U.S. Government Issues Toughest-Ever Rule on Vehicle Emissions |
Carmakers will be required (NPR) to meet new average emissions limits across their fleets of light- and medium-weight vehicles under the rule issued yesterday, which is designed to ensure that most such cars being sold are all-electric or hybrid by 2032. The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule is one of the flagship climate regulations (NYT) of the Joe Biden administration. Together with restrictions on power plants and methane leaks, today’s rule is intended to help cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050.
The EPA anticipates the new rule will save more than seven billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next thirty years, the equivalent of a year of current U.S. emissions across all sectors. The rule originally set a tighter deadline for the changes to take effect, but auto unions called for more time to meet the targets. |
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“The auto standards will influence decisions from Detroit to driveways across the U.S., ultimately affecting some of the biggest purchases typically made by American households,” Bloomberg’s Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Keith Laing write.
“A successful clean energy transition must be a just one that strengthens the rights of workers and gives the needs of all the stakeholders in the economy their due,” University College London’s Mariana Mazzucato and Damon Silvers write for Foreign Affairs. “The United States should be even more ambitious in the scale of its climate-related public investment, how that investment is actively directed, and the strength of the conditions placed on that investment, particularly when it comes to labor standards.”
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Australia, UK Sign Defense Pact |
The agreement formalizes (FT) consultation on security issues and facilitates military personnel operating in the two countries, including on maritime security. Today’s agreement builds on the AUKUS security agreement signed in 2021 between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States. This In Brief by Lauren Kahn looks at how AUKUS could shape Indo-Pacific security.
U.S./Indo-Pacific: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has requested $11 billion in additional funding for fiscal year 2025, Nikkei reported. Part of the funding increase would go to missile defense systems in Guam.
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U.S. Voices Support for India in Border Territory Dispute With China |
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said yesterday that Washington recognizes (Nikkei) the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and rejects efforts by others to control it. China also claims ownership of the area and said it firmly opposes the U.S. statement.
India: A New Delhi investigation into an alleged plot to kill a Sikh activist on U.S. soil found that rogue state agents were involved in the plan but were not authorized by the Indian government, Bloomberg reported. A U.S. indictment in November accused an unnamed Indian government employee of directing the plot.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Blinken Meets With Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo |
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s talks today (WaPo) with foreign ministers of Arab countries in Egypt come after the United States put forth (The National) a draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate cease-fire linked to the release of hostages” in the Gaza Strip. This is Blinken’s sixth trip to the region since October 7; he was in Saudi Arabia yesterday and is also traveling to Israel.
U.S./Israel: Israel submitted written assurances (WaPo) to the U.S. State Department that it is not using U.S.-supplied equipment to violate international humanitarian or U.S. human rights law. The State Department is due to assess whether those assurances are credible by early May and then will report to Congress.
This article by CFR’s Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow shows U.S. aid to Israel in four charts.
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U.S. Development Lending Agency Probes Loans in Kenya After Sex Abuse Allegations |
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) opened a probe (Bloomberg) into its oversight of loans it made to schools in Kenya where allegations of child sexual abuse have emerged. A separate World Bank internal probe of the matter found last week that such abuse occurred between 2013 and 2020. The head of the DFC said the agency was not aware of the abuse allegations.
South Sudan: Intense heat prompted authorities to close (NYT) schools this week, with no immediate announcement of when they will reopen. South Sudan is highly exposed to extreme climate events including droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures. The current heat wave is expected to last at least two weeks.
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EU Leaders Discuss Using Profits From Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine |
European Union (EU) member states are discussing (RFI, Reuters) the proposal at a summit today, where they are also debating how Europe can boost its defense industry. The meeting comes after Moscow launched (NYT) ballistic missiles into Kyiv today in its biggest attack in weeks, and as U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan completed an unannounced trip to Kyiv to reaffirm U.S. support.
This In Brief by CFR’s Jonathan Masters explores how frozen Russian assets could help rebuild Ukraine.
Ireland: Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he will resign (NPR) in a surprise announcement yesterday, citing “personal and political” reasons. He said he believed his center-right party would do better in elections under a different leader, who will take office soon after March 31. He was the youngest person ever elected prime minister, as well as Ireland’s first biracial and first openly gay premier.
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Venezuelan Authorities Detain Staffers of Opposition Candidate |
Venezuela’s attorney general yesterday accused (AP) nine staffers working for opposition candidate María Corina Machado of a violent anti-government conspiracy, charges Machado rejected as false. At least two of her staff have been arrested. Hours earlier, the head of an expert panel investigating human rights abuses in Venezuela said the government had increased repression of opponents ahead of this year’s election.
Argentina: The country is experiencing 200 percent more cases of dengue fever than at this same time last year, an infectious disease specialist told Reuters, and is on track for a record year. Amid a warming climate, a dengue surge also occurred earlier than usual this year in neighboring Brazil.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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