International Monetary Fund,update

 

Dear MARIA, We just published a new blog—please find the full text below.  Fossil Fuel Subsidies Surged to Record $7 Trillion (Credit: Marcin Jozwiak/Unsplash) By Simon Black, Ian Parry, and Nate Vernon Fossil-fuel subsidies surged to a record $7 trillion last year as governments supported consumers and businesses during the global spike in energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic recovery from the pandemic. As the world struggles to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and parts of Asia, Europe and the United States swelter in extreme heat, subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas are costing the equivalent of 7.1 percent of global gross domestic product. That’s more than governments spend annually on education (4.3 percent of global income) and about two thirds of what they spend on healthcare (10.9 percent). Our findings come as the World Meteorological Organization says July was the hottest month on record, underscoring the urgent need to curb human-induced climate change. As the Chart of the Week shows, fossil-fuel subsidies rose by $2 trillion over the past two years as explicit subsidies (undercharging for supply costs) more than doubled to $1.3 trillion. That’s according to our new paper, which provides updated estimates across 170 countries of explicit and implicit subsidies (undercharging for environmental costs and forgone consumption taxes). Download detailed data for different countries and fuels here. Consuming fossil fuels imposes enormous environmental costs—mostly from local air pollution and damage from global warming. The vast majority of subsidies are implicit, as environmental costs are often not reflected in prices for fossil fuels, especially for coal and diesel. Our analysis shows that consumers did not pay for over $5 trillion of environmental costs last year. This number would be almost double if damage to the climate was valued at levels found in a recent study published in the scientific journal Nature instead of our baseline assumption that global warming costs are equal to the emissions price needed to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals. These implicit subsidies are projected to grow as developing countries—which tend to have higher-polluting power plants, factories, and vehicles, along with dense populations living and working close to these pollution sources—increase their consumption of fossil fuels toward the levels of advanced economies. If governments removed explicit subsidies and imposed corrective taxes, fuel prices would increase. This would lead firms and households to consider environmental costs when making consumption and investment decisions. The result would be cutting global carbon-dioxide emissions significantly, cleaner air, less lung and heart disease, and more fiscal space for governments. We estimate that scrapping explicit and implicit fossil-fuel subsidies would prevent 1.6 million premature deaths annually, raise government revenues by $4.4 trillion, and put emissions on track toward reaching global warming targets. It would also redistribute income as fuel subsidies benefit rich households more than poor ones. Yet removing fuel subsidies can be tricky. Governments must design, communicate, and implement reforms clearly and carefully as part of a comprehensive policy package that underscore the benefits. A portion of the increased revenues should be used to compensate vulnerable households for higher energy prices. The remainder could be used to cut taxes on work and investment and fund public goods such as education, healthcare, and clean energy. With global energy prices receding and emissions rising, it’s the right time to phase out explicit and implicit fossil-fuel subsidies, for a healthier and more sustainable planet. Jeff Kearns Managing Editor IMF Blog jkearns@IMF.org   Thank you again for your interest in IMF Blog. Read more of our latest content here. Take good care!

NATO update

 

What's in the kit of a special forces’ dog handling team? Rejs is a Belgian Malinois currently serving with the Latvian army’s Special Operations Forces.  During missions, as a combat assault canine, Rejs helps Latvian commandos by sniffing out explosive traps, chasing down high-value targets and using his incredible speed and agility to get the jump on foes. Rejs requires a lot of kit to do his job, which is carried by his handler, a Latvian Special Forces operator. In this piece, we get to see the items the dog handling team carries in their backpack – from a dog bowl to a muzzle. Click here to download the video.  You can also watch the video on YouTube. 25 August 2023 Update NATO Deputy Secretary General's message to the Ukrainian people on their Independence Day On 24 August 2023 NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană sent a recorded message of solidarity and support to the people of Ukraine on their Independence Day. READ MORE US bombers arrive in Iceland for training with NATO Allies US Bomber Task Force is currently underway, with over 150 U.S. Air Force Airmen and three B-2 Spirit aircraft from Whiteman Air Force Base, USA, deployed to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland on 13 August 2023. READ MORE The Chair of the NATO Military Committee commends Ukrainian military leadership The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, sends a message of solidarity and support to the military personnel and people of Ukraine on their Independence Day. READ MORE Deputy Secretary General stresses NATO’s unwavering support to Ukraine at Crimea Platform NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană participated in the Third Summit of the International Crimea Platform on 23 August 2023. He outlined decisions taken by NATO leaders at the Vilnius Summit in July to move Ukraine closer to the Alliance than ever before. READ MORE What's in the kit of a Latvian special forces’ dog handling team? Rejs is a Belgian Malinois currently serving with the Latvian army’s Special Operations Forces.  During missions, as a combat assault canine, Rejs helps Latvian commandos by sniffing out explosive traps, chasing down high-value targets and using his incredible speed and agility to get the jump on foes. WATCH VIDEO When the going gets ‘ruff’ the tough get going: snapshots of NATO and military dogs over time Dogs have played important roles throughout NATO and military history. READ MORE

The following GAIN reports were released on...

 

REMINDER: USDA Accepting Applications for Angola Agribusiness Trade Mission The U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small will lead the first-ever U.S. agribusiness trade mission to Luanda, Angola on Nov. 28 – Dec. 1. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service is now accepting applications from U.S. exporters who wish to participate in this trade mission. “When it comes to trade opportunity, Sub-Saharan Africa is both promising and often over-looked, and the USDA trade mission to Angola presents an incredible prospect for U.S. food and agriculture exporters to expand and explore new business opportunities,” said Torres Small. “Angola is one of the largest markets in Africa, and with imports making up more than half of its food market, Angola is a perfect location for U.S. exporters to introduce more American-made products to African consumers.” While in Angola, participants will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential buyers, receive in-depth market briefings from FAS and industry trade experts, and participate in site visits and other networking opportunities. In addition to meeting with importers in Angola, U.S. participants will also meet with buyers from neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.

 

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Milk and dairy products newsletter

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Latest update Dashboard: Milk and dairy products Highlights EU butter prices: 449 €/100 kg, -1.5% in last 4 weeks; EU SMP prices: 227 €/100 kg, -0.8% in last 4 weeks; EU WMP prices: 336 €/100 kg, -1.2% in last 4 weeks; EU cheddar prices: 358 €/100 kg, -0.1% in last 4 weeks; IT spot milk price down to 49.8 c/kg (20/08/2023); EU remains more price competitive on Cheddar, Oceania on SMP, WMP and Butter; Decrease of feed costs (-1.9%) and increase of energy costs (+8.5%) in week 33 compared to the previous 4 weeks; EU milk deliveries up by +0.4% in June 2023 and +0.8 % in Jan-June 2023 compared to same periods last year; Evolution of dairy productions in Jan-Jun 2023 compared to 2022: increase for concentrated milk (+6.1%), cream (+2.8%), butter (+1.7%), cheese (+1.2%), fermented milk (+0.6%), drinking milk (+0.5%) and SMP (+0.3%); decrease for WMP (-2.7%); In June 2023, milk productions went up +1.6% in AU and +0.6% in UK, US milk production status quo, while NZ milk production down by -1.7%; In January-May 2023, EU butter exports increased by 4% to China and by 39% to the USA while they decreased by 23% to the UK; During the same period, EU cheese exports went down to Japan (-12%) and to the USA (-9%) but went up to the U.K. (+4%); In Jan-May 2023, EU SMP exports went up to China (+34%) and Algeria (+131%) and down to Indonesia (-56%).  EU WMP exports went down to Oman (-17%), China (-28%) and up to the U.K. (+6%); In Jan-May 2023, the following NZ exports went up: butter(oil) +9%, cheese +16%, SMP +42% and WMP +5%; US dairy exports went down in Jan-May 2023 for butter(oil) (-38%), WMP (-40%), SMP (-2%) and cheese (-4%); Chinese imports of cheese (+4%), SMP (+21%), whey powder (+40%), caseins (+12%) and lactose (+37%) went up in Jan-May 2023 while imports of butter(oil) (-20%), WMP (-51%) and condensed (-32%) went down. Related links EU milk and dairy products policy | EU agricultural markets short-term outlook Agricultural markets dashboard – sheep meat View the latest update Related links EU Lamb, mutton and goat Agricultural markets dashboard – poultry meat View the latest update Related links EU poultry policy | EU agricultural markets short-term outlook Agricultural markets dashboard – eggs View the latest update Related links EU eggs policy | EU agricultural markets short-term outlook

Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development