 in Glasgow
  • Local green goals may be at odds with global targets

STOCKHOLM, Oct 18 (Reuters) – When a Swedish court ordered the country’s biggest cement maker to stop mining limestone by its huge factory on the windswept island of Gotland to prevent pollution, ecologists cheered.

Besides protecting wildlife and water supplies, the ruling could force the plant that makes 75% of Sweden’s cement and is the country’s second biggest carbon emitter to slash output while it finds raw materials elsewhere, or even shut altogether.

That might be good for Sweden’s emissions targets, but not such good news for the rest of the planet.

A government-commissioned report seen by Reuters said it could force Sweden to import cement from countries that pump out more emissions in the overall manufacturing process – or risk massive job losses in the construction industry at home.

“Imports from countries outside the EU would probably lead to larger environmental impacts as a result of lower standards related to CO2 emissions and lower standards in land use,” the report, obtained via a freedom of information request, said.

Sweden’s dilemma encapsulates one the challenges facing nations meeting in Glasgow for the U.N. COP26 climate talks: how to show they are not cutting emissions by simply exporting the problem elsewhere – a phenomenon known as “carbon leakage”.

A rich, stable Nordic democracy, Sweden has long topped international environmental rankings and has managed to cut back on greenhouse gases for years while preserving economic growth on a path towards its target of net zero emissions by 2045.

It has the world’s highest carbon tax at $137 per tonne and is a leader in the use of renewable energy. In 2018, its carbon emissions per head stood at 3.5 tonnes, well below the European Union average of 6.4 tonnes, according to World Bank data.

But the stand-off over the Slite cement plant epitomises the growing tension between local environment goals and the 2015 Paris Agreement signed by nearly 200 countries to try to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius.

“We have to weigh up the global focus – doing the most for the climate – but also maintain our high ambitions when it comes to our local environmental problems,” Sweden’s Minster for Environment and Climate Per Bolund told Reuters. “These two things can be balanced.”

ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Much of Europe’s imported cement comes from Turkey, Russia, Belarus and countries in North Africa.

They don’t have anything like the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), the world’s largest carbon market and one that sets the price of carbon permits for energy-intensive sectors, including cement, within the 27-nation bloc.

The World Bank says only 22% of global emissions were covered by pricing mechanisms last year and the International Monetary Fund put the average global price of carbon at $3 a tonne – a tiny fraction of Sweden’s carbon tax. read more

While the Swedish court’s decision was not linked to Slite’s carbon footprint, but rather the risks its quarry poses to local groundwater, the impact from an emissions point of view depends on the efficiency and energy mix of the producers likely to supply Sweden with cement to plug any shortfalls.

Slite’s owner, Germany’s HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE), also plans to make it the world’s first carbon neutral cement factory by 2030, but the uncertainty over its future following the court ruling may delay or even scupper the project.

“We need a decision soon on the long-term basis for these operations if that is not to be delayed,” Magnus Ohlsson, chief executive of HeidelbergCement’s Swedish subsidiary Cementa, said last month.

Koen Coppenholle, head of European cement lobby group Cembureau, said he was confident European plants were “cleaner” overall because high EU carbon charges on producers had encouraged them to invest in reducing their emissions.

“In Europe, right now, we are replacing 50% of our primary fuel needs by alternative fuels,” he said

Reuters Graphics

According to Cembureau data, however, imports of cement from outside the EU have jumped by about 160% in the last five years, even though total volumes remain relatively small.

But carbon leakage, where emissions are shifted from countries with tight environmental rules to ones with laxer and cheaper regimes, is an issue for dozens of industries and policymakers are trying to tackle it.

In July, the EU unveiled plans for the world’s first carbon border tax to protect European industries, including cement, from competitors abroad whose manufacturers produce at lower cost because they are not charged for their carbon output.

Europe’s cement industry supports the move, but warns it is fraught with difficulties, such as how to measure emissions in different countries given varying processes and fuels.

“If you impose strict requirements on CO2 and emissions, you have to make sure you do that in a way that you don’t push companies outside the EU,” said Coppenholle. “That’s the whole discussion on carbon leakage.”

For a country such as Sweden, which has cut its emissions by 29% over the last three decades, the issue of domestic action versus global impact goes beyond cement.

The country’s already low, and declining, emissions from domestic production dropped to just under 60 million tonnes of carbon equivalent in 2018.

But if you measure what Swedes consume, including goods and services produced abroad, the figure is about a third higher, according to Statistics Sweden, which put so-called consumption-based emissions at 82 million tonnes that year.

CLIMATE IS GLOBAL

The local versus global perspective also raises questions about which type of industrial policy is ultimately greener.

Sweden’s leading steel firm SSAB (SSABa.ST), state-owned miner LKAB and utility Vattenfall, for example, have invested heavily in developing a process to produce steel without using fossil fuels. read more

They say switching to so-called green hydrogen power would reduce Sweden’s emissions by about 10%, a big step towards reaching the country’s 2045 net zero emission goal.

But for researchers Magnus Henrekson at the Research Institute for Industrial Economics, Christian Sandstrom at Jonkoping International Business School and Carl Alm at the Ratio Institute, this is an example of the “environmental nationalism” that benefits one country, but not the world.

They estimate that if Sweden exported the renewable energy it would use to make hydrogen to Poland and Germany instead – so they could cut back on coal-fired power – overall CO2 emissions would fall by 10 to 12 times more than by making “green” steel.

The EU’s carbon border levy, meanwhile, is only due to be phased in from 2026, potentially too late to have a bearing on the fate of Cementa’s Slite limestone quarry.

Sweden’s parliament has agreed to a government proposal to tweak the country’s environmental laws to give Cementa a stay of execution, but no long-term solution is in sight.

Environmentalists such as David Kihlberg, climate head at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, say easing regulations gives industries an excuse to put off changes that need to happen now.

“It would be incredibly destructive for climate diplomacy if Sweden came to the top climate meeting in Glasgow and said our climate policy is to increase emissions and the local environmental impact in order to pull the rug from under Chinese cement producers,” he said, referring to a hypothetical scenario that is not Swedish policy.

“The climate question is global and has to be solved by cooperation between countries.”

Editing by Mark John and David Clarke

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World

Rescuers fight time, weather in Japan landslide; some 80 missing

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Members of Japanese Self-Defence Forces conduct rescue and search operartion at a mudslide site caused by heavy rain at Izusan district in Atami, west of Tokyo, Japan July 5, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS

TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) – More than a thousand Japanese rescuers combed through crumbled houses and buried roads on Monday two days after landslides tore through a seaside city, fighting time and poor weather to search for some 80 people believed missing.

At least three people have been killed in Atami after torrential rain at the weekend – more than a usual July’s worth in 24 hours some areas – touched off a succession of landslides, sending torrents of mud and rock ripping through streets.

The landslides are a reminder of the natural disasters – including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami – that haunt Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to host the summer Olympics beginning this month.

“My mother is still missing,” one man told NHK public television. “I never imagined something like this could happen here.”

One 75-year-old evacuee said the house across from his had been swept away and the couple that lived there was unaccounted for.

“This is hell,” he said.

By Monday, the number of rescuers at the site had risen to 1,500, officials said, and could increase.

“We want to rescue as many victims … buried in the rubble as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters, adding that police, firefighters and members of the military were doing all they could to aid the search.

There are 113 people believed missing in Atami, a city of almost 36,000 people situated 90 km (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo, spokesperson Hiroki Onuma told Reuters, confirming the third death. That fatality was a woman, Japanese media said

By noon, though, that number of missing had dropped to around 80, Kyodo said.

“We’re in touch with various groups and pushing forward with the searches,” Onuma said.

Over the weekend some 20 people were said to be unaccounted for, but the number rose sharply on Monday as officials began working from residential registers rather than phone calls from people unable to reach family and friends, he said.

Around 130 buildings were affected on Saturday morning when landslides ripped through Atami, a hot springs resort set on a steep slope that leads down to a bay.

The water, mud and debris are thought to have flowed along a river for about 2 km (1.2 miles) to the sea, local media said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato called on residents to remain vigilant, noting that the saturated earth has been weakened and even light rain could prove dangerous.

Though Onuma said rain had stopped in Atami for now, more is forecast, raising the possibility of further landslides.

“The situation is unpredictable,” he said.

Stocks in some engineering firms rose on Monday.

Raito Kogyo Co Ltd (1926.T), an expert in slope and foundation improvement, rose 1.5%, while CE Management Integrated Laboratory Co Ltd (6171.T), which offers geological survey and disaster prevention systems, gained 3.7%.

Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Elaine Lies; Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Kim Coghill and Christopher Cushing

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