Government of Canada officials will hold a virtual technical briefing for media related to the 2024 Wildfire and Hurricane Season.
Ottawa, Ontario – Government of Canada officials will hold a virtual technical briefing for media related to the 2024 Wildfire and Hurricane Season.
The media technical briefing will be for attribution. Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions to officials attending in a “for attribution” capacity.
Event: Media technical briefing (Zoom)
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Time: 10:30 a.m. (EDT)
Note for media:
Simultaneous translation audio feed will be available. Participation in the question-and-answer portion of this technical briefing is via Zoom and is for accredited members of the Press Gallery only. Media who are not members of the Press Gallery may also contact pressres2@parl.gc.ca to request temporary access.
Media who wish to listen-in by phone can dial in by using the numbers below. Media are encouraged to dial-in 15 minutes before the start of the press conference. No questions will be taken via teleconference.
Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
Rubio, Colleagues to Biden-Harris Officials: Individuals Tied to Cuban Regime Are Not Welcome
Sep 24, 2024 | Press Releases
Under U.S. law, any individual who has been, or is affiliated with a Communist Party is deemed inadmissible for entry into our nation. However, under the Biden-Harris Administration’s mass immigration program, it’s been reported that individuals tied to the…
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Rubio, Scott Introduce Bill to Punish Colleges That Allow Antisemitism
Sep 24, 2024 | Press Releases
Since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack against Israel, cases of antisemitic harassment have increased more than 500 percent at college campuses across the United States. Yet, many Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs) have failed to prevent or stop antisemitism…
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Rubio, Scott Support Florida Request for Pre-landfall Emergency Declaration
Sep 23, 2024 | Press Releases
Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine, soon to be Hurricane Helene, is expected to make landfall in Florida as a major hurricane later this week. The storm will bring strong winds, heavy rain, severe storm surge, flooding, and hazardous seas to Florida’s impacted areas….
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ICYMI: Rubio, Clement Present Plan to Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses
Sep 23, 2024 | Press Releases
Congress Can Protect Jews on College Campuses U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Paul Clement September 23, 2024 Wall Street Journal The ancient poison of antisemitism has infected American higher education…. Campus antisemitism isn’t restricted to…widely publicized…
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ICYMI: Rubio Joins Face the Nation
Sep 22, 2024 | Press Releases
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Face the Nation to discuss foreign election interference, threats to President Donald Trump’s life, the impact of illegal mass migration on communities across America, and more. See below for highlights and watch the full…
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Rubio, Colleagues to Garland: Tren De Aragua Continues to Terrorize Our Nation
Sep 20, 2024 | Press Releases
Tren de Aragua, a criminal Venezuelan transnational organization known for committing major international crimes such as human trafficking, drug-trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering, continues to terrorize communities across our nation. Following calls…
Despite an announcement that brought hope for positive developments—for instance, following Geneva peace talks—no significant amount of humanitarian relief has reached people in Zamzam camp and the nearby, war-stricken city of El Fasher since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee concluded that famine conditions were prevalent in the area on August 1 this year. Most supply roads are controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have made it all but impossible to bring therapeutic food, medicines, and essential supplies into the camp since the intensification of fighting around El Fasher last May.
There’s no more time to waste if thousands of preventable deaths are to be avoided. Among the more than 29,000 children under five years old screened last week during a vaccination campaign in Zamzam camp, 10 percent suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition, while 34.8 percent suffer from global acute malnutrition, which will evolve into a more severe form of malnutrition if not treated effectively and in a timely fashion.
“The malnutrition rates found during the screening are massive and likely some of the worst in the world currently,” said Claudine Mayer, MSF emergency medical manager. “It’s even more terrifying as we know from experience that the results are often underestimated in the area when we use only the mid-upper arm circumference criteria like we did here, instead of combining it with measuring weight and height.”
An MSF mass screening carried out in March 2024 revealed an 8.2 percent rate of severe acute malnutrition and a 29.4 percent rate of global acute malnutrition, which was already twice as high as the 15 percent alert threshold set by the World Health Organization.
Supply blockages and soaring prices exacerbate threat
The only food available is from pre-existing stocks, which is not sufficient for people living in the area, and food prices are at least three times as high as in the rest of Darfur. Fuel prices are soaring as well, making it very difficult to pump water and run clinics that rely on generators for electricity. Our staff on site report that for many, it’s impossible to obtain more than one meal per day.
“In such a dire situation, we should be scaling up our response,” said Mayer. “Instead, running critically low on supplies, we are reaching breaking point and were recently forced to reduce our activity to focus solely on children in the most severe conditions. This means we had to suspend treatment for 2,700 children with less severe forms of malnutrition, and to put an end to consultations provided to adults and children over five years old, who represented thousands of consultations every month.”
Zamzam camp is estimated to host between 300,000 and 500,000 people, many of them displaced many times over, who are trying to flee the war that has been devastating Sudan since last year. In El Fasher, where many of the displaced used to live, only one hospital remains partially functioning after the others were damaged or destroyed in the conflict.
“Due to unconscionable blockages on supplies, we feel like we are leaving behind an increasing number of patients who already have very few options for getting lifesaving medical care,” said Lacharité. “If the roads are not an option for getting massive quantities of urgent supplies into the camp, the United Nations should look at every available option. Delaying these supplies means causing more deaths—thousands of them, among the most vulnerable.”
The title comes in recognition of Liverpool’s impressive commitment to innovation and smart regulation to rapidly decarbonise the live music and TV/Film production sectors – both vital parts of the city’s economy – following several years of developmental work by ACT 1.5, an artist-led research and action effort, and climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
To mark the launch of this initiative, the following key events and plans were also announced today:
A three-night live music series at Liverpool Arena from 28 – 30 November in collaboration with Massive Attack, ACT 1.5 and SJM concerts, to showcase innovations in sustainability and the smart design of live music events.
A headline industry event, called Expedition 1, on (29 November) and public event (30 November) in the adjacent ACC Liverpool which will test and showcase eight cross-sectoral pilot projects for rapid decarbonisation across live music, TV and film productions scheduled in 2025, and then invite the public into multiple climate action workshops, live audience podcasts, and performances.
The implementation of three initial plans for galvanising decarbonization in the cultural sector: a pioneering integrated public transport and ticketing program (TAG Network); electrification with 100% renewable energy of all key live event and filming locations in the city centre; and a new Paris 1.5-degree compatible sustainability standard that major events will need to meet in order to be granted a land use agreement for an event to proceed.
This work builds upon the groundbreaking project commissioned by the band Massive Attack and developed over the past four years, culminating in a climate action accelerator event entitled ACT 1.5 in Bristol (UK) in late August.
The band worked in collaboration with the Tyndall Centre, AGF, and super low-carbon providers to produce what is anticipated to have been the lowest greenhouse gas emissions show of its size ever staged.
As an ’Accelerator City’ Liverpool, which has just announced huge plans for the future of its music sector, will expand on this use of policy, technology, infrastructure, and transport practices to pilot and then embed decarbonisation methods into the fabric of the city, extending the scope of this work to include national film and television institutions; establishing cross-sectoral solutions with clean, green providers and sustainability-focused event & onscreen producers.
The world-leading Accelerator City programme is supported by Ecotricity and is comprised of a partnership network of private, public sector, and UN organisations including BBC, BAFTA Albert, BFI, Earth Percent, Equity, BECTU, The European Space Agency, A Greener Future, Association of Independent Festivals, UN Climate Change, UNESCO, ZENOBE Energy, and numerous transport, food and local service providers.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said: “I commend the city of Liverpool on its ambitious plans to dramatically speed up decarbonisation in this vital sector. Cities and towns are absolutely essential in picking up the pace and scale of climate action – and the cultural sector plays a vital role in unlocking innovation and promoting sustainable behaviours. I applaud Liverpool’s initiative and look forward to identifying other ‘Accelerator Cities’ in the future.”
UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy MP, said: “I am proud and delighted that Liverpool – as famous for its cultural exports as it is for its maritime history – will be the UN’s first Accelerator City for climate change action.
“I would especially like to congratulate the artists, scientists, providers and the city council who have made huge efforts and driven innovative solutions to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and are having their work recognised in this way. Dynamic projects like these are completely in line with our mission for the UK to become global leaders in this action once again, and with our efforts to boost clean, green, highly skilled jobs at home to drive economic growth and achieve clean power by 2030.”
Robert Del Naja, (3D – Massive Attack), said: “Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible, and that audiences will embrace change enthusiastically. The vast scope of work in Liverpool and UN recognition means we can now concentrate more dynamic pilots and experiments to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. This idea and this insistence are not going back in any box. We’re delighted to see artists like Coldplay testing elements like localised ticket pre-sales and 100% renewable energy as recommended in the Tyndall Centre Paris 1.5 decarbonisation road map and encourage other artists to do so freely. The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.”
Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: ‘Liverpool has redefined the transformative power of culture over the past 25 years by blending imagination and innovation with a passion to deliver amazing results – be it staging the best-ever Eurovision to playing a leading role in the UK’s recovery from Covid. Now we’re ready to apply all of our best efforts to tackling the biggest challenge humanity faces and we are deeply honoured the UN has recognised our commitment to decarbonise our cultural sector and appointed Liverpool as the World’s First “Accelerator City” for Climate Action.
“What is so fantastic about this status, is not just the plans we have to help decarbonise music, events and filming, but also the way that this project will educate and motivate audiences through something they really care about – music and entertainment. Liverpool is a city that has always strived to innovate and inspire, and this award recognises that on a global scale.“
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Liverpool has always been a city of firsts but being named the world’s first ‘Accelerator City’ is huge for our region, and another example of how we’re leading the charge on climate action. We’re not just talking about change; we’re making it happen. By bringing innovation to the sectors that define us—like music, film and TV —we’re showing the world how culture can drive real, meaningful climate action. Together, we’re proving that the Liverpool City Region isn’t just making headlines; it’s helping to write the playbook for building a fairer, greener future a reality for everyone.”
Matt Scarff, Managing Director BAFTA Albert, said: “The screen industries are uniquely placed to help drive forward the vital progress and innovation needed to protect the future of our planet. BAFTA albert is proud to support this brilliant UN initiative and support the city of Liverpool as we work to make it a hub of sustainable creativity for generations to come.”
Professor Carly McLachlan, Director of Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said: “This city level action to transform live music and film and TV production is really exciting in its ambition and the critical combination of collaboration and regulation. We need to move fast on decarbonisation and that means innovation and new ways of working, but crucially it also means sharing learning, getting the right infrastructure in place and ratcheting up minimum standards. Liverpool’s global recognition as such a culturally rich city make it a brilliant location to demonstrate to the world how things can be done differently.”
Dale Vince OBE, Founder of Ecotricity, said: “Big congrats to Liverpool, leading the way by adopting Act 1.5 across the city. We’ve been working with Massive Attack on the music side and with partners in film and tv production to show that it’s possible for the live event sector to operate this way – that’s important not just for the sake of its own … footprint but because of the platform it has – we can reach huge amounts of people this way and show them there is another way to live. I love the scale and the ambition.”
Oxfam leaders, experts, and partners are joining the UN 79th General Assembly, Summit of the Future, and Climate Action week in New York, hosting and attending events focused on UN Security Council Reform, gender, digital rights, inequality, climate action, and humanitarian issues. They will be urging global leaders to take bold decisions and action as they deliberate on the pressing issues of our time.
This year’s theme is “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations.”
Here is an overview of Oxfam’s key events, including a press conference on a report on UN Security Council Reform, media spokespeople, and products:
“Our global systems have failed to address the unprecedented challenges we face today, leaving millions behind. Conflict is rampant, the climate crisis is at a breaking point, and inequality is soaring. As we gather at this year’s Assembly, leaders cannot squander the opportunity to restore people’s faith in the UN’s role as the flagbearer for global peace, security, and cooperation. They must move beyond mere rhetoric and make bold choices to create a system that serves all of humanity, not just the powerful few.”
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director
Oxfam International
A few highlights from Oxfam’s agenda at UNGA (all times in EST):
Thursday, September 19: Oxfam will publish a report titled,“Vetoing Humanity,”which highlights how the five UN Security Council Permanent Member States’ (P5) have abused the veto and negotiating powers in their own geopolitical interests; and how they have paralyzed the Council’s ability to maintain international peace and security or mitigate prolonged conflicts and human suffering.
At 8:30am, Oxfam will be hosting a photo call at an art installation in Tudor City outside the UN, featuring a large dove shackled to a “veto” weight, signifying how the Security Council veto has restrained efforts for global peace. Brooklyn-based artist Miles Giordani built the installation with Oxfam.
At 11:00 am, Oxfam will also hold a press conference on the “Vetoing Humanity”report in the UN Correspondents Association briefing room.
Saturday, September 21: Oxfam and partners will host a Summit of the Future Action Days Official Side Event on“Reforming the UN Security Council for an Equal and Sustainable Future”at the UN Headquarters. Speakers will include Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director; Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America; Ambassador Lazalous Kapambwe former Zambia Permanent Representative to the UN and 67th President of UN ECOSOC; Wameedh Shakir, Founder and Chairperson of Itar Foundation in Yemen; Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director and Chair – Global Governance Forum and Ishaan Shah co-founded Stolen Dreams.Registerto participate or watch the Livestream here:Reforming the UN Security Council for an Equal and Sustainable Future (Side Event, Action Day 2, Summit of the Future) | UN Web TV
Monday, September 23: Oxfam will publish“Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy: How Extreme Inequality Undermines International Cooperation,”a report highlighting how ultrawealthy individuals — often enabled by the richest countries — exert disproportionate influence over policy decision. The paper proposes the solutions needed for progress and provides new global data prepared for UNGA. On Thursday, September 26, a joint event with the Ford Foundation will outline key aspects the report; the panelists will include:Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar; Ronald Lamola, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; and Nanjala Nyabola, Kenyan writer, researcher, and political analyst; moderated byThe Washington Post’s Karen Attiah.
Reactive Statements:
Oxfam will be making statements regarding Summit of the Future outcomes, Heads of State Speeches during the High-Level Debate and other developments throughout.
Oxfam Spokespeople:
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International, Executive Director: Sustainable Development Goals, UN Reform, Inequality, Climate, Democracy, Human Rights, war in Gaza
Abby Maxman, Oxfam America President and CEO: Sustainable Development Goals, Inequality, Humanitarian Issues
Lebogang Ramafoko, Oxfam South Africa Executive Director:Summit of the Future,Climate and Inequality
Brenda Mofya, Head of Oxfam New York Office: Sustainable Development Goals, The Summit of the Future, Humanitarian Issues
Dr. Tawanda Mutasah, Oxfam America Vice President of Global Partnerships and Impact:Sustainable Development Goals, UN Reform
Ashfaq Khalfan, Oxfam America Director of Climate Justice:U.S. position and context on climate issues in UN agenda, Climate and Inequality, Future Generations
Nabil Ahmed, Oxfam America Director of Economic and Racial Justice:Economic/Wealth Inequality, Progressive Taxation, Corporate Power, Multilateralism
Pauline Chetcuti, Oxfam International Head of Humanitarian Advocacy and Campaigns; Humanitarian and Climate Financing, Humanitarian Issues
Neal McCarthy, Oxfam America Associate Director of Digital in Program:Summit of the Future Digital Compact
Rebecca Shadwick, Oxfam International Gender Rights & Justice Policy & Advocacy Lead:Gender Justice and Rights in the Summit of the Future
Abdulwasea Mohammed, Oxfam in Yemen Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns Lead; Yemen, Inclusive Peace and Security
Partners:
Marinel Ubaldo, Climate Activist from the Philippines;Climate and Youth Activism
Hilda Nakabuye, Climate Activist from Uganda:Climate and Youth Activism
Wameedh Shakir, Chairwoman of Itar Foundation for Social Development in Yemen;Yemen, Gender, UN Reform
OXFAM REPORT + PRESS CONFERENCE + PHOTO CALL: Oxfam is publishing the report “Vetoing Humanity: How a few powerful nations hijacked global peace and why reform is needed at the UN Security Council.”
As detailed above, Oxfam will be presenting the report at a press conference and presenting a temporary art installation featuring a dove of peace shackled by the weight of the veto by Brooklyn-based artist Miles Giordani.
OXFAM + TRUST AFRICA EVENT: African Civil Society Dialogue on the Summit of the Future LOCATION: Jay Suites – Fifth Avenue, 15 W 38th Street Note: This event continues to September 21. For more information contact Gail Smith (gail.smith@oxfam.org.za). Saturday, September 21:
OXFAM EVENT: “Connecting the Global North and South in fulfilling existing legal obligations on climate finance, including loss and damage” TIME: 11:00am-12:30pm LOCATION: Oxfam NY Office, 369 Lexington Avenue Note: For more information contact Karelia Pallan (karelia.pallan@oxfam.org)
OXFAM + IMPACT COALITION ON AI EVENT: Oxfam’s Neal McCarthy will be speaking on the Panel on AI & Technology Governance” TIME: 4:00-5:15pm LOCATION: UNHQ – CR12 Monday, September 23:
OXFAM REPORT: “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy” will outline how extreme economic inequality undermines multilateral efforts to effectively respond to critical global challenges like global taxation, health, and debt and propose the solutions needed for progress. The paper provides new global data prepared for UNGA.
OXFAM STATEMENT: Oxfam will issue a media reaction to the Pact of the Future and Summit of the Future outcomes
OXFAM STATEMENT: Oxfam will issue a statement ahead of President Biden’s address at the General Debate
OXFAM SPEAKING ON DEVEX PANEL: “Food as a weapon in the new age of starvation.” Oxfam in Yemen’s Abdulwasea Mohammed, Advocacy, Policy and Media Lead, will speak about the food security crisis in Yemen TIME: 10:25-11:00am LOCATION: In-person in New York and online athttps://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-79.html Thursday, September 26:
OXFAM + FORD FOUNDATION EVENT: “Multilateralism in an Era of Oligarchy” will explore how extreme economic inequality undermines multilateral efforts to effectively respond to critical global challenges like global taxation, health, and debt; Oxfam panelists will be moderated byThe Washington Post’s Karen Attiah. TIME: 12:30-2:30pm LOCATION: Ford Foundation, 320 E 43rd Street Note: Please contact Shelby Bolen (shelby.bolen@oxfam.org) to be added to the RSVP list.
ABOUT OXFAM
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice and will highlight the urgent need in tackling the intersections of rising inequality, humanitarian emergencies, and the climate crisis.
Touchdown Fiji … Last week: Our intrepid Pacific Media Centre Bearing Witness climate media team Blessen Tom (left below) and Hele Ikimotu Christopher prepping in Auckland before departure … Now: On the ground at the University of the South Pacific.
Climate change continues to take its toll on small island nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu. Image: File – Kiribati in 2009. Jodie Gatfield/AusAID/Wansolwara
The IMF Executive Board concluded today the third reviews under Jamaica’s Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The PLL continues to be treated as precautionary and the completion of the reviews allow for an immediate disbursement of SDR191.45 million (US$258million) under the RSF.
Jamaica’s response to recent shocks has strengthened the credibility of policy frameworks, supporting an economic environment characterized by sustained growth, declining debt, low inflation, and a strengthened external position.
Jamaica has continued to implement an ambitious reform agenda that strengthened the fiscal and financial policy frameworks and the climate policy agenda to make the economy more resilient to climate change.
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the third reviews of the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement on a lapse-of-time basis.[1] The PLL and the RSF were approved in March 2023, with access of SDR 727.51 million and SDR 574.35 million respectively. The completion of third reviews makes available the remaining SDR191.45 million (about US$258 million) under the RSF and SDR 727.51 million (about US$980 million) under the PLL. The authorities continue to treat the PLL as precautionary.
The response to recent shocks has strengthened the credibility of Jamaica’s fiscal and monetary policy frameworks. In FY 2023/24, Jamaica’s economy is estimated to have grown at about 2 percent with tourism above pre-pandemic levels and a continued recovery in mining. Unemployment has fallen and the economy is in a strong cyclical position. Inflation has returned to the Bank of Jamaica’s target band and the external position has strengthened with a current account surplus, rising FDI, and ample international reserves—which at end-March 2024 reached about US$5.2 billion, the highest level in Jamaica’s history.
Going forward, GDP growth is expected to converge to potential and inflation to return to the mid-point of the target band. The external position is expected to remain strong. Guided by the authorities’ Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), public debt is expected to fall below 60 percent of GDP by FY2027/28. Risks to the outlook are arising from potential global economic and financial shocks and natural disasters, which are mitigated by strong policy frameworks, the authorities’ excellent track record managing shocks, and their commitment to reforms. The impact of Hurricane Beryl raises downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation in the near term.
The PLL has supported the authorities’ efforts to enhance financial supervision, the crisis resolution and AML/CFT frameworks, and data adequacy. Program performance has remained strong, and Jamaica continues to meet the PLL qualification criteria. All structural benchmarks were met and the BOJ overperformed on the indicative target on net international reserves. The indicative target on the fiscal balance—with a smaller than expected surplus—was marginally missed with a negligible impact on the debt consolidation plan. The authorities have made progress with the action plan to improve data, including on the fiscal and external sectors.
The RSF has supported Jamaica’s ambitious agenda to make the economy more resilient to climate change, including reforms to accelerate the transition to renewables, increase resilience to climate change, enhance the climate focus in policy frameworks, strengthen the management of climate risks by financial institutions, and create an enabling environment for green financial instruments. All RSF reform measures were met, comprising the analysis of climate-related fiscal risks, incentives for renewable energy, reporting requirements of climate risks for financial institutions, and a framework for green-bond issuance. These efforts have the potential to catalyze climate financing going forward.
[1] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
Moscow has introduced Russia’s first-ever digital stations into its transport system, merging cutting-edge technology with traditional passenger services to enhance comfort and convenience for travellers.
Moscow Metro, digital station.
Leading this innovative initiative are two pilot locations: the Maryina Roscha station on the Big Circle Line of the metro, and Terminal No. 1 at the “Nizhegorodskaya” city railway station. These stations showcase various elements designed to shape the future of urban mobility.
Key Features of the Digital Stations:
1. Digital wayfinding:
Real-time updates with animated icons, text blocks, and pop-up inserts.
Touchscreen signboards providing local area maps, metro schemes, station accessibility status, and information on city ground transport.
Interactive information stands that allow for frequent updates and additional announcements.
2. Technological innovations at Maryina Roscha:
Live Communication kiosk:
Featuring a 3D chatbot named Alexandra, this kiosk combines the functionality of a chatbot and a human assistant. Passengers can receive assistance at any time and purchase metro souvenirs.
Advanced turnstiles:
The new turnstile design increases capacity by 30% due to its compact build. Interactive lighting on the turnstiles indicates the payment status, and they accept various payment methods, including biometrics. A built-in lighting system guides passengers on where to stand for facial recognition payments.
Upgraded ticket vending machines:
These machines feature bright and wide digital screens, operate faster, and offer additional functionalities such as route planning and temporarily freezing passes during absences.
Smart ceiling lights:
These lights indicate the crowding levels of train carriages, allowing passengers to choose less crowded options by standing under green indicators.
Projector system:
Eleven mini-projectors embedded in the escalator arch lighting display useful information, including weather forecasts from Yandex.Weather.
Integrated train schedules:
Moreover, the digital stations integrate train schedules from the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) and Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) with Russian Railways’ route maps, enhancing the coherence of passenger information systems.
Moscow Metro, digital station.
Future prospects
If these digital stations prove successful, the city plans to replace up to 30% of all metro wayfinding signs with digital versions by 2030.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has inaugurated the first digital transport facilities in Russia. We created them as part of the Moscow Transport Development Program until 2030, with a focus on innovations to enhance passenger comfort. Russian designers, planners, and manufacturers were involved in developing the solutions we have presented, — said Deputy Mayor for Transport Maksim Liksutov.
Passenger engagement and feedback:
To ensure continuous improvement, the digital systems at Maryina Roscha and Nizhegorodskaya stations are equipped with QR codes. Passengers can use these codes to leave feedback over the next six months. This feedback will be reviewed to determine the project’s scalability.
With this pioneering project, Moscow is set to redefine urban commuting by making it more efficient, ‘responsive, and user-friendly, harnessing the best of contemporary technological advancements.
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with the Republic of Latvia and endorsed the staff appraisal on a lapse-of-time basis without a meeting.
The Latvian economy contracted with significant disinflation. After the post-pandemic recovery, growth contracted by 0.3 percent in 2023, due to tighter financial conditions and weak external demand. Headline inflation declined to 0.0 percent y/y in May 2024. However, core inflation still stood at 3.1 percent in April 2024. The financial sector has so far been resilient although risks are elevated. Fiscal performance in 2023 was stronger than expected, reflecting revenue buoyancy linked to inflation and expenditure under-execution. The current account deficit narrowed to 4 percent of GDP in 2023 from 4.8 percent in 2022, due to import contraction and lower energy prices. Russia’s war in Ukraine and the related geoeconomic fragmentation are adding to structural challenges amid multiple transitions, notably, climate change and energy, and aging and labor shortages. The economic consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine continue to depress private investment and productivity, thus compromising further Latvia’s lagging income convergence.
Amid high uncertainty, the outlook is for higher growth and the balance of risks is tilted to the downside. Real GDP growth is projected to increase to 1.7 and 2.4 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively, underpinned by a recovery in private consumption, higher public investment, and stronger external demand. Growth in the medium-term is projected to continue at an average of around 2.5 percent, supported by public investment and reforms. Inflation is expected to continue to moderate. Headline inflation (annual average) is projected to decline to 2.0 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, core inflation (annual average) is projected to slow to 3.3 percent in 2024, reflecting persistent services inflation. Downside risks dominate, including risk to competitiveness associated with recent high wage growth, rising geopolitical tensions and deeper geoeconomic fragmentation, and weaker external demand.
Latvia’s economy has encountered severe headwinds. The Latvian economy contracted with significant disinflation against the backdrop of geopolitical headwinds. Notably, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the related geoeconomic fragmentation are adding to long-standing challenges to productivity, investment, and labor supply, amid multiple transitions around climate change and energy, aging and labor shortages, and rising defense costs.
Amid high uncertainty, growth is projected to rebound, but risks are tilted to the downside. Real GDP growth is projected to increase in 2024 and 2025, largely driven by a rebound in private consumption, higher public investment, and stronger external demand. The main risks stem from rising geopolitical tensions and deeper geoeconomic fragmentation, credit risks related to variable-rate loans, and weaker-than-expected external demand. Risks to competitiveness can also arise given recent high wage growth. Over the medium-term, delays in public investment and structural reforms could weigh on potential growth.
Considering the improving outlook, staff recommends a less expansionary, neutral fiscal stance for 2024 and a tighter fiscal stance in 2025. Proactively identifying spending efficiency and better targeting social support, while protecting the most vulnerable, would help. Staff commends the authorities for the targeting of energy support measures. In 2025, the fiscal stance should be tighter to build buffers for future spending needs. Policy options to achieve this include reducing tax exemptions, raising revenue from property taxation, strengthening tax enforcement, and improving investment spending efficiency. Fiscal policy should remain flexible and evolve if risks materialize.
Although Latvia has some fiscal space, structural fiscal measures are needed to provide buffers for medium to long term spending pressures. Over the medium term, options for fiscal consolidation include (i) broadening the bases of corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT), including by reducing the shadow economy; (ii) broadening the base of property taxes; (iii) reducing tax exemptions and fossil fuel subsidies, and (iv) rationalizing spending on goods and services. Given this scaling-up of public investment amid high uncertainty and cost overrun, enhanced public investment management is warranted to mitigate fiscal risks. The mission welcomes the healthcare reform aimed to generate efficiency gains, while mitigating risks and supporting solidarity. Staff also welcomes the government’s pension reform efforts and recommends linking the retirement age to life expectancy. Latvia should swiftly implement the NRRP.
Although the financial sector has so far been resilient, continued monitoring of macrofinancial vulnerabilities and spillovers is warranted. The banking sector remained well capitalized and liquid, with a low NPL ratio. However, given heightened risks, continued monitoring of financial sector vulnerabilities is important. Notably, regular risk-based monitoring of banks’ asset quality and liquidity should continue, supported by tailored stress tests. Any households’ financial distress related to variable-interest-rate mortgage loans should be addressed through the consumer bankruptcy framework, supplemented by the social protection system for the most vulnerable. The new untargeted interest subsidy scheme for variable-interest-rate mortgages should not be renewed at its expiration in 2024. The authorities should refrain from further initiatives to increase taxation on bank profits given their adverse impact on bank capital and financial stability. Staff welcomes the continued efforts to mitigate cybersecurity risk.
While the current macroprudential policy stance is broadly appropriate, the recent adjustment to the borrower-based measures for energy-efficient housing loans should be reconsidered. The overall policy stance strikes the right balance between maintaining financial stability and the need to extend credit to the economy. However, borrower-based macroprudential measures should be relaxed only when their presence is overly stringent from the financial stability perspective.
Latvia has made significant progress in strengthening its AML/CFT frameworks and governance reforms. Staff commends the authorities’ effort to pursue AML/CFT reforms and supports the authorities’ priorities to prepare for the 6th round of MONEYVAL evaluation. Staff welcomes the authorities’ reforms to digitalize the procurement system and the continued implementation of Latvia’s anti-corruption plan and national strategy.
Structural reforms should be accelerated to enhance productivity and resilience. Accelerating corporate reforms could boost investment and productivity by improving capital allocation and access to finance. Given the aging population and skill mismatch, Latvia should continue to address reforms to boost high-skilled labor supply which will enhance investment in productivity. Efforts should focus on promoting training and internal labor mobility toward priority sectors (green and transition, digitalization, health). Further streamlining product and service markets regulations could boost competition, innovation, and productivity. Staff welcomes the ongoing overhaul of the administrative procedures and their digitalization. Implementing measures to promote digital transformation of the economy could help reduce labor shortages and support productivity. Regarding the green and energy transition, more vigorous climate policy is needed. Staff encourages the authorities to expedite the adoption of the climate law and the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The authorities should aim to achieve a robust balance between fiscal support, carbon pricing or taxation, and norms while addressing distributional concerns. Staff welcomes the ongoing work on climate adaptation. Latvia should continue to enhance energy security, and boost investment in clean energy and connection.
Credit to private sector (annual percentage change)
-2.3
-4.4
11.9
7.1
5.1
…
…
Broad money (annual percentage change)
8.0
13.1
9.2
5.1
2.7
…
…
Balance of Payments
Current account balance
-0.6
2.9
-3.9
-4.8
-4.0
-3.7
-3.5
Trade balance (goods)
-8.6
-5.1
-8.3
-10.7
-9.3
-8.8
-8.8
Gross external debt
117.1
122.1
110.5
102.3
98.5
94.9
86.6
Net external debt 2/
18.1
13.6
10.3
8.1
7.5
10.7
13.5
Exchange Rates
U.S. dollar per euro (period average)
1.12
1.14
1.18
1.05
1.08
…
…
REER (period average; CPI based, 2005=100)
123.0
124.5
125.0
129.7
136.8
…
…
Terms of trade (annual percentage change)
0.9
1.8
-1.6
-0.6
3.6
-0.1
0.9
Sources: Latvian authorities; Eurostat; and IMF staff calculations.
1/ National definition. Includes economy-wide EU grants in revenue and expenditure.
2/ Gross external debt minus gross external assets.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Photo: WFP/Mumit M. Bangladesh is currently grappling with severe floods that have impacted nearly 6 million people, particularly in the southeastern and northeastern regions of the country.
ROME – As the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) responds to flood emergencies across the globe, the agency is calling for investment and concerted action to prepare vulnerable communities for more frequent extreme climate events that threaten to damage crops, displace communities and disrupt food systems.
The number of floods in WFP’s areas of operation has increased this year, with at least 21 countries already facing significant flooding, and more expected. The floods exacerbate ongoing crises and threaten food security, while also slowing down efforts to deliver critical relief. In 2023, climate extremes drove 72 million people into crisis or emergency levels of hunger, a 26 percent increase from the previous year.
“Rich and poor countries alike are suffering severe floods and record-breaking storms, and with each passing year extreme climate events are becoming the new normal,” said WFP Assistant Executive Director Valerie Guarnieri. “When flood events come on top of conflict, displacement and hunger, they multiply the strain on communities and governments. Investing in early action and preparedness is essential to protect people’s access to food and this is a core priority for WFP.”
In 2023, WFP assisted almost 18 million people in 60 countries with solutions and services to manage climate risks. WFP’s support for early warning systems and ‘anticipatory action’ – where help arrives before disaster strikes – reached 36 countries, covering over 4.1 million people. WFP-supported climate risk insurance programmes provided 5.1 million people in 27 countries with financial protection.
In flood-affected Bangladesh, WFP recently provided cash assistance to 120,000 families before floods hit – one of WFP’s largest anticipatory action programmes to date. WFP has also been supporting cash-for-work schemes that help rebuild critical infrastructure. From Bangladesh to Somalia, WFP is working with governments and communities to analyse climate risks, strengthen early warning systems and expand climate protection.
“Climate shocks are predictable. By investing in preparedness, we can help reduce the impact of extreme weather and safeguard food security amid the climate crisis,” said Guarnieri. Evidence generated by WFP in Bangladesh and Nepal shows that anticipatory action investments have reduced the cost of humanitarian responses to floods in affected areas by up to 50 percent.
The recent spate of floods worldwide has seen WFP responding on several fronts, most recently in Asia and West Africa.
In Myanmar, on the government’s request, WFP is gearing up to expand its flood response operations to also reach those affected by Yagi, one of the strongest typhoons to hit Southeast Asia in decades.
In Laos, WFP teams are on the ground helping the government and partners assess needs and, over the coming days, 100 metric tonnes of rice will be distributed to affected families.
Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria have been among the hardest hit in some of the worst flooding Western and Central Africa have ever experienced, with more than four million people have been affected. WFP is ramping up its support, targeting a million people across the region – distributing food and cash. WFP is also advocating for expanded anticipatory action and improvements to early warning systems to help respond more effectively.
In war-torn Sudan, the worst floods in 40 years are adding to the misery caused by the war. WFP has provided food assistance to 41,000 people affected by the flooding and continues operations to assist those affected by the conflict. But floods are complicating the delivery of lifesaving aid.
In South Sudan, massive flooding is affecting over 735,000 people, most of whom already face extremely high levels of food insecurity. WFP has been planning for a worst-case scenario and initially plans to reach 1.2 million people from mid-September. The flooding is also creating challenges for WFP’s logistics operations, with a sharp increase in airdrops as many communities have become inaccessible.
Forecasts suggest major flooding events will likely continue across Asia, the Sahel, Sudan and South Sudan over the next few months. As La Niña takes over from El Niño, floods and increased tropical storm activity are more likely in Southern Africa, northern South Americaand Southeast Asia. In addition to the La Niña pattern, the current extremely warm ocean temperatures are fuelling what is expected to be an exceptionally active 2024 hurricane season in the Caribbean.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates 41st Indian Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi “ICG is India’s foremost guard ensuring security of our vast coastline”
RM exhorts ICG to become a technology-oriented force to deal with conventional & future threats
Reiterates Govt’s resolve to build an Aatmanirbhar Coast Guard; 31 ICG ships, worth over Rs 4,000 crore, being built by Indian shipyards
Posted On: 24 SEP 2024 1:32PM by PIB Delhi
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 41st edition of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi on September 24, 2024. The three-day meeting serves as a vital forum for ICG Commanders to engage in meaningful discussions on strategic, operational & administrative matters in the backdrop of the evolving geopolitical landscapes and complexities of maritime security.
Addressing the senior Commanders at the Coast Guard Headquarters, the Raksha Mantri described ICG as India’s foremost guard, ensuring the security of the country’s vast coastline through constant monitoring of the Exclusive Economic Zone, and prevention of illegal activities such as terrorism and trafficking of arms, drugs & humans. Commending the bravery & dedication with which the ICG personnel serve the nation in the times of distress, he paid tributes to the bravehearts who lost their lives in a recent operation near Porbandar.
Shri Rajnath Singh termed the contribution of ICG in protecting the nation from internal disasters as unparalleled. He extolled its quick response during an oil spill off Chennai after Cyclone Michaung, which averted a major damage to the coastal ecosystem of the area.
Sharing his vision to make ICG as one of the strongest Coast Guards, the Raksha Mantri emphasised the need to move forward from being a human-oriented to a technology-oriented force to deal with conventional as well as emerging threats in today’s unpredictable times. He underlined the importance of ultra-modern technology on maritime borders, stating that it acts as a force multiplier to further strengthen the security system of the country.
“The world is going through a phase of technological revolution. In this era of Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Technology and drones, the field of security is witnessing significant changes. Given the current geopolitical situation, maritime threats will increase in the future. We need to be alert and ready. The importance of manpower will always remain, but the world should know us as a technology-oriented Coast Guard,” Shri Rajnath Singh said.
While the Raksha Mantri stressed on the benefits of incorporating latest technology, he exhorted the Commanders to remain wary of its negative side. He termed technology as a double-edged sword and called upon ICG to be proactive, vigilant and prepared to tackle the potential challenges.
Shri Rajnath Singh reiterated the commitment of the Government, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to modernise & bolster the Armed Forces and ICG with indigenous platforms & equipment. On the efforts being made to attain ‘Aatmanirbharta’, he stated that 31 ships for ICG, worth more than Rs 4,000 crore, are being built by Indian shipyards. He also highlighted the approvals accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council to enhance the capabilities of ICG, which include procurement of Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, Software Defined Radios, Interceptor Boats, Dornier aircraft and Next Generation Fast Patrol Vessels. Asserting that the three Services are evolving themselves with changing times, the Raksha Mantri urged the ICG to continue improving itself, creating a unique identity, gaining expertise in its domain, and moving forward with renewed vigour.
The Raksha Mantri also paid tributes to late ICG DG Rakesh Pal who passed away due to a heart attack in Chennai recently. He described him as a kind-hearted and capable officer whose untimely death, he said, is an irreparable loss.
Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar and Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Dr Niten Chandra were among the senior officers present on the occasion.
During the course of the conference, the ICG Commanders will also interact with the Chief of Defence Staff, as well as the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Engineer-in-Chief. The discussions are designed to foster collaboration among the Services across the full spectrum of maritime security, while also promoting the growth and infrastructure development of ICG.
The conference provides a platform for senior ICG leaders to meticulously evaluate key operational, material, logistical, HR development, training, and administrative initiatives undertaken over the past year. They will also deliberate on vital milestones essential for the protection of the maritime interests of the nation. The Commanders will assess ongoing ICG projects designed to bolster Indigenisation through the ‘Make in India’ initiative, harmonising with the Government’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
The below is attributable to Deputy Spokesperson Shejal Pulivarti:
Today, on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly, USAID Counselor Clinton White and DFC Deputy CEO Nisha Biswal co-hosted a side event on scaling clean energy supply chains in Africa can catalyze sustainable development and advance clean energy-led growth globally.
During the event, Senior Advisor to President Biden for International Climate Policy John Podesta and the DRC Minister of Mining Kizito Pakabomba discussed how to enhance collaboration to spur green industrialization in Africa, building on the success of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Today’s event highlighted the vital role that clean energy supply chains play in driving sustainable development across Africa. Participants, including CEOs from clean energy manufacturing companies in Africa and in the United States underscored that by fostering partnerships among governments, the private sector, and civil society, we can harness Africa’s rich natural resources to build a clean energy industrial future that benefits all. The discussions not only focused on the opportunities presented by critical minerals but also addressed the imperative of ensuring that development is equitable, environmentally sustainable, and local. Participants agreed that there is an urgent need for collaboration across the private and public sector to scale clean energy supply chains.
Today, USAID joined consumer goods multinational companies PepsiCo, Unilever, Danone, McCormick & Company, and Nespresso in launching a new public-private partnership that aims to accelerate gender equality and enhance environmental sustainability in agricultural supply chains. The new initiative, Advancing Women for Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains, aligns with the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) initiative – a partnership launched by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2023 to bolster women’s economic security in sectors that address climate change.
With a planned, collective investment of $50 million to start – including over $11 million of USAID funding – this new agricultural supply chain initiative will help catalyze industry-level change through learning, scaling, and providing evidence on how supporting women in agricultural supply chains can help deliver environmental sustainability goals. The initiative will drive scale by bringing in new organizations and additional funds, with a total target of $90 million over the next five years.
In parallel, USAID also welcomed the Skoll Foundation as the newest partner to WISE through its support of the USAID-led Climate Gender Equity Fund – a public-private partnership with Amazon, Reckitt, the UPS Foundation, and the Visa Foundation that seeks to increase access to climate finance for women-led and women-benefiting organizations working at the forefront of climate action. Three of its newest grantees – Altree Capital, The Rallying Cry, and Villgro Philippines – were also announced.
Finally, Acumen, Germany, Heading for Change, the Republic of Cyprus, and the United Kingdom announced $339 million in new aligned commitments to advance the WISE Initiative through their independent efforts that advance WISE objectives. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Energy announced $289 million in additional aligned U.S. government commitments to the WISE initiative. In all, today’s announcements total $681 million in direct and aligned commitments – bringing the collective commitment of 33 governments, corporations, foundations, and civil society organizations to a total of over $2 billion towards the WISE Initiative.
For more information about the WISE Initiative, please visit ClimateLinks or email wise@usaid.gov.
Advancing Women for Resilient Agricultural Supply ChainsWomen in the Sustainable Economy WISE
What you need to know: Governor Newsom signed four bills today to help law enforcement crack down on dangerous sideshows and street takeovers. These new laws will hold participants and organizers accountable by providing law enforcement with the tools to seize vehicles involved in these illegal activities.
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom signed bipartisan legislation today to impose stricter penalties, increase accountability, and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to combat sideshows and street takeovers. These measures mark a step forward in improving road safety across California by addressing the rise of illegal street activities that endanger the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and communities. These new laws provide law enforcement with enhanced tools to more effectively deter illegal activities such as drifting, street racing, and blocking intersections during sideshows and street takeovers.
“Sideshows are reckless, criminal activities that endanger our communities. We have seen too many people killed or hurt at these events. Today, we are sending a clear message to anyone considering participating in or attending a sideshow: stricter penalties are in place, including the potential loss of your vehicle.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
Communities throughout California report increased sideshow activities and street takeovers. These dangerous events, where people race vehicles and shut down streets to perform stunts, can quickly turn deadly, often leading to accidents, spectator injuries, and other criminal activity, and block roadways and disrupt traffic flow, including access for emergency vehicles.
Participants, organizers, and spectators be warned
These new laws expand vehicle impoundment authority for law enforcement, including for spectators and those aiding in illegal speed contests and sideshows, while also standardizing terminology for “sideshows” and “street takeovers” statewide, and targeting reckless driving activities on highways and parking lots.
Governor Newsom today strengthened California’s ability to improve road safety by signing the following bills:
AB 1978 by Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita) – Vehicles: speed contests
AB 2186 by Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R-Palm Springs) – Vehicles: impoundment
AB 2807 by Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton) – Vehicles: sideshows and street takeovers
AB 3085 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) – Vehicles: removal and impoundment
Stronger enforcement. Serious penalties. Real consequences.
Today’s signing follows the Governor’s recent signing of landmark legislation providing law enforcement and prosecutors with additional tools to arrest and prosecute criminals for smash-and-grabs, retail theft, auto burglaries, and other property crime. While California’s crime rate remains near historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.
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What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom today signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, to require every school district, charter school and county office of education to develop a policy limiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026.
Sacramento, California – Building on his calls for school districts to restrict the use of smartphones on school campuses, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, to require every school district, charter school and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026. Authored by Assemblymembers Josh Hoover, David Alvarez, Josh Lowenthal, and Al Muratsuchi, the bipartisan legislation will support the mental health, academic success, and social wellbeing of California’s students.
“We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues – but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
“Reducing phone use in schools is essential for minimizing digital distractions and making space for stronger and more meaningful in-person connections. AB 3216 isn’t only about classroom instruction, it’s about protecting the mental health and social and emotional well-being of California’s kids.”
First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom
How we got here
In 2019, Governor Newsom signed AB 272 (Muratsuchi) into law, which specified that school districts have the authority to regulate the use of smartphones during school hours. This legislation was a crucial first step in efforts to minimize distractions and foster a more conducive environment for our students to learn. In June, the Governor announced efforts to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day.
Maintaining student safety
The development of the policies will involve significant stakeholder participation to ensure they are responsive to the unique needs and desires of the local students, parents and educators and must allow students to use their phones in the case of an emergency, or in response to a perceived threat of danger, or as allowed by a teacher, administrator, doctor or the student’s individualized education program.
Why this matters
Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem. Common Sense Media found that 97% of students use their phones during the school day for a median of 43 minutes. Combined with the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning about the risks of social media, it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails for smartphone use in schools.
Supporting smartphone free classrooms
Assemblyman Josh Hoover: “I appreciate the leadership of Governor Newsom and our bipartisan coalition of legislators that worked together to make the Phone-Free Schools Act a reality. AB 3216 is a major victory for protecting and improving the mental health and academic outcomes of students across California,” said Assemblyman Josh Hoover. “Research continues to demonstrate the potential harms of smartphone use among children. The growing use of these devices in a child’s everyday life can contribute to lower test scores, anxiety, depression, and even suicide. I am proud our state is taking action to limit the use of smartphones during the school day and protect kids from these harms.”
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee: “I thank the Governor for signing AB 3216. California school districts should place limits on student smartphone use on campus during school hours, unless approved by teachers or administrators for academic, emergency, or other purposes. In 2019, I authored Assembly Bill 272, to encourage school districts to consider such limits. Since then, growing research shows excessive smartphone use not only interfering with learning but also contributing to teenage anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying. All school districts should develop their own appropriate policy to balance appropriate student use of smartphones at school with curbing the impact of excessive smartphone use on a student’s educational, social, and emotional well-being.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond: “AB 3216 represents an important opportunity to address the mental health of our students by restricting smartphones in schools. I have directly engaged with our students, parents, and educators as we have explored the need for this important change. I will continue to make sure that we hear the voices of our young people, their families, and our hardworking school staff as we implement smartphone restrictions across the state.”
Statewide efforts to support youth mental health
California is transforming our entire mental health and substance use disorder system, with a special focus on youth. For the youngest Californians, Governor Newsom developed the Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health to provide every Californian aged 0-25 with increased access to mental health and substance use disorder supports. The Master Plan also includes the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), a historic investment by the State of California that takes a “whole child” approach to address the factors that contribute to the mental health and well-being of our children and youth.
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A technical consultation is to be held on whether a draft Local Plan for St Albans District has met all the necessary legal requirements.
The Local Plan (LP) is a blueprint for future growth and identifies land for infrastructure, employment and housing developments in the years to 2041.
It has been produced by St Albans City and District Council and has taken more than three years’ work to reach this stage.
Residents, community groups, businesses, neighbouring local authorities and other organisations have helped shape the document by contributing to previous consultations.
Numerous studies have also been undertaken to assess the impact of the proposals on the environment, transport, heritage, the Green Belt and social issues such as education and leisure.
External planning and legal experts have also helped the Council’s spatial planning team to carry out some of the detailed work and provide a detached perspective.
Councillors on the Planning Policy and Climate Committee gave approval for the next statutory procedure at its meeting on Monday 23 September.
They agreed to start what is known as the Regulation 19 Consultation to allow for public comment on the draft LP’s compliance and ‘soundness’ with national planning policies.
Chris Traill, the Council’s Strategic Director for Community and Place Delivery, said after the meeting:
This has been described as something of a technical consultation.
We are not asking people for feedback on their general views on the draft LP, but are asking whether it is in line with planning law and national planning policy.
Neighbouring councils, for instance, need to consider if we have met our duty to cooperate with them while producing the draft LP.
We have a responsibility as a Council to deliver an LP that conforms with planning law and national policies and we are confident that we have done so. This consultation, though, will put that to the test, allowing for any concerns to be raised.
The consultation will start on Thursday 26 September and continue for six weeks to Friday 8 November.
In the meantime, Full Council will decide whether to approve the draft LP at its meeting on Wednesday 16 October.
Following this, the Planning Policy and Climate Committee on Thursday 28 November will consider a report on the Regulation 19 consultation feedback.
Provided the draft LP was approved by Full Council and it is considered to be in accordance with national policy, it will then be submitted to the Government for examination by an independent planning inspector.
Previously, it was intended to submit a draft LP in March next year. The timetable was brought forward to avoid potential changes to national planning policy that could have meant starting the whole LP process again from scratch.
Ms Traill added:
We feel it is very much in the interests of our residents to submit a Local Plan as soon as we can. We will be able to update it when required to.
A delay of two or three years could leave us more open to speculative planning applications for all sorts of developments. It is these piecemeal, opportunistic developments rather than ones which form part of an overarching Local Plan that can cause major problems. They often don’t take sufficiently into account the impact on infrastructure, demand for school places and other issues.
The draft LP proposes nine new primary schools, four new secondary schools, sites for 15,000 new homes, including social housing, locations for 15,000 jobs, and new parks and health facilities.
Residents and other stakeholders gave their general views about the draft LP at an earlier Regulation 18 consultation, helping to shape the proposals.
South Africa is set to experience a mix of warm and cool temperatures in the coming days, with a significant drop in temperatures and even light snowfall expected later this month, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS).
This after the weekend’s freezing temperatures and snowfall in some parts of the country caused havoc on the roads, resulting in one fatality.
Forecaster at the South African Weather Service (SAWS) Lehlogonolo Thobela provided an outlook for the week ahead, highlighting warm conditions across much of the country.
“Today we are expecting just warm temperatures over the central parts, ranging between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius, that’s on average in the Northern Cape province.
“In Gauteng, the weather will be cooler in the south but warm in the northern areas, with maximum temperatures reaching about 25 degrees in the north and about 24 to 22 degrees over the southern parts,” Thobela said.
The Eastern Cape will experience varied conditions, with cool weather in the northeastern parts but warmer and even hot temperatures in the south.
“It will be quite cool over most parts of the northeastern parts of the Eastern Cape but warm over most of the province and hot over the southern parts,” Thobela explained.
The Western Cape, meanwhile, will see cooler conditions in the west but warmer weather in the east.
“Just warm temperatures are expected across the country,” Thobela said.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, Thobela forecasted hot temperatures in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, with highs of 34 degrees Celsius, and similarly warm to hot conditions in Limpopo.
“It will be warm over most parts of the country, with maximums between 25 and 30 degrees over the central parts,” he noted.
He said that cooler weather will persist in the Western Cape, especially along the west coast, where temperatures are expected to reach a maximum of 22 degrees.
The heat is set to continue through the week, especially in Limpopo and the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, with hot conditions predicted for the 26th and 27th of September.
“It will be hot over most parts of Limpopo on the 26th and 27th,” Thobela said.
Central regions like the Free State, North West, and Gauteng will remain warm during this period.
However, a significant temperature drop is expected later in the month, starting on the 29th of September.
“It will be cold over the southern parts, and the Western Cape will be very cold, with maximums ranging between 10 and 14 degrees Celsius,” Thobela said.
The Eastern Cape will remain cool, with colder conditions in the central and southwestern parts.
On the 30th of September, cold conditions will spread to KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Free State.
“There is some light snow expected over the highland areas of the Eastern Cape, as well as the southwestern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the border of Lesotho, between the 30th [of September] and the 1st of October,” Thobela revealed, though he assured that the snowfall would be light.
The cold snap will extend to the escarpment of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal on the 1st of October, with temperatures starting to recover by the 2nd.
South Africans are advised to prepare for fluctuating temperatures and possible snow in high-lying areas over the next week. – SAnews.gov.za
This post originally appeared on theTransform with Google Cloud blog. It was first published April 12, 2024; last updated with new use cases September 24, 2024.
Since generative AI first captured the world’s attention, there’s been a vigorous discussion about what, exactly, the new technology is best used for. While we all enjoyed those early funny chats and witty limericks, we’ve quickly discovered that many of the biggest AI opportunities are clearly in the enterprise, government, and with exciting new companies.
When we first published this post during Google Cloud Next ‘24, we showcased 101 of the best use cases out of the hundreds featured across the event. Now, we’re adding another 84 to the list as customers across the globe continue to put generative AI to work.
[If you’ve visited this post in the past, you can find the newest use cases listed at the top of each section.]
In a matter of months, organizations have gone from AI helping answer questions, to AI making predictions, to generative AI agents. What makes AI agents unique is that they can take actions to achieve specific goals, whether that’s guiding a shopper to the perfect pair of shoes, helping an employee looking for the right health benefits, or supporting nursing staff with smoother patient hand-offs during shifts changes.
In our work with customers, we keep hearing that their teams are increasingly focused on improving productivity, automating processes, and modernizing the customer experience. These aims are now being achieved through the AI agents they’re developing in six key areas: customer service; employee empowerment; code creation; data analysis; cybersecurity; and creative ideation and production.
Hundreds of Google Cloud customers have now put AI agents and gen-AI solutions into production throughout their businesses and the world — with many seeing a tangible return on investment. They have come to rely on Google Cloud technologies that include our AI infrastructure, Gemini models, Vertex AI platform, Google Workspace, and Google Distributed Cloud.
Here’s a snapshot of how 185 of these industry leaders are putting AI to use today, creating real-world use cases that will transform tomorrow.
Customer agents
Similar to great sales and service people, customer agents are able to listen carefully, understand your needs, and recommend the right products and services. They work seamlessly across channels including the web, mobile, and point of sale, and can be integrated into product experiences with voice and video.
1.Alaska Airlines is developing natural language search, providing travelers with a conversational experience powered by AI that’s akin to interacting with a knowledgeable travel agent. This chatbot aims to streamline travel booking, enhance customer experience, and reinforce brand identity.
2. Bennie Health uses Vertex AI to power its innovative employee health benefits platform, providing actionable insights and streamlining data management in order to enhance efficiency and decision-making for employees and HR teams.
3. Beyond 12, a tech-enabled nonprofit focused on student empowerment, has developed an AI-powered college coach to offer scalable coaching to first-generation students that’s available over text, app, and the web.
4. CareerVillage is building an app called Coach to empower job seekers, especially underrepresented youth, in their career preparedness; already featuring 35 career development activities, the aim is to have more than 100 by next year.
5. Character.ai built its realistic conversational chat platform using the full stack of Google Cloud AI services, including for model training and daily operations, allowing it to manage terabytes of conversations each day without interruption.
6. Click Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics designed to treat disease. Its Clinical Operations team leverages Gemini for Google Workspace to transform complex operations data into actionable insights, so they can quickly pinpoint ways to streamline the patient experience in clinical trials.
7. Formula E can now summarize a two-hour long race commentary into a 2-minute podcast in any language, incorporating driver data and ongoing seasonal storylines.
8. General Motors’ OnStar has been augmented with new AI features, including a virtual assistant powered by Google Cloud’s conversational AI technologies that are better able to recognize the speaker’s intent.
9. Gojek, an Indonesia-based super app, launched “Dira by GoTo AI,” a Bahasa Indonesia AI-powered voice assistant integrated into their GoPay service, allowing customers to use voice command to eliminate typing and scrolling, and complete tasks like bill payments and money transfers with fewer steps.
10. GroupBy, an ecommerce service provider, developed an AI-first Search and Discovery Platform powered by Vertex AI Search for Retail. This solution is meticulously designed to optimize revenue, strengthen brand loyalty, and drive sales growth for B2C and B2B retailers.
11. Hotelplan Suisse built a chatbot trained on the business’s travel expertise to answer customer inquiries in real-time, and, following that success, it plans to use gen AI to create travel content.
12. Justicia Lab is developing an AI-powered assistant that will simplify legal processes for asylum seekers and immigrants; by uploading a picture from a legal letter or document, users can extract valuable information and then receive personalized guidance and next steps.
13. Mercado Libre has incorporated semantic search into its digital shopping platforms, using AI embeddings from the Vertex AI Agent Builder, which greatly improved product recommendations and discoverability for more than 200 million consumers across Latin America.
14. Motorola’s Moto AI leverages Gemini and Imagen to help smartphone users unlock new levels of productivity, creativity, and enjoyment with features such as conversation summaries, notification digests, image creation, and natural language search — all with reliable responses grounded in Google Search.
15. mRelief has built an SMS-accessible AI chatbot to simplify the application process for the SNAP food assistance program in the U.S., featuring easy-to-understand eligibility information and direct assistance within minutes rather than days.
16. Personal AI offers a “personal language model” using only the data of one individual or brand and allowing them to control and own how it is used. Built on your own data, facts, and opinions, it creates a responsive and interactive messaging experience that helps people be more productive and deepen relationships.
17. PODS worked with the advertising agency Tombras to create the “World’s Smartest Billboard” using Gemini — a campaign on its trucks that could adapt to each neighborhood in New York City, changing in real-time based on data. It hit all 299 neighborhoods in just 29 hours, creating more than 6,000 unique headlines.
18. Quora developed Poe, its own generative AI platform for people to discover and chat with AI-powered bots, including Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s Llama, and Mistral’s Large 2 — many of which are hosted on Google Cloud’s purpose-built AI infrastructure.
19. ScottsMiracle-Gro built an AI agent on Vertex AI to provide tailored gardening advice and product recommendations for consumers.
20. Snap has deployed the multimodal capability of Gemini within its “My AI” chatbot and has since seen over 2.5-times as much engagement within Snapping to My AI in the United States.
21. Tabiya has built a conversational interface, Compass, that helps young people find employment opportunities; the platform asks questions and requests information, drawing out skills and experiences and matching those to appropriate roles.
22. Telecom Italia (TIM) implemented a Google-powered voice agent to address many customer calls, increasing efficiency by 20%.
23. UPS Capital launched DeliveryDefense Address Confidence, which uses machine learning and UPS data to provide a confidence score for shippers to help them determine the likelihood of a successful delivery.
24. Volkswagen of America built a virtual assistant in the myVW app, where drivers can explore their owners’ manuals and ask questions, such as, “How do I change a flat tire?” or “What does this digital cockpit indicator light mean?” Users can also use Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to see helpful information and context on indicator lights simply by pointing their smartphone cameras at the dashboard.
25. ADT is building a customer agent to help its millions of customers select, order, and set up their home security.
26. Alaska Airlines is developing a personalized travel search experience using advanced AI techniques, creating hyper-personalized recommendations that engage customers early and foster loyalty through AI-generated content.
27. Best Buy is using Gemini to launch a generative AI-powered virtual assistant this summer that can troubleshoot product issues, reschedule order deliveries, manage Geek Squad subscriptions, and more; in-store and digital customer-service associates are also gaining gen-AI tools to better serve customers anywhere they need help.
28. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is using Vertex AI to modernize transportation operations for a smoother, more efficient journey.
29. Etsy uses Vertex AI training to optimize their search recommendations and ads models, delivering better listing suggestions to buyers and helping sellers grow their businesses.
30. IHG Hotels & Resorts is building a generative AI-powered chatbot to help guests easily plan their next vacation directly in the IHG One Rewards mobile app.
31. ING Bank aims to offer a superior customer experience and has developed a gen-AI chatbot for workers to enhance self-service capabilities and improve answer quality on customer queries.
32. Magalu, one of Brazil’s largest retailers, has put customer service at the center of its AI strategy, including using Vertex AI to create “Lu’s Brain” to power an interactive conversational agent for Lu, Magalu’s popular brand persona (the 3D bot has more than 14 million followers between TikTok and Instagram).
33. Mercedes Benz will infuse e-commerce capabilities into its online storefront with a gen AI-powered smart sales assistant. Mercedes also plans to expand its use of Google Cloud AI in its call centers and is using Vertex AI and Gemini to personalize marketing campaigns.
34. Oppo/OnePlus is incorporating Gemini models and Google Cloud AI into their phones to deliver innovative customer experiences, including news and audio recording summaries, AI toolbox, and more.
35. Samsung is deploying Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 to their Galaxy S24 smartphones so users can take advantage of amazing features like text summarization, organization, and magical image editing.
36. The Minnesota Division of Driver and Vehicle Services helps non-English speakers get licenses and other services with two-way real-time translation.
37. Pepperdine University has students and faculty who speak many languages, and with Gemini in Google Meet, they can benefit from real-time translated captioning and notes.
38. Sutherland, a leading digital transformation company, is focused on bringing together human expertise and AI, including boosting its client-facing teams by automatically surfacing suggested responses and automating insights in real time.
39. Target uses Google Cloud to power AI solutions on the Target app and Target.com, including personalized Target Circle offers and Starbucks at Drive Up, their curbside pickup solution.
40. Tokopedia, an Indonesian ecommerce leader, is using Vertex AI to improve data quality, increasing unique products being sold by 5%.
41. US News saw a double-digit impact in key metrics like click-through rate, time spent on page, and traffic volume to its pages after implementing Vertex AI Search.
42-45. IntesaSanpaolo, MacquarieBank, and Scotiabank are exploring the potential of gen AI to transform the way we live, work, bank, and invest — particularly how the new technology can boost productivity and operational efficiency in banking.
Employee agents
Employee agents help workers be more productive and collaborate better together. These agents can streamline processes, manage repetitive tasks, answer employee questions, as well as edit and translate critical communications.
46. 2bots offers technology solutions, such as chatbots and virtual agents, built with Google Cloud’s AI solutions; these intelligent chatbots and content generation tools are transforming the way companies interact with their customers.
47. Augment is building an AI personal assistant that offers enhanced note-taking and collects information across your apps, including calendar, email, texts, and social media, so users can more quickly and easily find personal information and keep their lives organized.
48. Bayes Impact builds AI products to support nonprofits, and its flagship product, CaseAI, is a digital case manager that integrates with an NGO’s current system to add smart features to draft action plans tailored to a beneficiary’s unique history; caseworkers have saved 25 hours of work per week on average.
49. Bell Canada has built customizable contact center solutions for its business customers that offer AI-powered agents to address callers, and Agent Assist, which listens when a human agent is on, offering suggestions and sentiment analysis. AI has contributed $20 million in savings across customer operations.
50. Best Buy can generate conversation summaries in real time using Contact Center AI, allowing live agents to give their full attention to understanding and supporting customers, resulting in a 30-to-90-second reduction in average call time and after-call work. Both customers and agents have cited improved satisfaction.
51. Camanchaca, a Chilean seafood company, took only six weeks to develop Elon, a virtual assistant that aims to provide more efficient customer service through digital channels, enhancing Camanchaca’s customer interactions.
52. Certify OS is automating credentialing, licensing, and monitoring of medical providers for healthcare networks, relieving the burden of time-consuming and often siloed information.
53. Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs widely uses Gemini for Google Workspace, estimating that employees are saving an average five hours per week just with AI capabilities in Gmail. Gemini is also streamlining time-consuming, manual processes through uses like AI-generated transcriptions and auto-formatting of pharmaceutical lab results or FDA compliance documentation.
54. Dun & Bradstreet built an email-generation tool with Gemini that helps sellers create tailored, personalized communications to prospects and customers for its research services. The company also developed intelligent search capabilities to help users with complex queries like, “Find me all the companies in this area with a high ESG rating.”
55. England’s Football Association is training Vertex AI on the FA’s historical and current scouting reports so they can be transformed into concise summaries, helping national teams discover future talent.
56. Fireflies.ai can transcribe, summarize, and analyze meetings, recordings, and other voice conversations to save time and improve collaboration and information sharing across teams.
57. Fluna, a Pan-African digital services company, has automated the analysis and drafting of legal agreements using Vertex AI, Document AI, and Gemini 1.5 Pro, achieving an accuracy of 92% in data extraction while ensuring security and reliability for sensitive information.
58. Hemominas, Brazil’s largest blood bank, partnered with Xertica to develop an omnichannel chatbot for donor search and scheduling, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency. The AI solution has the potential to save half-a-million lives annually by attracting more donors and optimizing blood supply management.
59. Hiscox used BigQuery and Vertex AI to create the first AI-enhanced lead underwriting model for insurers, automating and accelerating the quoting for complex risks from three days down to a few minutes.
60. LiveX AI delivers AI Agents that swiftly enhance product education, boost customer conversion, reduce churn, and provide personalized customer support, with the goal of offering everyone a seamless VIP experience across their customer journey.
61. Opportunity@Work is applying gen AI to scale a suite of software tools and APIs that help employers identify “STAR” job candidates — “skilled through alternative routes” such as community college, military service, and on-the-job experience — helping fill roles in a tight market and expand opportunities.
62. QuantumMetric has introduced Felix AI, powered by Gemini Pro, to simplify digital analytics and decision making. Felix AI automatically summarizes a user’s web or mobile session and consolidates the moments that matter most into short, readable summaries for customer service workers.
63. Randstad, a large HR services and talent provider, is using Gemini for Workspace across its organization to transform its work culture, leading to a more culturally diverse and inclusive workplace that’s seen a double-digit reduction in sick days.
64. Sprinklr built Sprinklr AI+ into its unified customer experience management platform, giving brands gen-AI capabilities for customer service, insights, social media management, and marketing that has enterprise-grade governance, security, and data privacy built-in.
65. Thomson Reuters added Gemini Pro to its suite of large language models approved for employee use; with its 2-million-token context window, Gemini makes some tasks as much as 10-times faster to process and can process entire documents in context.
66. Warner Bros. Discovery built an AI captioning tool with Vertex AI and saw a 50% reduction in overall costs, and an 80% reduction in the time it takes to manually caption a file without the use of machine learning.
67. The U.S. Air Force built a new proof-of-concept portal for searching, browsing, and reading e-published PDFs — all within a 90-day deadline that leveraged the prebuilt tools and speed of Vertex AI Search and Conversation.
68. Avery Dennison empowered their employees with generative AI to enable secure, flexible, and borderless collaboration for enhanced productivity to drive growth.
69. Bank of New York Mellon built a virtual assistant to help employees find relevant information and answers to their questions.
70. Bayer is building a radiology platform that will assist radiologists with data analysis, intelligent search, and to create documents that meet healthcare requirements needed for regulatory approval. The bioscience company is also harnessing BigQuery and Vertex AI to develop additional digital medical solutions and drugs more efficiently.
71. Bristol Myers Squibb is transforming its document processes for clinical trials using Vertex AI and Google Workspace. Now, documentation that took scientists weeks now gets to a first draft in minutes.
72. BenchSci develops generative AI solutions empowering scientists to understand complex connections in biological research, saving them time and financial resources and ultimately bringing new medicine to patients faster.
73. Cintas is using Vertex AI Search to develop an internal knowledge center for customer service and sales teams to easily find key information.
74. Covered California, the state’s healthcare marketplace, is using Document AI to help improve the consumer and employee experience by automating parts of the documentation and verification process when residents apply for coverage.
75. Dasa, the largest medical diagnostics company in Brazil, is helping physicians detect relevant findings in test results more quickly.
76. DaVita leverages DocAI and Healthcare NLP to transform kidney care, including analyzing medical records, uncovering critical patient insights, and reducing errors. AI enables physicians to focus on personalized care, resulting in significant improvements in healthcare delivery.
77. Discover Financial helps their 10,000 contact center representatives to search and synthesize information across detailed policies and procedures during calls.
78. HCA Healthcare is testing Cati, a virtual AI caregiver assistant that helps to ensure continuity of care when one caregiver shift ends and another begins. They are also using gen AI to improve workflows on time-consuming tasks, such as clinical documentation, so physicians and nurses can focus more on patient care.
79. The Home Depot has built an application called Sidekick, which helps store associates manage inventory and keep shelves stocked; notably, vision models help associates prioritize which actions to take.
80. Los Angeles Rams are utilizing AI across the board from content analysis to player scouting.
81. McDonald’s will leverage data, AI, and edge technologies across its thousands of restaurants to implement innovation faster and to enhance employee and customer experiences.
82. Pennymac, a leading US-based national mortgage lender, is using Gemini across several teams including HR, where Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail is helping them accelerate recruiting, hiring, and new employee onboarding.
83. Robert Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, revolutionizes marketing through gen AI-powered solutions, streamlining processes, optimizing resource allocation, and maximizing efficiency across 100+ decentralized departments.
84. Symphony, the communications platform for the financial services industry, uses Vertex AI to help finance and trading teams collaborate across multiple asset classes.
85. Uber is using AI agents to help employees be more productive, save time, and be even more effective at work. For customer service representatives, they’ve launched new tools that summarize communications with users and can even surface context from previous interactions, so front-line staff can be more helpful and effective.
86. The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs is using AI at the edge to improve cancer detection for service members and veterans. The Augmented Reality Microscope (ARM) is deployed at remote military treatment facilities around the world. The prototype device is helping pathologists find cancer faster and with better accuracy.
87. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has improved the quality and efficiency of their patent and trademark examination process by implementing AI-driven technologies.
88. Verizon is using generative AI to help teams in network operations and customer experience get the answers they need faster.
89. Victoria’s Secret is testing AI-powered agents to help their in-store associates find information about product availability, inventory, and fitting and sizing tips, so they can better tailor recommendations to customers.
90. Vodafone uses Vertex AI to search and understand specific commercial terms and conditions across more than 10,000 contracts with more than 800 communications operators
91. WellSky is integrating Google Cloud’s healthcare and Vertex AI capabilities to reduce the time spent completing documentation outside work hours.
92. Woolworths, the leading retailer in Australia, boosts employees’ confidence in communications with “Help me write” across Google Workspace products for more than 10,000 administrative employees. It’s also using Gemini to create next-generation promotions, as well as for quickly assisting customer service reps in summarizing all previous customer interactions in real time.
93-97. Box, Typeface, Glean, CitiBank, and Securiti AI discuss developing AI-powered apps across the enterprise, with measurable returns on investment for marketing, financial services, and HR use cases.
98-99. Highmark Health and Freenome join Bristol Myers Squibb to explore how AI can improve efficiency and innovation across care delivery, drug discovery, clinical trial planning, and bringing medicines to market.
Code agents
Code agents are helping developers and product teams to design, create, and operate applications faster and better, and to ramp up on new languages and code bases. Many organizations are already seeing double-digit gains in productivity, leading to faster deployment and cleaner, clearer code.
100. Labelbox has built a fully managed AI model evaluation solution directly integrated into the Vertex AI platform, allowing Google Cloud users to seamlessly launch human evaluation jobs and set specific criteria for evaluation, such as question-answering and summarization; this eases and accelerates the ability to deploy human-in-the-loop AI systems with higher levels of trust and authority.
101. Leroy Merlin, a global home improvement retailer, developed its Pull Request Analyzer using Vertex AI. This generative AI solution summarizes code changes, helping developers understand projects faster and improve code review efficiency.
102. Linear, a product development platform, built Similar Issues, a feature that uses AI to detect and prevent duplicate or overlapping tickets and ensures cleaner and more accurate data representation.
103. Magic is building a developer platform with a 100-million-token context window, so organizations can upload extremely large code bases and more easily query and build on them using gen AI assistance.
104. Pinecone provides infrastructure for developers to build accurate, secure, and scalable AI applications, allowing companies to easily ground gen AI apps in their proprietary data for use in AI search, retrieval-augmented generation, coding agents, and more.
105. Regnology built its Ticket-to-Code Writer tool with Gemini 1.5 Pro to automate the conversion of bug tickets into actionable code, significantly streamlining the software development process.
106. Weights & Biases, a creator of AI tools for developers, created W&B Weave, a lightweight toolkit to track, evaluate, and debug gen AI applications built with Gemini, so teams can confidently go from demo to production.
107. Capgemini has been using Code Assist to improve software engineering productivity, quality, security, and developer experience, with early results showing workload gains for coding and more stable code quality.
108. Commerzbank is enhancing developer efficiency through Code Assist’s robust security and compliance features.
109. Quantiphi saw developer productivity gains of more than 30% during their Code Assist pilot.
110. Replit developers will get access to Google Cloud infrastructure, services, and foundation models via Ghostwriter, Replit’s software development AI, while Google Cloud and Workspace developers will get access to Replit’s collaborative code editing platform.
111. Seattle Children’s hospital is using AI to boost data engineering productivity and accelerate development.
112. Turing is customizing Gemini Code Assist on their private codebase, empowering their developers with highly personalized and contextually relevant coding suggestions that have increased productivity around 30 percent and made day-to-day coding more enjoyable.
113. Wayfair piloted Code Assist, and those developers with the code agent were able to set up their environments 55 percent faster than before, there was a 48 percent increase in code performance during unit testing, and 60 percent of developers reported that they were able to focus on more satisfying work.
Data agents
Data agents are like having knowledgeable data analysts and researchers at your fingertips. They can help answer questions about internal and external sources, synthesize research, develop new models — and, best of all, help find the questions we haven’t even thought to ask yet, and then help get the answers.
114. 180Seguros is powering its data management platform for employees with Google Cloud AI and BigQuery to improve operational metric tracking, allowing for 3X faster query times.
115. Addy AI is helping mortgage lenders and banks automate their lending processes with custom AI models trained on Vertex AI. For example, the platform can extract loan opportunity details from lengthy email threads with numerous attachments.
116. Bayer Crop Science has developed Climate FieldView, a comprehensive agricultural platform with more than 250 layers of data and billions of data points; AI-powered recommendations allow farmers to design and monitor their fields for greater yields and efficient fertilization, with the added benefit of reduced carbon emissions.
117. CME Group is building a first-of-its-kind cloud-based commodities trading platform with AI tools built-in, offering CME’s trading customers access to deeper insights and smarter trades as well as rapid experimentation on new trading strategies that won’t interrupt existing trade flows.
118. Digits is developing next-gen accounting software for startups and small businesses; using AI-driven bookkeeping, expense management, and financial analysis, Digits enables business owners to achieve financial clarity and focus on growth.
119. Elanco, a leader in animal health, has implemented a gen AI framework supporting critical business processes, such as Pharmacovigilance, Customer Orders, and Clinical Insights. The framework, powered by Vertex AI and Gemini, has resulted in an estimated ROI of $1.9 million since launching last year.
120. Full Fact, a UK-based nonprofit working in 18 countries to combat misinformation, is now using gen AI to actively monitor stories so its 30 fact-checking partner organizations can focus on addressing specific claims and harmful information.
121. Fullstory, a digital behavioral data platform, is building the ability to analyze and summarize user behavior on a site to create more informed and enriching chatbot experiences; responses are more relevant and accurate, ultimately improving virtual agent performance and customer experience
122. GamudaBerhad, a Malaysian infrastructure and property management company, has integrated a Gemini-powered conversational agent into its cloud-based Tunnel Insight platform, providing faster information and insights during construction projects.
123. IntelligenciaAI is using AI models to research novel new drugs, relying on Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure to deliver scalable research that is accurate and transparent to meet the stringent needs of medicine.
124. IPRally built a custom machine-learning platform that uses natural language processing on the text of more than 120 million global patent documents, creating an accurate, easily searchable database that adds more than 200,000 new sources a week.
125. Ipsos built a data analysis tool for its teams of market researchers, eliminating the need for time-consuming requests to data analysts, which is powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro and Flash models as well as Grounding with Google Search to enhance real-world accuracy from contemporaneous Search information.
126. Materiom, a startup researching zero-waste, bio-based alternatives to fossil-fuel-made products like plastics, is creating a gen AI tool that enables entrepreneurs to develop novel compostable materials with broad applications; AI offers faster research and information gathering to speed up the development process.
127. Mendel has built a clinical AI system designed to break down the longstanding silos in medical data, boosting accuracy, accessibility, and ultimately patient health outcomes.
128. NeuroPace, a medical device company, built a solution to quickly identify effective epilepsy treatment options best suited to different patients; by analyzing brainwave patterns, it can find similar patients and apply successful therapies, streamlining personalized care.
129. NotCo, a Chilean food tech company, partnered with Eleven Solutions to develop a conversational AI chatbot powered by Gemini; the chatbot has revolutionized data access, allowing employees to instantly query their SAP system and gain real-time insights for faster, data-driven decision-making.
130. SURA Investments, the largest asset manager in Latin America, developed an AI-based analysis model for employees that allows them to better understand customer needs and improve customer experience and satisfaction.
131. AI21 Labs offers a BigQuery integration called Contextual Answers that allows users to query data conversationally and get high-quality answers quickly.
132. Anthropic has partnered with Google Cloud to offer its family of Claude 3 models on Vertex AI — providing organizations with more model options for intelligence, speed, cost-efficiency, and vision for enterprise use cases.
133. The Asteroid Institute is using AI to discover hidden asteroids in existing astronomical data. This is a major focus for astronomers researching the evolution of the Solar System, investors and businesses hoping to fly missions to asteroids, and for all of us who want to prevent future large asteroid impacts on Earth.
134. Contextual is working with Google Cloud to offer enterprises fully customizable, trustworthy, privacy-aware AI grounded in internal knowledge bases.
135. Cox 2M, the commercial IoT division of Cox Communications, is able to make smarter, faster business decisions using AI-powered analytics.
136. Essential AI, a developer of enterprise AI solutions, is using Google Cloud’s AI-optimized TPU v5p accelerator chips to train its own AI models.
137. Generali Italia, Italy’s largest insurance provider, used Vertex AI to build a model evaluation pipeline that helps ML teams quickly evaluate performance and deploy models.
138. Globo, one of Brazil’s largest media networks, is using Service Extensions and Media CDN to fight piracy during live events by blocking pirated streams in real time.
139. Golden State Warriors are using AI to improve the fan experience content in their Chase Center app.
140. Hugging Face is collaborating with Google across open science, open source, cloud, and hardware to enable companies to build their own AI with the latest open models from Hugging Face and Google Cloud hardware and software.
141. Kakao Brain, part of Korean technology company Kakao Group, has built a large-scale AI language model that is the largest Korean language-specific LLM in the market, with 66 billion parameters. They’ve also developed a text-to-image generator called Karlo.
142. Mayo Clinic has given thousands of its scientific researchers access to 50 petabytes worth of clinical data through Vertex AI search, accelerating information retrieval across multiple languages.
143. McLaren Racing is using Google AI to get up-to-the-millisecond insights during races and training to gain a competitive edge.
144. Mercado Libre is testing BigQuery and Looker to optimize capacity planning and reservations with delivery carriers and airlines to fulfill shipments faster.
145. Mistral AI will use Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure, to further test, build, and scale up its LLMs, all while benefiting from Google Cloud’s security and privacy standards.
146. MSCI uses machine learning with Vertex AI, BigQuery and Cloud Run to enrich its datasets to help our clients gain insight into around 1 million asset locations to help manage climate-related risks.
147. NewsCorp is using Vertex AI to help search data across 30,000 sources and 2.5 billion news articles updated daily.
148. Orange operates in 26 countries where local data must be kept in each country. They are using AI on Google Distributed Cloud to improve network performance and deliver super-responsive translation capabilities.
149. Spotify leveraged Dataflow for large-scale generation of ML podcast previews, and they plan to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with data engineering and data science to build better experiences for their customers and creators.
150. UPS is building a digital twin of its entire distribution network, so both workers and customers can see where their packages are at any time.
151. Workday is using natural language processing in Vertex Search and Conversation to make data insights more accessible for technical and non-technical users alike.
152. Woven — Toyota‘s investment in the future of mobility — is partnering with Google to leverage vast amounts of data and AI to enable autonomous driving, supported by thousands of ML workloads on Google Cloud’s AI Hypercomputer. This has resulted in resulting in 50% total-cost-of-ownership savings to support automated driving.
152-153. Broward County, Florida, and Southern California Edison are using geospatial capabilities and AI to improve infrastructure planning and monitoring, generate new insights, and create regional resilience for communities facing climate challenges today and tomorrow.
154-155. Kinaxis and Dematic are building data-driven supply chains to address logistics use cases including scenario modeling, planning, operations management, and automation.
156-157. NOAA and USAID are among the U.S. government agencies using Google Cloud AI to unlock critical data insights to streamline operations and improve mission outcomes — all with an emphasis on responsible AI.
Security agents
Security agents assist security operations by radically increasing the speed of investigations, automating monitoring and response for greater vigilance and compliance controls. They can also help guard data and models from cyberattacks, such as malicious prompt injection.
158. Apex Fintech is using Gemini in Security to accelerate the writing of complex threat detections from hours to a matter of seconds.
159. Exabeam has built a generative AI copilot for security analysts into its New-Scale Security Operations Platform.
160. Fiserv, a developer of financial services technology, can now summarize threats, find answers, and detect, validate, and respond to security events faster with the Gemini in Security Operations platform.
161. NetRise developed Trace to provide software supply chain security by introducing AI-powered intent-driven searches; these allow users to search their assets based on the underlying motives or purposes behind the code and configurations, rather than solely relying on signature-based methods.
162. Palo Alto Networks is using Gemini to create a grounded AI assistant for 24/7 security platform support in order to improve agent efficiency and response time; grounding the assistant in organizational data and security protocols has greatly improved the accuracy of responses.
163. BBVA uses AI in Google SecOps to detect, investigate, and respond to security threats with more accuracy, speed, and scale. The platform now surfaces critical security data in seconds, when it previously took minutes or even hours, and delivers highly automated responses.
164. Behavox is using Google Cloud technology and LLMs to provide industry leading regulatory compliance and front office solutions for financial institutions globally.
165. Charles Schwab has integrated their own intelligence into the AI-powered Google SecOps, so analysts can better prioritize work and respond to threats.
166. Fiserv’s security operations engineers create detections and playbooks with much less effort, while analysts get answers more quickly.
167. Grupo Boticário, one of the largest beauty retail and cosmetics companies in Brazil, employs real-time security models to prevent fraud and to detect and respond to issues.
168. Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XSIAM, the AI-driven security operations platform, is built on more than a decade of expertise in machine-learning models and the most comprehensive, rich, and diverse data store in the industry. Backed by Google’s advanced cloud infrastructure and advanced AI services, including BigQuery and Gemini models, the combination delivers global scale and near real-time protection across all cybersecurity offerings.
169. Pfizer can now aggregate cybersecurity data sources, cutting analysis times from days to seconds.
Creative agents
Creative agents can expand your organization with the best design and production skills, working across images, slides, and exploring concepts with workers. Many organizations are building agents for their marketing teams, audio and video production teams, and all the creative people that can use a hand. With creative agents, anyone can become a designer, artist, or producer.
170. AdoreMe marketers write differentiated product descriptions in one hour, a tedious task which used to take 30-40 hours a month thanks to Gemini for Google Workspace.
171. Globo, the largest media group in Latin America, is using Google Cloud’s AI to hyper-personalize content for its streaming users, and create a better experience for spectators.
172. Higgsfield.ai built a number of text-to-video apps for consumers, including Diffuse 2.0, which can combine users photos, videos, and texts through AI models to create more realistic avatars.
173. Jasper trains its suite of creativity-, writing-, and marketing-focused AI models on Google’s AI infrastructure, delivering on-brand, data-optimized assets faster and at scale to teams large and small.
174. Puma is using Imagen to customize product photos on its website, saving time and ensuring they are locally relevant across markets; PUMA India has already seen a 10% increase in click through rate.
175. RadissonHotel Group personalized its advertising at scale in collaboration with Accenture and using Vertex AI and Gemini models, training them on extensive datasets stored in BigQuery; ad teams saw productivity rise around 50% while revenue increased from AI-powered campaigns by more than 20%
176. SquareEnix is using customer data to develop AI-optimized marketing assets to keep its gamers engaged, sharing personalized emails suited to each player’s preferences, leading to a 20% increase in email opens and a 10% increased retention rate.
177. Urmobo, a mobile-device management platform, created a virtual agent, Odin, that significantly improved user experience and reduced support tickets by enabling clients to interact with the platform using natural language.
178. The World Bank is developing a tool to extract key information from research literature on the causal impact of development interventions, with the ultimate goal to empower decision-makers to allocate the $220B in annual aid and trillions in annual impact investing more effectively.
179. Belk ECommerce is using generative AI to craft better product descriptions, a necessary yet time-consuming task for digital retails that has often been done manually.
180. Canva is using Vertex AI to power its Magic Design for Video, helping users skip tedious editing steps while creating shareable and engaging videos in a matter of seconds.
181. Carrefour used Vertex AI to deploy Carrefour Marketing Studio in just five weeks — an innovative solution to streamline the creation of dynamic campaigns across various social networks. In just a few clicks, marketers can build ultra-personalized campaigns to deliver customers advertising that they care about.
182. Major League Baseball continues to innovate its Statcast platform, so teams, broadcasters, and fans have access to live in-game insights.
183. Paramount currently relies on manual processes to create the essential metadata and video summaries used across its Paramount+ platform for showcasing content and creating personalized experiences for viewers. VertexAI Text Bison is now helping to streamline this process.
184. Procter & Gamble used Imagen to develop an internal gen AI platform to accelerate the creation of photo-realistic images and creative assets, giving marketing teams more time to focus on high-level planning and delivering superior experiences for its consumers.
185. WPP will integrate Google Cloud’s gen AI capabilities into its intelligent marketing operating system, called WPP Open, which empowers its people and clients to deliver new levels of personalization, creativity, and efficiency. This includes the use of Gemini 1.5 Pro models to supercharge both the accuracy and speed of content performance predictions.
To find even more customers using our AI tools to build agents and solutions for their most important enterprise projects, visit the Google Cloud customer hub.
Since his first day in office, President Biden has been committed to restoring American leadership at the United Nations. Our world today faces many challenges that no one country can or should confront alone. But when the United States shows up and leads at the UN, we can rally global action to tackle problems that affect us all. That is why the Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly at the UN to advance American values, safeguard human rights for all, and address conflict and instability. Alongside our allies and partners from around the world, we have worked with UN agencies to tackle the climate crisis, shape our digital future, and fight poverty and disease.
At a time of increasing geopolitical challenges and growing global needs, strong and effective American leadership at the UN is more critical than ever. The Biden-Harris Administration has worked to strengthen American leverage at the United Nations, uphold the UN Charter, and keep human rights at the core of the organization. Without robust American engagement, our competitor nations would gain leverage to advance their interests and values at our expense.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also been committed to reforming and adapting the UN to the needs of the 21st century. For example, President Biden announced a new U.S. openness to expanding the membership of the UN Security Council, including permanent seats for Africa and Latin America. The UN is not a perfect organization, but given the scale of today’s challenges, the world needs global institutions that are more inclusive and effective.
Over nearly four years, the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership at the UN has delivered results for the American people. At the UN, we have:
Responded to Threats to International Peace and Security
After Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we worked at the UN to build support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and hold Russia to account. We rallied 141 countries in the UN General Assembly to condemn Russia’s violations of international law. We used UN Security Council debates to shine a spotlight on Russia’s illegal war and atrocities. We pressed the UN General Assembly to kick Russia off the UN Human Rights Council. We isolated Russia by denying it senior UN appointments and preventing its election to UN bodies.
Responding to the security situation in Haiti, we partnered with Ecuador to obtain UN Security Council authorization of a new Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission.
Working with African partners, we secured a UN Security Council decision to create in December 2023 a new mechanism to largely fund future African Union-led Peace Support Operations from the UN-assessed budget.
Following the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, we defended at the UN Security Council Israel’s right to defend itself and demanded the release of hostages. Also in the Security Council, we called for increased humanitarian assistance to Gaza and established a new UN mechanism to improve aid coordination. In July 2024, we secured Security Council endorsement of President Biden’s plan for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
As the Sudan conflict worsened, we mobilized action in the UN Security Council, including the adoption of a resolution in June 2024 demanding an end to the siege of El Fasher.
Responding to concerns that Russia intended to deploy nuclear weapons in space, we and Japan proposed a UN Security Council resolution calling on countries not to develop such weapons.
In 2022, we partnered with Ireland at the UN Security Council to reform, expand and strengthen humanitarian exemptions for UN sanctions.
Working with the United Kingdom, we secured adoption of the first-ever UN Security Council resolution condemning the February 2021 military coup in Burma.
Protected and Upheld Universal Human Rights
We rejoined the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, enabling the United States to once again lead multilateral efforts to hold accountable human rights violators worldwide.
We issued a standing invitation to all UN thematic human rights monitors to visit the United States and assess our human rights record at home. In contrast to authoritarian governments, this invitation showed that a confident democracy is willing to have its record scrutinized and receive advice on strengthening rights protections for its citizens.
We pressed for the release of a landmark report from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights violations against Uighurs in China.
We worked in the UN Human Rights Council to establish a new Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia to examine Moscow’s crackdown on dissent at home and a Commission of Inquiry on violations and abuses in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
We restored American leadership at the UN in defending the human rights of LGBTQI+ individuals around the world. This included participating in high-level meetings of the Core Group of countries advocating for LGBTQI+ rights, including a September 23 meeting where the First Lady represented the United States. We also secured the renewal of the mandate of the UN’s Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and urged the UN to release its first-ever organization-wide strategy on LGBTQI+ rights, co-sponsoring the first-ever Human Rights Council resolution on the rights of intersex persons, and convening the second-ever informal UN Security Council meeting on the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals.
We spotlighted egregious human rights violations by North Korea, including by organizing the first briefing of the UN Security Council on North Korea human rights since 2017.
We helped establish mechanisms through the UN Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Nicaragua.
We worked at the UN to advance the global fight against antisemitism, including to ensure 36 countries and four multilateral organizations joined the U.S.-led Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism. In 2023, we convened a UN meeting on antisemitism with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and, in 2022, a roundtable at UNESCO.
We advanced the UN’s work to promote racial equality, including by championing the inaugural session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. We co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution designating July 25 as International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent.
We engaged seriously with the human rights treaty body process, including through periodic reports about our domestic human rights record to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Reaffirming support for the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we pressed for enhanced participation of Indigenous Peoples throughout the UN system. In 2022, Ambassador (ret.) Keith Harper, the first-ever Senate confirmed U.S. ambassador from a federally-recognized tribe, was elected to the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues.
We supported efforts in the UN General Assembly to advance discussion of a proposed convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.
After assuming the presidency of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), we hosted the UNCAC conference in Atlanta, Georgia in 2023, with approximately 2,600 delegates, including an unprecedented 1,000 from civil society.
Advanced Gender Equity and Equality
We restored American leadership in pressing at the UN for the rights of women and girls, advancing their inclusion in societies, and supporting strong language in UN resolutions and at the Commission on the Status of Women on sexual and reproductive rights.
The January 2021 Presidential Memorandum on Protecting Women’s Health at Home and Abroad restored life-saving funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
We announced that the United States will contribute for the first time to the UNICEF–UNFPA Global Program to End Child Marriage.
Following the Iranian regime’s killing of Mahsa Amini and crackdown on protestors, we helped establish a new UN Fact-Finding Mission to investigate human rights abuses. We spearheaded efforts to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women.
In 2024, we reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action.
We launched the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, which included actions at the UN to address online safety for women and girls.
Shaped Our Digital Future, Promoted Labor Rights, and Tackled Synthetic Drugs
We sponsored the first-ever UN General Assembly resolution outlining principles for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). This landmark resolution helped define a global consensus on safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems for advancing sustainable development.
We hosted events at the UN on misuses of new technologies, such as countries using commercial spyware to surveil dissidents and journalists.
We worked at the International Labor Organization (ILO) to empower workers worldwide and joined the ILO’s Equal Pay International Coalition to share best practices to close the gender wage gap.
At the first Summit for Democracy in 2021, we announced the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights (M-POWER), an initiative working with governments, trade unions, labor support, civil society organizations, and philanthropy to uphold and promote workers’ trade union rights around the world.
In coordination with the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), we launched and hosted at the UN high-level meetings of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats and secured adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution to enhance international action to fight such drugs.
Strengthened Global Health Cooperation, Advanced Sustainable Development, and Bolstered Climate Action
We redoubled efforts to support implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, launching a U.S. Strategy on Global Development to accelerate progress and mobilizing $150 billion of U.S. funding and billions more from the private sector, philanthropic, and other donor resources.
In 2021, we reversed the previous administration’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), enabling the United States to shape the WHO’s work on global health and reform. With the WHO, we led the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic by launching the COVID-19 Global Action Plan and donating nearly 700 million vaccine doses to 117 countries.
We hosted the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s 7th Replenishment in 2022, resulting in more than 75 governments, foundations, and corporations delivering pledges totaling a record $15.67 billion.
We worked at the UN to advance universal health coverage, continue the fight against tuberculosis and mpox, and combat global antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including to push countries for commitments on AMR that are bold, aspirational, and implementable.
We focused attention at the UN on addressing global food insecurity, repeatedly using the U.S. presidency of the UN Security Council to focus on the nexus between food security and conflict. We hosted at the UN ministerial-level meetings to generate new commitments to expand agricultural capacity and respond to famine with over 100 partner countries.
U.S. Representative to the UN Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland co-led the U.S. delegation to the 2023 UN Water Conference, where they announced more than $49 billion towards water security both at home and abroad.
In 2024, Secretary Haaland co-led the U.S. delegation to the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), where we announced new efforts to enhance our partnerships with SIDS.
After rejoining the Paris Agreement, we galvanized efforts at the UN to combat climate change, raising global climate ambition through countries’ enhanced national contributions, accelerated action to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, forward-leaning decisions at annual UN Climate Change Conferences, and major initiatives for ocean-climate action catalyzed by the annual Our Ocean Conference.
Former Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Senior Advisor for International Climate Policy John Podesta have helped lead an all-out effort, including critical agreements at the UN Climate Change Conference COPs 26 and 28 to partner with countries to accelerate climate efforts worldwide and reduce global emissions sufficiently to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius.
We advanced efforts within the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization, and other multilateral organizations to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from the aviation, shipping, and other sectors.
Strengthened American Presence at the United Nations
After a five-year absence, we rejoined the UN Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This allowed us to partner with UNESCO to combat the scourge of antisemitism, support global Holocaust education, promote journalist safety, safeguard Ukrainian cultural heritage, bolster ethical uses of AI, and advance science education for girls in Africa.
We led robust campaigns resulting in the election of U.S. citizens to key UN positions, including Doreen Bogdan-Martin as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Amy Pope as Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Sarah Cleveland as Judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
We supported the appointments of highly qualified Americans to lead UN agencies, such as Ambassador Cathy Russell as Executive Director of UNICEF, Ambassador Cindy McCain as Executive Director of the World Food Program, and Ian Saunders as Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization.
Co-chairing the UN Accessibility Steering Committee, we worked to make UN headquarters in New York more accessible for all delegates, including construction of a 24/7 entrance for wheelchair users and the installation of a lift so everyone can address the General Assembly from behind the official rostrum.
TRENTON – Kicking off Climate Week, Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette today announced the release of the final 2024 New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan, which for the first time assesses water supply challenges resulting from climate change and offers climate resilience solutions. Climate Week provides an opportunity for the public to learn about the many ways climate change is threatening the planet and the steps that can be taken to become more resilient and mitigate its impacts.
The water supply plan concludes that, under normal conditions and in most regions, New Jersey has adequate volumes of source water supply and is well-positioned to address water supply challenges as long as the state continues to take actions to mitigate the threats of climate change, aging infrastructure and emerging contaminants.
“The Statewide Water Supply Plan plays a critical role to inform local water supply management decisions by presenting the newest science to better prepare us for the challenges brought on by our changing climate,” said Commissioner LaTourette. “In addition to upgrading our aging infrastructure, a healthy water supply is dependent on constant reevaluation of how we can use water more efficiently to protect it for future generations.”
Consistent with the state’s comprehensive approach to making New Jersey resilient to the worsening impacts of climate change, the 2024 plan seeks to assess the threats of climate change to the state’s water supply. Of particular concern are temperature, precipitation, and sea-level changes, which will significantly impact water quantity, where and when it is available, and its quality. The plan also examines how emerging contaminants may impact water supply.
“New Jersey’s climate is changing. From increased temperatures to sea-level rise, these climate impacts can pose a threat to our water supplies if not properly addressed by proactive planning, management, and permitting,” said State Geologist Steven Domber. “By conducting comprehensive monitoring that factors in climate impacts such as increased temperatures, we can develop models and identify trends that will help local water users make informed decisions to ensure New Jerseyans have access to reliable and safe supplies of water now and in the future.”
A 60-day public comment period followed the release of the draft plan on February 26, 2024. The DEP then held two public meetings (one in-person and one virtual) and reviewed and incorporated comments from those meetings before finalizing the plan. Both the plan and a summary response to comment report are available at dep.nj.gov/water-supply-plan.
The DEP has also developed a new interactive website that outlines key information from the plan for specific audiences, including residential users, water professionals and others to summarize key plan topics, such as climate change and environmental justice. The website can be found at dep.nj.gov/water-supply-plan/storymap. The site will be updated as additional data and plan updates become available.
Water Supply Planning
The Water Supply Management Act (N.J.S.A. 58:1A-13) directs the DEP to prepare the New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan, analyze water supply data, examine associated risks, study projections, and make recommendations for effective management of the state’s water supplies.
The initial version of the plan was adopted in 1982 and updated in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991, and 1993. Major revisions occurred in 1996 and 2017. The 2024 plan will be updated again in five years, but some aspects may be revised sooner.
The plan must carry out its assessments and recommendations from both statewide and regional perspectives to pursue comprehensive management addressing the diversity of water supply issues faced in different areas of New Jersey.
Drafted to align with the DEP’s related water regulations and policies, the plan provides guidance for state and regional groups making decisions concerning water supply. One of the primary goals of the plan is to put forward defined, actionable steps that the DEP can take to ensure water supplies are sufficient, in quality and quantity, to meet existing and future needs.
Water Supply Challenges Assessed
New Jersey has repeatedly faced a confluence of water resource challenges that have tested both infrastructure and responsiveness. Extremely low precipitation and streamflow in summer 2022 led the DEP to declare a Drought Watch, the first in more than six years. During the same period, aging infrastructure failed, resulting in massive water main breaks; water systems were required to address sources contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and harmful algal blooms were worsened by extremely warm temperatures. Additional challenges occurred in 2023, with four months experiencing near record temperatures and the state having its wettest December on record.
The combination of these challenges in 2022 and 2023 severely tested the resilience of New Jersey’s management of water resources. Such conditions are expected to persist or worsen in the future, requiring the DEP and its partner institutions to delicately balance the management of water resources by carefully administering planning, regulatory, investment and incident response initiatives. Recommended Action Areas
The availability of surface water, unconfined groundwater, and confined aquifers, the use of which varies geographically, was modeled to investigate potential shortages. Although not evenly distributed throughout the state, total natural water resource availability (including reservoirs) remains about the same as the 2017 New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan determined. However, current and forecasted use did change, and a few regions showed potential shortages. The plan provides details and recommendations to address these areas.
To meet requirements and ensure that New Jerseyans continue to have ample, reliable, and safe supplies of water now and in the future, the following action areas are covered in the plan, with greater detail on each found in Chapter 8, and elsewhere throughout the plan:
Hydrologic Data, Monitoring, Models, and Assessments: The availability of long-term and real-time hydrologic datasets are critical pieces of information the DEP uses to quantify trends, characterize current conditions, and to build and calibrate models. This information is used to ultimately make informed decisions and to update future water supply plans.
Climate Change – Water Availability Research and Modeling: This plan and its recommendations benefit from the availability of sound and reliable climate change science. This science continues to evolve, and the DEP will remain committed to monitoring new developments, with a particularized focus on the regional and local impacts of climate change upon New Jersey and its natural resources. As new and additional climate change data becomes available, it will be utilized to improve DEP water supply models and monitoring methods to more effectively mitigate and manage climate change impacts to water resources.
Climate Change – Infrastructure Resilience Recommendations: The DEP develops recommendations and establishes criteria to improve the resilience of water infrastructure and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change upon the state’s water supply, including through actions to reform relevant DEP policies, protocols, statutes, or regulations pertaining to water infrastructure assessments and modifications.
Regional and Statewide Water Supply Planning and Protection: Water supply planning is a critical element to ensure that the state continues to have adequate supplies of acceptable quality to meet all current and future needs, and to balance human uses with ecological needs. Regional and statewide planning is adaptive and evolves as new information becomes available or issues emerge. The plan prioritizes regions of New Jersey where future planning efforts should be focused.
Water Policy Modernization: The DEP is obligated and empowered to improve and protect water supply resources and water system infrastructure to ensure water availability and the delivery of safe drinking water to homes and businesses. In some cases, the federal and state laws and regulations that give rise to these obligations are fit for modernization to better position the state and its water providers to confront new and evolving water supply challenges.
Asset Management and Resilience: Maintenance and improvement of infrastructure is key to effective and successful water supply management, and critical to ensure the state has access to clean and plentiful drinking water. Proper asset management can reduce water incidents and emergencies, limit disruptions to customers, and reduce long-term costs.
Policies and Priorities for Efficient Water Use: The plan identifies key policy priorities for the DEP as it continues to regularly re-evaluate new technologies and research to ensure the responsible and efficient use of the state’s water resources.
Public Outreach: DEP is committed to continuing public education and engaging with people and communities it serves on key water supply issues and initiatives.
The DEP’s Our Water’s Worth It campaign works to draw attention to the importance of clean water in our lives, from drinking water to supporting vibrant ecosystems and health places for recreation. An important focus of the campaign is educating the public on reducing potential lead exposure in drinking water.
NEW YORK, NY — The U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population, today launched the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative to grow career pathways in climate and clean energy fields, strengthen workforce diversity, and jointly train 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance’s states and territories.
Today’s announcement was made at a Climate Week NYC event featuring Alliance co-chairs New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, founding member Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.
“In New York, we’re showing how climate action and economic growth go hand-in-hand,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “As a co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, I’m proud to be collaborating with states, industry leaders, labor unions, higher education and community organizations to create the jobs of the future required to build a clean, equitable, and resilient economy. A skilled and well-prepared workforce will drive innovation, create new businesses, and ensure a sustainable, resilient future for our country.”
“We need a climate-ready workforce — from EV technicians and heat pump installers to solar panel manufacturers — to meet our carbon reduction goals,” said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “The Executive Order I’m issuing today in conjunction with the Alliance’s new Workforce Initiative will help ensure that workers from all backgrounds have access to the skills and training needed for high-quality, climate-ready jobs across New Mexico.”
“We’re aligning our ambitious climate policies with workforce development to have 1 million more workers poised to take these good-paying, union jobs that serve our communities and strengthen our economies,” said Washington Gov. Jay Gov. Inslee. “These are economy-wide jobs, not just in clean energy but building trades, land management, clean technology and more. Climate Alliance states have a track record of meeting our ambitious goals and that momentum continues today.”
“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we are bringing down the barriers to economic opportunity, lowering costs for American families, and catalyzing a renaissance of American-made manufacturing that is creating jobs across America. In fact, just last year, we added over 250,000 new American energy jobs — with clean energy jobs growing twice as fast as the rest of the sector,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Governors across America are at the forefront of our efforts to spur growth in union jobs, expand American energy production, and invest in the economic success of our communities. Today’s announcement will help capitalize on our momentum to create a climate-ready workforce that is rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, communities, and industrial strength.”
The Initiative’s launch comes as historic federal investments, combined with ambitious state climate action, have unleashed a significant expansion of good-paying and union jobs in climate-ready fields — with millions more anticipated in the coming years under the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This includes high-quality jobs not only in clean energy and clean technology sectors — such as wind, solar, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and batteries — but also in fields associated with climate resilience and natural climate solutions.
Under this Initiative, Alliance states and territories will collaborate to collectively support 1 million new workers in completing Registered Apprenticeship programs across the coalition by 2035. These programs, registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or federally approved State Apprenticeship Agencies, provide an especially valuable and proven career pathway, empowering workers to earn while they learn in key climate-ready occupations and industries.
Alliance members will also advance a series of collective goals aimed at strengthening and expanding pathways into a wide variety of climate-ready professions critical to building a clean, equitable, and resilient net-zero future. The Initiative’s goals include boosting job quality and ensuring climate-ready employment pathways lead to good-paying, high-quality jobs; expanding opportunities for workers from underrepresented and underserved communities; and promoting the use of stackable and portable credentials in climate-ready fields to build transferable skills, support reskilling and upskilling, and strengthen workers’ economic mobility. A full list of the Initiative’s goals can be found here.
Finally, to advance sector-specific strategies, Alliance members will work together through new multi-state cohorts focused on in-demand, climate-ready fields. These cohorts will provide a platform for states and territories to increase collaboration, share evidence-based practices, engage experts and stakeholders, and develop sectoral workforce solutions that can be scaled across the country. Cohorts to be launched in the Initiative’s first year will focus on careers in the following areas:
Clean Energy, Fuels, and Technologies: Led by Michigan and New Jersey, this cohort will focus on careers in the design, construction, and maintenance of a clean, affordable, and resilient power system; the manufacturing and deployment of zero-emission vehicles and technologies; and the development and distribution of alternative, low-carbon fuels.
Clean Buildings and Industry: Led by Maine and Massachusetts, this cohort will focus on careers in the engineering, design, construction, retrofitting, maintenance, and operation of buildings and industrial processes that are clean, energy-efficient, healthy, and resilient.
Resilient Communities and Lands: Led by Arizona and Vermont, this cohort will focus on careers in the development and maintenance of safe, livable, and resilient communities; preparedness for and response to climate impacts such as extreme heat, wildfires, severe storms, flooding, and drought; and the deployment of natural climate solutions and climate-smart stewardship of our lands and waters.
The Initiative will be led by Alliance states and territories with support from the Alliance’s Secretariat. In implementing the Initiative, Alliance members will customize efforts to meet their individual needs and challenges, while working together to achieve the collective goals. States and territories will also collaborate directly with their workforce development system partners, labor unions, higher education institutions, industry, and other key partners that bring substantial expertise and experience in this work.
This Initiative builds on a number of federal-state collaborations between the Alliance’s members and the Biden-Harris Administration, including a White House convening with Alliance governors’ offices in May focused on creating good-paying jobs and mobilizing a diverse workforce in climate and clean energy.
Additional information on the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative can be found here.
Headline: Jefferson Parish Eligible for FEMA Assistance
Jefferson Parish Eligible for FEMA Assistance
BATON ROUGE, La. – Homeowners and renters in Jefferson Parish are now eligible for FEMA assistance to help them recover from Hurricane Francine.
Jefferson Parish joins Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes, which were previously approved for Individual Assistance.
Assistance for eligible survivors can help with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs. Also, low-interest disaster loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for businesses of all sizes (including landlords), private nonprofits, homeowners and renters.
How to Apply to FEMA
Homeowners and renters in Jefferson Parish and other designated parishes can apply several ways:
Go online to disasterassistance.gov.
Download the FEMA App for mobile devices.
Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. CT. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
Visit any Disaster Recovery Center. For locations and hours, go online to fema.gov/drc.
View an accessible video about how to apply at Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.
Parishes Eligible for Public Assistance
Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes are now eligible for permanent work (Categories C-G); these parishes were previously designated for Individual Assistance and assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures (Categories A and B), including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program.
East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Helena, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Washington and West Feliciana parishes are now eligible for Public Assistance Categories A-G.
Visit fema.gov/assistance/public/process to learn more about FEMA’s Public Assistance program including eligibility and the categories of work.
For the latest information visit fema.gov/4817. Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x.com/FEMARegion6 and at facebook.com/femaregion6/.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor of Management & Organizations, Environment & Sustainability, and Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan
The U.S. has seen a large number of billion-dollar disasters in recent years.AP Photo/Mark Zaleski
Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.
There are a few reasons, but a common thread: Climate change is fueling more severe weather, and insurers are responding to rising damage claims. The losses are exacerbated by more frequent extreme weather disasters striking densely populated areas, rising construction costs and homeowners experiencing damage that was once more rare.
Hurricane Ian, supercharged by warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, hit Florida as a Category 4 hurricane in October 2022 and caused an estimated $112.9 billion in damage. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
Just a decade ago, few insurance companies had a comprehensive strategy for addressing climate risk as a core business issue. Today, insurance companies have no choice but to factor climate change into their policy models.
Rising damage costs, higher premiums
There’s a saying that to get someone to pay attention to climate change, put a price on it. Rising insurance costs are doing just that.
Increasing global temperatures lead to more extreme weather, and that means insurance companies have had to make higher payouts. In turn, they have been raising their prices and changing their coverage in order to remain solvent. That raises the costs for homeowners and for everyone else.
The importance of insurance to the economy cannot be understated. You generally cannot get a mortgage or even drive a car, build an office building or enter into contracts without insurance to protect against the inherent risks. Because insurance is so tightly woven into economies, state agencies review insurance companies’ proposals to increase premiums or reduce coverage.
The insurance companies are not making political statements with the increases. They are looking at the numbers, calculating risk and pricing it accordingly. And the numbers are concerning.
The arithmetic of climate risk
Insurance companies use data from past disasters and complex models to calculate expected future payouts. Then they price their policies to cover those expected costs. In doing so, they have to balance three concerns: keeping rates low enough to remain competitive, setting rates high enough to cover payouts and not running afoul of insurance regulators.
But climate change is disrupting those risk models. As global temperatures rise, driven by greenhouse gases from fossil fuel use and other human activities, past is no longer prologue: What happened over the past 10 to 20 years is less predictive of what will happen in the next 10 to 20 years.
The number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. each year offers a clear example. The average rose from 3.3 per year in the 1980s to 18.3 per year in the 10-year period ending in 2024, with all years adjusted for inflation.
With that more than fivefold increase in billion-dollar disasters came rising insurance costs in the Southeast because of hurricanes and extreme rainfall, in the West because of wildfires, and in the Midwest because of wind, hail and flood damage.
Hurricanes tend to be the most damaging single events. They caused more than US$692 billion in property damage in the U.S. between 2014 and 2023. But severe hail and windstorms, including tornadoes, are also costly; together, those on the billion-dollar disaster list did more than $246 billion in property damage over the same period.
As insurance companies adjust to the uncertainty, they may run a loss in one segment, such as homeowners insurance, but recoup their losses in other segments, such as auto or commercial insurance. But that cannot be sustained over the long term, and companies can be caught by unexpected events. California’s unprecedented wildfires in 2017 and 2018 wiped out nearly 25 years’ worth of profits for insurance companies in that state.
To balance their risk, insurance companies often turn to reinsurance companies; in effect, insurance companies that insure insurance companies. But reinsurers have also been raising their prices to cover their costs. Property reinsurance alone increased by 35% in 2023. Insurers are passing those costs to their policyholders.
What this means for your homeowners policy
Not only are homeowners insurance premiums going up, coverage is shrinking. In some cases, insurers are reducing or dropping coverage for items such as metal trim, doors and roof repair, increasing deductibles for risks such as hail and fire damage, or refusing to pay full replacement costs for things such as older roofs.
Some insurances companies are simply withdrawing from markets altogether, canceling existing policies or refusing to write new ones when risks become too uncertain or regulators do not approve their rate increases to cover costs. In recent years, State Farm and Allstate pulled back from California’s homeowner market, and Farmers, Progressive and AAA pulled back from the Florida market, which is seeing some of the highest insurance rates in the country.
In some cases, insurers are restricting coverage. Roof repairs, like these in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., after Hurricane Ian, can be expensive and widespread after windstorms. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
State-run “insurers of last resort,” which can provide coverage for people who can’t get coverage from private companies, are struggling too. Taxpayers in states such as California and Florida have been forced to bail out their state insurers. And the National Flood Insurance Program has raised its premiums, leading 10 states to sue to stop them.
According to NOAA data, 2023 was the hottest year on record “by far.” And 2024 could be even hotter. This general warming trend and the rise in extreme weather is expected to continue until greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are abated.
In the face of such worrying analyses, U.S. homeowners insurance will continue to get more expensive and cover less. And yet, Jacques de Vaucleroy, chairman of the board of reinsurance giant Swiss Re, believes U.S. insurance is still priced too low to fully cover the risk from climate change.
Andrew J. Hoffman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced a federal investment of $14.9 million for 20 projects to advance zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, codes and standards, and education across Canada.
Everyone has a role to play in tackling climate change. The widespread shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is critical to decarbonizing on-road transportation, which accounts for 18 percent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions — of which 50 percent is produced by light-duty vehicles (LDV), or passenger cars.
In addition, clean fuels, such as clean hydrogen, advanced biofuels, liquid synthetic fuels and renewable natural gas, will play a critical role in hard to decarbonize sectors such as industry and medium- and heavy-duty freight.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced a federal investment of $14.9 million for 20 projects to advance zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, codes and standards, and education across Canada.
Zero Emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Program Projects
Kang and Gill Construction Limited in Victoria, B.C.: An investment of $340,000 to install 68 EV chargers by March 31, 2024.
Halifax County Condominium Corporation #240 in Halifax, Nova Scotia: An investment of $110,000 to install 22 EV chargers by April 2023.
Halifax International Airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia: An investment of $180,000 to install 37 EV chargers by December 2024.
Park Royal Shopping Centre Holdings Ltd., West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.: An investment of $242,000 from NRCan to install 50 EV chargers by November 2023.
Concert Realty Services Ltd, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $190,000 from NRCan to install 38 EV chargers by January 2025.
Westbank Projects Corp., Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $4,914,660 to install 2635 EV chargers by May 2025.
THE OWNERS, STRATA PLAN BCS4321, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $150,000 to install 30 EV chargers by June 2024.
Austeville Properties Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $250,000 to install 50 EV chargers by October 2025.
1125 Denman Developments Limited Partnership by its general partner Denman Developments Ltd, Vancouver, BC: An investment of $500,000 to install 16 EV chargers by July 2025.
The Owners Strata Plan LMS1108 “The National,” Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $260,000 to install 60 EV chargers by May 2024.
Strata Corporation LMS4255 “Marinaside Resort,” Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $500,000 to install 140 EV chargers by May 2024.
1229488 BC Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $99,999, to install 23 EV chargers by March 2024.
Zero Emissions Vehicle Awareness Initiative
Plug’N Drive, Toronto, Ontario: An investment of $1,560,633 to raise awareness of electric vehicles across Canada through a comprehensive awareness and experiential campaign, featuring test drives targeting small and medium-sized communities with limited experience or exposure to electric vehicles.
Create Climate Equity Association in Coquitlam, B.C.: An investment of $100,000 to engage one or more lower-income, underserved, urban communities in the City of Vancouver, B.C., on transportation needs and develop a design for equity-based, zero-emission mobility solutions for the participating communities.
Steel River Group Ltd in Calgary, Alberta: An investment of $300,000 to empower and equip Indigenous youth with the essential knowledge, skills and confidence to lead sustainable transportation and clean energy initiatives in their communities.
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta: An investment of $247,045 to develop non-credit courses on the maintenance of hydrogen fuel cell buses and heavy-duty vehicles to educate fleet owners, operators and heavy-duty vehicle mechanics and technicians on the use and maintenance of MHDVs and raise public confidence and awareness in zero-emission MHDV.
HUB Cycling, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $241,545 to increase awareness and uptake of e-mobility for transportation across the province of British Columbia.
Minister Wilkinson also announced $3.6 million in funding for CSA Group to update codes and standards related to ZEV infrastructure through the Energy Innovation Program:
CSA Group, Toronto, Ontario, $3,616,373. The objective of this project is to establish and revise codes and standards, develop guideline documents, manage committees, perform literature reviews for zero-emission transportation infrastructure, covering advanced charging equipment, energy storage, management and various transportation modes.
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada – Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP)
Lastly, Minister Wilkinson announced a joint investment of more than $3.1 million through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program for two green infrastructure projects in British Columbia. The projects will enhance access to clean transportation options, use B.C.’s clean electricity supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Public Electric Vehicle Charging Expansion – Phase 3 in Vancouver, B.C. o The federal government is investing $824,600 through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of British Columbia is investing $687,098 through the CleanBC Communities Fund. The City of Vancouver is contributing $549,802. o The project will install approximately 15 Level 2 and nine direct-current fast-charge electric vehicle charging ports around parklands in the city, along with electric and mechanical system upgrades.
Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in the District of North Vancouver, B.C.: o The federal government is investing $217,447 through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of British Columbia is investing $579,821 through the CleanBC Communities Fund. The District of North Vancouver is contributing $289,965. o The project will install a public network of approximately 10 Level 2 and two direct-current fast-charge electric vehicle charging ports along key transportation routes, in priority buildings and near multi-family and social housing in the district.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29)
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29) joined her colleagues in a letter to President Biden requesting that the Department of Energy (DOE) prioritize and expedite the review of projects that will supply liquified natural gas (LNG) to Ukrainian and Eastern European allies as it recommences the processing of applications for authorization to export LNG to countries where the U.S. does not have existing free trade agreements (non-FTA nations). This request was made with a focus on maintaining both U.S. national security and energy security for European allies.
“We must ensure that new exports do not impact energy prices for American consumers and businesses. However, the public interest also requires consideration of the extent to which LNG exports promote geopolitical stability and serve our national security interests. Russia’s increasingly aggressive actions towards Ukrainian infrastructure, including electricity and gas storage facilities, highlight the urgent need to assist Ukraine in recovering and rebuilding and for Ukraine to diversify and secure its energy supply,” said the Members.
The letter was led by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Other signers include Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Don Davis (NC-01), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Mary Peltola (AK-AL), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Susan Wild (PA-07).
A full copy of the letter can be found by clicking here, or reading below:
Dear President Biden:
As members of Congress, we write to request that the Department of Energy (DOE) prioritize and expedite review of projects that will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukrainian and Eastern European allies as it recommences the processing of applications for authorization to export LNG to countries where the US does not have existing free trade agreements (non-FTA nations). This request is made with a focus on maintaining both US national security and energy security for our European allies.
DOE performs a critical function when it reviews applications for new LNG exports to non-FTA nations for consistency with the public interest. We must ensure that new exports do not impact energy prices for American consumers and businesses. However, the public interest also requires consideration of the extent to which LNG exports promote geopolitical stability and serve our national security interests. Russia’s increasingly aggressive actions towards Ukrainian infrastructure, including electricity and gas storage facilities, highlight the urgent need to assist Ukraine in recovering and rebuilding and for Ukraine to diversify and secure its energy supply. The Administration’s recent announcement of over $800 Million towards emergency energy needs in Ukraine to help “repair energy infrastructure damaged in the war, expand power generation, encourage private sector investment and protect energy infrastructure” will be vital to helping Ukraine recover and rebuild.
Equally important will be allowing Ukraine the ability to replace its natural gas supply when its contract with Gazprom expires at the end of this year. We believe that reducing Ukraine’s dependence on Russian energy will strengthen Ukraine’s energy security and align with the broader strategic goals of diminishing Russia’s influence in the region and reducing the leverage that hostile actors like Russia have over our allies.
Any delays to providing additional supplies of LNG to Ukraine and our Eastern European allies could jeopardize European energy security and market stability in the long-term. Typical gas offtake contracts are measured in years, not months, and are underpinned by certainty. We should not send mixed signals to our allies who want to eliminate their reliance on Vladimir Putin for good. We believe that the United States must demonstrate its commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and resilience amidst ongoing threats by prioritizing and expediting review of projects that will supply LNG to Ukraine and Eastern Europe.
Additionally, American LNG is produced with some of the strongest environmental protections globally.1 Rigorous regulations and oversight ensure that our LNG exports are reliable and adhere to high environmental standards. We believe that these environmental standards, in combination with assistance made available through Inflation Reduction Act programs, such as the GHG Reporting and the Methane Emissions Reduction Programs, will ensure industry and this Administration work to continue reducing emissions from natural gas. By prioritizing and expediting review of LNG projects that will supply LNG to vulnerable nations, we believe DOE would enable our allies to benefit from cleaner LNG sources that have been shown to reduce emissions compared to foreign supplies and coal,2 thus supporting their transition to more sustainable energy systems.
The United States has already shown a strong commitment to supporting Ukraine. Extending and expanding support to the energy sector is a natural and necessary step. We must continue to lead by example, showing that we can balance our environmental commitments with the need to provide reliable energy to our European allies. We believe that, if US LNG producers adhere to increasingly stringent environmental standards, then this balance is maintained, promoting both energy security and environmental stewardship.
In conclusion, we believe that prioritizing and expediting review of LNG projects that will supply Ukraine and Eastern Europe will support geopolitical stability and advance the national security interests of the United States. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.
Headline: New York State Joins the Global Offshore Wind Alliance
24 September 2024, New York, USA | The State of New York announced its membership of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) – joining a network of governments, international organizations, and private sector actors committed to expanding offshore wind capacity globally and driving the transition to a clean energy future.
GOWA is a multi-stakeholder alliance that aims to speed up the global deployment of offshore wind power. The alliance was launched at COP27 by Denmark, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Twenty governments have already joined GOWA. The addition of the State of New York further strengthens the global collaboration between regional and national governments and creates a more unified and coordinated approach to offshore wind development across the globe.
Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), said:“New York is honored to join the Global Offshore Wind Alliance as we work with other government partners to grow and build-out the offshore wind industry, which is a critical component of the renewable energy infrastructure in New York and worldwide. This collaboration, which spans from sharing lessons and best practices to helping scale up offshore wind projects, will help further advance and sustain this powerhouse industry as we harness its full potential to secure a clean energy future.”
“New York’s decision to join GOWA is a very timely step in uniting global efforts to expand the deployment of offshore wind energy. The commitment of New York not only enhances the alliance but also strengthens the collaboration between regional and national actors, improves energy security and pushes forward toward our shared global climate goals,” said Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, welcomed New York State joining GOWA: “Through GOWA, we work closely with governments, industry, and investors to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind projects worldwide. Offshore wind offers a pathway to decarbonize our power systems, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth. Our World Energy Transitions Outlook projects that offshore wind capacity must increase sevenfold by 2030 and more than thirtyfold by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. We need policies that incentivize investment, streamlined permitting processes, and innovative financing solutions.”
As a pioneer in renewable energy, New York has already set ambitious targets under its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including the deployment of at least 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, a goal of at least 70 percent of New York’s electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2030 and a commitment to 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2040. By joining GOWA, New York contributes to the global effort to accelerate renewable energy development, including the push for tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, a key global goal decided at COP28.
The GOWA membership fosters collaboration between regional and national governments, a partnership important for advancing the offshore wind industry. This cooperation enables more efficient offshore wind deployment by combining the innovation and localized expertise of regional governments with the broader policy frameworks and resources provided by national authorities.
“The continuous growth of GOWA’s membership reflects a steadfast commitment to offshore wind as a vital force in achieving net zero, supported by multi-national, national, and sub-national governments. I’m encouraged by the eagerness of key players to join our community, united in addressing the challenges of accelerating offshore wind development. New York’s decision to join GOWA at this critical juncture will bring invaluable expertise from a market that has weathered challenging conditions. I look forward to collaborating with New York and all GOWA members as we chart the global offshore wind pathway toward 2050.”– Amisha Patel, Head of Secretariat (Interim), Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA).
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC,said: “The growth of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance demonstrates the vital role offshore wind plays in the energy transition and the importance of collaboration to delivering on the world’s renewable energy ambitions. The addition of the State of New York to the Alliance brings another strong voice and invaluable expertise to the group. The US offshore wind industry is a key part of the energy transition’s acceleration this decade, and we look forward to supporting the State of New York’s efforts in making their offshore wind sector an example for the rest of the world to follow”
He also highlighted GWEC’s research findings:
“GWEC’s research suggests the world could deliver GOWA’s target of 380 GW of offshore wind by 2030, but only with the right frameworks in place. The collaborative work of the Alliance is fundamental to establishing and expanding this framework around the world and ensuring offshore wind delivers on its potential as a key tool of the energy transition.”
GOWA’s goal is to significantly increase the global offshore wind capacity, aiming for a total of at least 380 GW by 2030 and at least 70 GW each year from 2030 onwards. This expansion is essential for reaching global climate neutrality by 2050 and limiting global warming to below 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
With New York State as its newest member, GOWA now includes 21 member governments, including the European Commission and three subnational governments, and ten other key stakeholders, including the offshore wind sector, inter-governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
Headline: New York State Joins the Global Offshore Wind Alliance
24 September 2024, New York, USA | The State of New York announced its membership of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) – joining a network of governments, international organizations, and private sector actors committed to expanding offshore wind capacity globally and driving the transition to a clean energy future.
GOWA is a multi-stakeholder alliance that aims to speed up the global deployment of offshore wind power. The alliance was launched at COP27 by Denmark, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Twenty governments have already joined GOWA. The addition of the State of New York further strengthens the global collaboration between regional and national governments and creates a more unified and coordinated approach to offshore wind development across the globe.
Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), said:“New York is honored to join the Global Offshore Wind Alliance as we work with other government partners to grow and build-out the offshore wind industry, which is a critical component of the renewable energy infrastructure in New York and worldwide. This collaboration, which spans from sharing lessons and best practices to helping scale up offshore wind projects, will help further advance and sustain this powerhouse industry as we harness its full potential to secure a clean energy future.”
“New York’s decision to join GOWA is a very timely step in uniting global efforts to expand the deployment of offshore wind energy. The commitment of New York not only enhances the alliance but also strengthens the collaboration between regional and national actors, improves energy security and pushes forward toward our shared global climate goals,” said Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, welcomed New York State joining GOWA: “Through GOWA, we work closely with governments, industry, and investors to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind projects worldwide. Offshore wind offers a pathway to decarbonize our power systems, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth. Our World Energy Transitions Outlook projects that offshore wind capacity must increase sevenfold by 2030 and more than thirtyfold by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. We need policies that incentivize investment, streamlined permitting processes, and innovative financing solutions.”
As a pioneer in renewable energy, New York has already set ambitious targets under its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including the deployment of at least 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, a goal of at least 70 percent of New York’s electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2030 and a commitment to 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2040. By joining GOWA, New York contributes to the global effort to accelerate renewable energy development, including the push for tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, a key global goal decided at COP28.
The GOWA membership fosters collaboration between regional and national governments, a partnership important for advancing the offshore wind industry. This cooperation enables more efficient offshore wind deployment by combining the innovation and localized expertise of regional governments with the broader policy frameworks and resources provided by national authorities.
“The continuous growth of GOWA’s membership reflects a steadfast commitment to offshore wind as a vital force in achieving net zero, supported by multi-national, national, and sub-national governments. I’m encouraged by the eagerness of key players to join our community, united in addressing the challenges of accelerating offshore wind development. New York’s decision to join GOWA at this critical juncture will bring invaluable expertise from a market that has weathered challenging conditions. I look forward to collaborating with New York and all GOWA members as we chart the global offshore wind pathway toward 2050.”– Amisha Patel, Head of Secretariat (Interim), Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA).
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC,said: “The growth of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance demonstrates the vital role offshore wind plays in the energy transition and the importance of collaboration to delivering on the world’s renewable energy ambitions. The addition of the State of New York to the Alliance brings another strong voice and invaluable expertise to the group. The US offshore wind industry is a key part of the energy transition’s acceleration this decade, and we look forward to supporting the State of New York’s efforts in making their offshore wind sector an example for the rest of the world to follow”
He also highlighted GWEC’s research findings:
“GWEC’s research suggests the world could deliver GOWA’s target of 380 GW of offshore wind by 2030, but only with the right frameworks in place. The collaborative work of the Alliance is fundamental to establishing and expanding this framework around the world and ensuring offshore wind delivers on its potential as a key tool of the energy transition.”
GOWA’s goal is to significantly increase the global offshore wind capacity, aiming for a total of at least 380 GW by 2030 and at least 70 GW each year from 2030 onwards. This expansion is essential for reaching global climate neutrality by 2050 and limiting global warming to below 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
With New York State as its newest member, GOWA now includes 21 member governments, including the European Commission and three subnational governments, and ten other key stakeholders, including the offshore wind sector, inter-governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
We are in an era of epic transformation – facing challenges unlike any we have ever seen – challenges that demand global solutions.
Yet geo-political divisions keep deepening. The planet keeps heating.
Wars rage with no clue how they will end.
And nuclear posturing and new weapons cast a dark shadow.
We are edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world.
Meanwhile, 2024 is the year that half of humanity goes to the polls – and all of humanity will be affected.
I stand before you in this whirlwind convinced of two overriding truths.
First, the state of our world is unsustainable.
We can’t go on like this.
And second, the challenges we face are solvable.
But that requires us to make sure the mechanisms of international problem-solving actually solve problems.
The Summit of the Future was a first step, but we have a long way to go.
Getting there requires confronting three major drivers of unsustainability.
A world of impunity – where violations and abuses threaten the very foundation of international law and the UN Charter.
A world of inequality – where injustices and grievances threaten to undermine countries or even push them over the edge.
And a world of uncertainty – where unmanaged global risks threaten our future in unknowable ways.
These worlds of impunity, inequality and uncertainty are connected and colliding.
Excellencies,
The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable.
Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a “get out of jail free” card.
They can trample international law.
They can violate the United Nations Charter.
They can turn a blind eye to international human rights conventions or the decisions of international courts.
They can thumb their nose at international humanitarian law.
They can invade another country, lay waste to whole societies, or utterly disregard the welfare of their own people.
And nothing will happen.
We see this age of impunity everywhere — in the Middle East, in the heart of Europe, in the Horn of Africa, and beyond.
The war in Ukraine is spreading with no signs of letting up.
Civilians are paying the price – in rising death tolls and shattered lives and communities.
It is time for a just peace based on the UN Charter, on international law and on UN resolutions.
Meanwhile, Gaza is a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it.
Look no further than Lebanon.
We should all be alarmed by the escalation.
Lebanon is at the brink.
The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world — cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.
Let’s be clear.
Nothing can justify the abhorrent acts of terror committed by Hamas on October 7th, or the taking of hostages – both of which I have repeatedly condemned.
And nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
The speed and scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza are unlike anything in my years as Secretary-General.
More than 200 of our own staff have been killed, many with their families.
And yet the women and men of the United Nations continue to deliver humanitarian aid.
I know you join me in paying a special tribute to UNRWA and to all humanitarians in Gaza.
The international community must mobilize for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process towards a two-State solution.
For those who go on undermining that goal with more settlements, more landgrabs, more incitement — I ask:
What is the alternative?
How could the world accept a one-state future in which a large a large number of Palestinians would be included without any freedom, rights or dignity?
In Sudan, a brutal power struggle has unleashed horrific violence — including widespread rape and sexual assaults.
A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding as famine spreads. Yet outside powers continue to interfere with no unified approach to finding peace.
In the Sahel, the dramatic and rapid expansion of the terrorist threat requires a joint approach rooted in solidarity – but regional and international cooperation have broken down.
From Myanmar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Haiti to Yemen and beyond – we continue to see appalling levels of violence and human suffering in the face of a chronic failure to find solutions.
Meanwhile our peacekeeping missions are too often operating in areas where simply there is no peace to keep.
Instability in many places around the world is a by-product of instability in power relations and geo-political divides.
For all its perils, the Cold War had rules.
There were hot lines, red lines and guard rails.
It can feel as though we don’t have that today.
Nor do we have a unipolar world.
We are moving to a multipolar world, but we are not there yet.
We are in a purgatory of polarity.
And in this purgatory, more and more countries are filling the spaces of geopolitical divides, doing whatever they want with no accountability.
That is why it is more important than ever to reaffirm the Charter, to respect international law, to support and implement decisions of international courts, and to reinforce human rights in the world.
Anywhere and everywhere.
Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,
L’augmentation des inégalités est un deuxième facteur de l’insoutenabilité et une tache sur notre conscience collective.
L’inégalité n’est pas une question technique ou bureaucratique.
Au fond, l’inégalité est une question de pouvoir, aux racines historiques.
Les conflits, les bouleversements climatiques et la crise du coût de la vie étendent ces racines historiques plus profondément encore.
Dans le même temps, le monde peine encore à se relever de la flambée des inégalités engendrée par la pandémie.
Si l’on regarde les 75 pays les plus pauvres du monde, un tiers d’entre eux se trouve aujourd’hui dans une situation pire qu’il y a cinq ans.
Au cours de la même période, les cinq hommes les plus riches de la planète ont plus que doublé leurs fortunes.
Et un pour cent des habitants de la planète détient 43 % de l’ensemble des avoirs financiers mondiaux.
Au niveau national, certains gouvernements décuplent les inégalités en accordant des cadeaux fiscaux massifs aux entreprises et aux ultra-riches — au détriment des investissements dans la santé, l’éducation et la protection sociale.
Et personne n’est plus lésé que les femmes et les filles du monde entier.
Excellences,
La discrimination et les abus généralisés fondés sur le genre constituent l’inégalité la plus répandue dans toutes les sociétés.
Chaque jour, il semble que nous soyons confrontés à de nouveaux cas révoltants de féminicides, de violences fondées sur le genre et de viols collectifs – en temps de paix comme en tant qu’arme de guerre.
Dans certains pays, les lois sont utilisées pour menacer la santé et les droits reproductifs.
Et en Afghanistan, les lois sont utilisées pour entériner l’oppression systématique des femmes et des filles.
Et je suis désolé de constater que, malgré des années de beaux discours, l’inégalité de genre se manifesteet je vous demande pardon de le dire, elle se manifeste aujourd’hui encore, pleinement dans cette enceinte.
Moins de 10 pour cent des intervenants au Débat général de cette semaine sont des femmes.
C’est inacceptable, surtout quand on sait que l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes contribue à la paix, au développement durable, à l’action climatique et bien plus encore.
C’est précisément pour cela nous avons pris des mesures spécifiques pour atteindre la parité hommes-femmes parmi les hauts responsables de l’Organisation des Nations Unies,objectif qui est déjà complété.
C’est faisable.
J’exhorte les institutions politiques et économiques du monde dominées par les hommes à le faire aussi.
Excellences,
Les inégalités mondiales se reflètent et se renforcent jusque dans nos propres organisations internationales.
Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies a été conçu par les vainqueurs de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
À l’époque, la majeure partie du continent africain était encore sous domination coloniale.
À ce jour, l’Afrique n’a toujours aucun siège permanent au sein de la principale instance de paix du monde.
Un changement s’impose.
Il en va de même pour l’architecture financière mondiale, mise en place il y a 80 ans.
Je félicite les dirigeants de la Banque mondiale et du Fonds monétaire international pour les mesures importantes qu’ils ont entreprises.
Mais comme le souligne le Pacte pour l’avenir, la lutte contre les inégalités exige une accélération de la réforme de l’architecture financière internationale.
Au cours des huit dernières décennies, l’économie mondiale s’est développée et transformée.
Les institutions de Bretton Woods n’ont pas suivi le rythme.
Elles ne sont plus en mesure de fournir un filet de sécurité mondial, ni d’offrir aux pays en développement le niveau de soutien dont ils ont tant besoin.
Dans les pays les plus pauvres du monde, le coût des intérêts de la dette dépasse, en moyenne, le coût des investissements dans l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures publiques réunis.
Et à l’échelle du monde, plus de 80 % des cibles des Objectifs de développement durable ne sont pas en bonne voie. Excelencias,
Volver al camino correcto requiere un aumento de financiamiento para la Agenda 2030 y el Acuerdo de París.
Esto implica que los países del G20 lideren un Estímulo para los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de 500.000 millones de dólares al año.
Implica reformas para aumentar sustancialmente la capacidad de préstamo de los Bancos Multilaterales de Desarrollo – y permitirles ampliar masivamente la financiación asequible a largo plazo para el clima y el desarrollo.
Implica ampliar la financiación de contingencia mediante el reciclaje de los Derechos Especiales de Giro.
E implica promover una reestructuración de la deuda a largo plazo.
Excelencias,
No me hago ilusiones sobre las barreras a la reforma del sistema multilateral.
Los que tienen poder político y económico, o y los que creen tenerlo, son siempre reacios al cambio.
Pero el status quo ya está agotando su poder.
Sin reformas, la fragmentación es inevitable, y las instituciones globales perderán legitimidad, credibilidad y eficacia.
Excellencies,
The third driver of our unsustainable world is uncertainty.
The ground is shifting under our feet.
Anxiety levels are off the charts.
And young people, in particular, are counting on us and seeking solutions.
Uncertainty is compounded by two existential threats – the climate crisis and the rapid advance of technology — in particular, Artificial Intelligence.
Excellencies,
We are in a climate meltdown.
Extreme temperatures, raging fires, droughts, and epic floods are not natural disasters.
They are human disasters — increasingly fueled by fossil fuels.
No country is spared. But the poorest and most vulnerable are hardest hit.
Climate hazards are blowing a hole through the budgets of many African countries, costing up to five per cent of GDP – every year.
And this is just the start.
We are on course to careen past the global limit of a 1.5 degree temperature rise.
But as the problem gets worse, solutions are getting better.
Renewable prices are plummeting, roll-out is accelerating, and lives are being transformed by affordable, accessible clean energy.
Renewables don’t just generate power. They generate jobs, wealth, energy security and a path out of poverty for millions.
But developing countries cannot be plundered in that journey.
Our Panel on Critical Minerals has recommended fair and sustainable ways to meet global demand for these resources, which are essential to the renewables revolution.
Excellencies,
A future without fossil fuels is certain. A fair and fast transition is not.
That is in your hands.
By next year, every country must produce an ambitious new national climate action plan – or Nationally Determined Contributions.
These must bring national energy strategies, sustainable development priorities, and climate ambitions together.
They must align with the 1.5 degree limit, cover the whole economy, and contribute to every one of the COP28 energy transition targets.
An International Energy Agency report released today breaks this down.
By 2035, on average, advanced economies must slash energy emissions 80 per cent, and emerging markets 65 per cent.
The G20 is responsible for 80 per cent of total emissions.
They must lead the charge – keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.
But this must be a joint effort — pooling resources, scientific capacities and proven and affordable technologies for all to be able to reach those targets.
I’m honoured to be working closely with President Lula of Brazil – who is both G20 Chair and COP30 host – to secure maximum ambition, acceleration and cooperation. We just met for that purpose.
Finance is essential.
COP29 is around the corner.
It must deliver a significant new finance goal.
We also need a Loss and Damage Fund that meets the scale of the challenge – and developed countries meeting their adaptation finance promises.
And we must finally flip the script on a crazy situation:
We continue to reward polluters to wreck our planet.
The fossil fuel industry continues to pocket massive profits and subsidies, while everyday people bear the costs of climate catastrophe – from rising insurance premiums to lost livelihoods.
I call on G20 countries to shift money from fossil fuel subsidies and investments to a just energy transition;
To put an effective price on carbon;
And to implement new and innovative sources of financing – including solidarity levies on fossil fuel extraction – through legally-binding, transparent mechanisms.
All by next year and this taking into account that those who shoulder the blame must foot the bill.
Polluters must pay.
Excellencies,
The rapid rise of new technologies poses another unpredictable existential risk.
Artificial Intelligence will change virtually everything we know — from work, education and communication, to culture and politics.
We know AI is rapidly advancing, but where is it taking us:
To more freedom – or more conflict?
To a more sustainable world – or greater inequality?
To being better informed – or easier to manipulate?
A handful of companies and even individuals have already amassed enormous power over the development of AI – with little accountability or oversight for the moment.
Without a global approach to its management, artificial intelligence could lead to artificial divisions across the board – a Great Fracture with two internets, two markets, two economies – with every country forced to pick a side, and enormous consequences for all.
The United Nations is the universal platform for dialogue and consensus.
It is uniquely placed to promote cooperation on AI – based on the values of the Charter and international law.
The global debate happens here, or it does not happen.
I welcome important first steps.
Two resolutions in the General Assembly, the Global Digital Compact, and the recommendations of the High-Level Body on AI can lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI.
Let’s move forward together to make AI a force for good.
Excellencies,
Nothing lasts forever.
But a feature of human life is that it appears otherwise.
The current order always feels fixed.
Until it is not.
Across human history, we see empires rising and falling; old certainties crumbling; tectonic shifts in global affairs.
Today our course is unsustainable.
It is in all our interests to manage the epic transformations underway; to choose the future we want and to guide our world towards it.
Many have said that the differences and divisions today are just too great.
That it is impossible for us to come together for the common good.
You proved that is not true.
The Summit of the Future showed that with a spirit of dialogue and compromise, we can join forces to steer our world to a more sustainable path.
It is not the end.
It is a start of a journey, a compass in the whirlwind.
Let’s keep going.
Let’s move our world towards less impunity and more accountability …. less inequality and more justice … less uncertainty and more opportunity.
The people of the world are looking to us – and succeeding generations will look back on us.
Let them find us on the side of the United Nations Charter … on the side of our shared values and principles … and on the right side of history.
Headline: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $715 Million to Help Communities Across the Nation Build Resilience to Flooding Disasters Through Investing in America Agenda
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $715 Million to Help Communities Across the Nation Build Resilience to Flooding Disasters Through Investing in America Agenda
WASHINGTON — Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe due to climate change leading to increased response and recovery missions across the nation. Today, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said during Climate Week NYC that the agency will announce approximately $715 million in new project selections to eliminate or reduce flood damage supported by historic funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda. The funding, which comes through FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance program will help communities across the nation enhance resilience to extreme weather events.
The Biden-Harris Administration has provided record funding to this program thanks to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the Flood Mitigation Assistance program. Total funding for project selections increased nearly five times from the amount available—$160 million—for the FY21grant cycle before the law. In total, funding from this legislation over five years for the Flood Mitigation Assistance program is $3.5 billion.
“Flooding is already the nation’s most costly and frequent disaster and climate change is only making it worse,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing communities more critical resources to withstand increasing flood threats. Whether it’s elevating or acquiring flood-prone properties, these dollars are going to make communities more prepared and reduce disaster suffering for future generations.”
“As flooding occurs more frequently and with greater severity, flood mitigation is more important than ever,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “For 30 years, FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program has provided communities with access to federal support to protect against flood risk. Through the funding announced today, FEMA will continue to help states, local communities, Tribal Nations and territories analyze their risk of flooding and take forward-looking steps to protect their communities before a disaster strikes.”
Through this program, FEMA provides funding to states, local communities, Tribal Nations and territories to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured under the National Flood Insurance Program. There are three categories of funding which include:
Capability and Capacity Building Activities, such as project scoping to develop project plans and design.
Localized Flood Risk Reduction Projects, which help build resilience to flooding at the community level, including floodplain management, wetland, marsh, riverine and coastal restoration and protection.
Individual Flood Mitigation Projects, which protect individual homes and buildings from flooding, including by buying out or elevating properties above flood levels.
Today’s selections further underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to environmental justice by assisting the most disadvantaged communities in building resilience to climate change and extreme weather events. Aligning with the President’s Justice40 Initiative, these efforts will advance the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain covered federal investments go to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. For this cycle, FEMA almost tripled the amount of funding for disadvantaged communities from 16% in FY21 to more than 50% for a total of $367 million.
The announcement also aligns with FEMA’s 2024 Year of Resilience campaign, as well as the goals of the National Climate Resilience Framework and will help build capacity to withstand tomorrow’s hazards. As part of FEMA’s strategic goal to promote and sustain a ready nation, FEMA enhanced geographic distributions with more than 60 new selections.
This is the 30th anniversary of the Flood Mitigation Assistance program, created in 1994. Approximately $2 billion has been obligated by FEMA to address the nation’s costliest annual disaster.
The selections complement a July announcement of $1 billion through FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and a recent $300 million in funding through Flood Mitigation Assistance’s Swift Current opportunity—another important part of the President’s Investing in America Agenda—to make the nation more resilient to natural hazards. Both programs provide climate resilience funding to help address increased demand for federal funds to address the climate crisis.
Flood Mitigation Assistance
More than 775 buildings will be protected to prevent future strain on homeowners and reduce future claims payments from the National Flood Insurance Program.
The number of projects selected by state with approximate totals:
State or Territory
Number of Projects Selected
Total Funding for Projects Selected (rounded)
Alabama
5
$19.1 million
Arizona
5
$5.9 million
California
3
$51.8 million
Connecticut
8
$2.6 million
Florida
33
$20.7 million
Illinois
2
$27.2 million
Iowa
3
$14.1 million
Kansas
1
$254,000
Kentucky
4
$1.6 million
Louisiana
31
$206 million
Maryland
2
$851,000
Massachusetts
1
$646,000
Missouri
1
$2 million
New Jersey
12
$41.6 million
New York
9
$5.8 million
North Carolina
11
$23.4 million
Ohio
5
$24.7 million
Oregon
3
$20 million
Pennsylvania
4
$832,000
South Carolina
4
$1.9 million
South Dakota
1
$5.3 million
Texas
43
$236 million
Utah
2
$599,000
Washington
3
$1.4 million
West Virginia
1
$202,000
All 197 projects are in National Flood Insurance Program-participating communities in 25 states. In addition to flood control activities, the selections will reduce risk to individual properties through actions like elevations, acquisitions and mitigation reconstruction of buildings insured by NFIP.
Examples of project selections that address community flood risk for the purpose of reducing NFIP flood claim payments include:
The Pacific Avenue storm mitigation project in Wildwood, New Jersey, aims to address street flooding. The flood-prone area will benefit from a redesigned stormwater management system. A new pump station will manage stormwater runoff to ensure efficient drainage.
St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana plans to elevate 132 flood-prone homes to reduce future damage and minimize flood insurance claims. The parish will elevate structures to at least 2 feet above Base Flood Elevation.
The city of Moab, Utah, will mitigate flood risks by improving two detention basins, White Canyon and Johnson Canyon, both of which pose significant flood risks. The project includes building improved spillways to protect downstream properties.
The Arizona Department of Game and Fish will develop alternative designs to address safety risk to the Black Canyon Dam. The solution will improve the safety for nearly 200 downstream structures.
Approximately 51% of this cycle’s Flood Mitigation Assistance project selections will go to disadvantaged communities, an increase of 18% from last year’s cycle. Examples of these community-wide projects funded areas include:
Belhaven, North Carolina will reduce flooding in communities vulnerable to wind-driven tides and severe weather by installing pumps and an automated tidal gate along Wynne’s Gut. The system aims to mitigate the number of repetitive property losses. The tidal gate will prevent tidal water from entering, while the pump station will discharge rainfall runoff, ensuring a quicker recovery for essential community lifelines.
Jefferson County, Texas will address severe flooding in three vulnerable areas serviced by storm sewers, ditches, channels and detention basins. The solution includes enhancing drainage to the Neches River.
In Kansas, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City will advance its floodplain management program to prevent or reduce the risk of flooding. One goal is to improve the unified government’s Community Rating System class, a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management practices that exceed the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. An enhanced floodplain management program will not only help to reduce disaster suffering but also provide discounts to flood insurance policyholder premiums through the improved Community Rating System class.
A slow-moving storm triggered days of intense rainfall across central and eastern Europe in September 2024. The deluge submerged entire neighborhoods and forced tens of thousands to evacuate flooded towns and cities. Between September 11 and 18, a low-pressure storm system battered parts of Austria, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (Czechia) with torrential rainfall. The storm formed when a wave of cold Arctic air plunged into southern Europe and met with warm, moist air from the Mediterranean. The low-pressure system became cut off from the prevailing jet stream (known as a cut-off low), allowing it to linger in the region for several days. Named Storm Boris by the UK Met Office, the system hit hardest in the Czech Republic and Austria, which in one week saw up to three times the amount of rainfall typical for the entire month of September, according to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. In eastern Austria, near Vienna, 215 millimeters (8.5 inches) of rain fell during that week. All of this rainfall, however, had consequences beyond the hardest-hit areas. On September 18, water levels along the Oder River in southeastern Poland surpassed the highest alert category set by the country’s institute of meteorology. The river originates in the Oder Mountains in the Czech Republic and runs north through Poland to Germany. Water overtopped the banks of the river near Wrocław and flooded the surrounding farmland, visible in the image above (right), acquired on September 20, 2024. The image on the left shows the same region on September 4, before the storm. Both images were acquired by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 and are false color to emphasize the presence of water (dark blue). The Danube River overtopped its banks in Slovakia, sending floodwaters into the capital, Bratislava. The false-color image below, acquired by the OLI-2 on Landsat 9, shows inundated areas along the Danube on September 21. According to news reports, the relentless rain forced dozens of people from their homes.
In Poland’s mountain town of Stronie Slaskie, near the border with the Czech Republic, a dam burst and caused deadly flooding. As of September 20, flooding across central and eastern Europe and into Italy has contributed to the displacement of over 25,000 people, according to the European Union. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.
Every year, humpback whales migrate up the east coast of Australia to breed, and journey back to Antarctica to feed. During their migration, the whales make calls and sing songs – a grand chorus in the symphony of their ecosystems.
This underwater soundscape is a valuable and vital window into the health of this species and their habitats. By tracking audio data, scientists can understand migration activity, patterns, mating calls, competitive behaviors and more.
Humpback whale mating call, collected in the Gold Coast
As part of the Digital Future Initiative, Google Australia is teaming up with Griffith University to implement more precise, comprehensive and efficient monitoring of whale migrations and their ecosystems in Australia – enabled by Google AI and automatic audio detection.
Researchers Dr Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University’s Whales and Climate Program and Dr Lauren Harrell from Google Research are leading this collaboration.
Traditional whale research methods have faced limitations in both data collection and analysis. Researchers logged sightings and manually analysed audio recordings, which is time-consuming and does not give a continuous view of whale activity. Moreover, visual sightings can only be logged during daylight, and tracking the evolving vocal dialects of whales across different regions and seasons is a complex task.
With this new collaboration, researchers have deployed hydrophones — underwater microphones — and Google AI powered audio detection systems to monitor the sounds and songs of humpback whales and their habitats.
A seal swimming around a hydrophone off the South Coast, NSW
Hydrophones allow us to tune into marine soundscapes and continuously collect underwater audio data all day and all night, through the entire humpback migration season. Google’s AI technology processes this data, automatically detecting whale sounds, marking their location in time and classifying the species. This frees researchers from the minutiae and laborious manual work, so they can look at the big picture, uncover insights and explore new research frontiers.
Dr Olaf Meynecke deploying a hydrophone in Terrigal, NSW
Curtin University’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology is supporting the collection and labeling of acoustic data, and a range of local citizen science groups will assist with monitoring each of the hydrophone sites. The AI model will eventually be open-sourced on Kaggle and GitHub, benefiting other whale and marine researchers worldwide.
While our current focus is on monitoring humpback whale sounds, the potential of this AI model extends far beyond. We’ll look to build on the model to detect the sounds of diverse marine species, from fish to dolphins and seals. These advancements will open up uncharted territories of research that could help protect these magnificent creatures and their habitats for generations to come.