Sunday World Business News

US govt delays regulation of greenhouse gases Agence France-Presse . Washington
The administration of president George W Bush has made clear it is postponing any regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions believed to be responsible for global warning, citing ‘the complexity and magnitude’ of the issue. The decision follows last year’s ruling by the US Supreme Court, which said the Environmental Protection Agency must devise ways to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. But the EPA said in a 588-page report released Friday that given ‘the complexity and magnitude of the question’ there were doubts whether ‘greenhouse gases could be effectively controlled under the Clean Air Act.’ EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said that rather than attempt to forge a consensus ‘on matters of great complexity, controversy, and active legislative debate,’ he had decided to publish the views of other agencies and to seek comment on them during a 120-day review period. The delay, observers indicate, means that any substantive regulatory action will be almost certainly left to the next administration. ‘One point is clear: the potential regulation of greenhouse gases under any portion of the Clean Air Act could result in an unprecedented expansion of EPA authority that would have a profound effect on virtually every sector of the economy and touch every household in the land,’ Johnson wrote. In a political blow to Bush, the Supreme Court ruled in April 2007 that the EPA must consider greenhouse gases as pollutants and deal with them. The ruling came in response to legal action undertaken by Massachusetts and a dozen other states and environmental groups that went to court to determine whether the agency had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide emissions. The Bush administration has fiercely opposed any imposition of binding emissions limits on the nation’s industry and has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. Environmentalists have alleged that since Bush came to office in 2001 his administration has ignored and tried to hide looming evidence of global warming and the key role of human activity in climate change. At a hearing in November 2006, Massachusetts argued that it risked losing more than 4.5 meters (15 feet) of land all along its coastline if the sea level should rise by 30 centimeters (one foot). But the Bush administration, backed by nine states and several auto manufacturers, urged the court not to intervene, arguing that if the situation was so dire it could not be solved by a simple legal decision. It further argued that reducing emissions from new US motor vehicles would have only a minor effect on global climate change. While the court’s decision is unlikely to change US policy, it has ramifications on several other ongoing issues, such as the agency’s refusal to regulate emissions from electricity plants which produce some 40 per cent of US carbon dioxide emissions. Motor vehicles are responsible for just 20 per cent.
Raul Castro sees hard time for world economic instability Agence France-Presse . Havana
Cubans braced themselves for new hardships Saturday after President Raul Castro told them to expect difficult times because of economic instability in the world. ‘It’s my duty to speak frankly, because it would be unethical to create false expectations. To tell you otherwise would be misleading,’ Castro, 77, said in a televised speech at the close of the first regular National Assembly session Friday. The meeting of more than 500 lawmakers was the first Castro presided since taking over officially five months ago from his brother, the ailing Fidel Castro, 81. Raul Castro, decked out in a traditional white guayabera shirt, listened to speakers from his seat alongside his brother Fidel’s symbolically empty seat. Fidel Castro led Cuba, the Americas’ only one-party communist regime, for almost five decades. The assembly for a few hours debated a series of reform measures aimed at communist Cuba’s social and economic woes, with Cubans waiting to see how they would impact their lives. Dashing many Cubans’ hopes of greater political and economic openings, Raul Castro late Friday warned of tough economic times ahead from spiraling international fuel and food prices. ‘We can’t avoid some impact on certain (basic) products and services,’ he said, explaining that the same amount of food Cuba imported in 2007 will cost an additional 1.1 billion dollars this year. He called on Cubans to increase farming activities. ‘In other words: we must go back to the land! We have to make it work!’ Raul Castro said laws had been approved to put idle farm land in the hands of those who can quickly make it productive, and that similar laws were in the work for the livestock sector. However, he said he admired ‘big, state-run socialist businesses, including farming and livestock,’ and warned ‘we won’t be giving them up’ as long as they are efficient. ‘All forms of property and productivity can coexist in harmony,’ he said. ‘None of them are contrary to socialism,’ including large cooperatives and small, private farms. There had been speculation, before Raul Castro officially became president, that the practical-minded general who has led a military with many business interests, might move Cuba toward China- or Vietnam-style reforms. But so far, his government has not been boldly reformist. Social and economic reforms have been cautious, though Cubans are extremely keen for change and better living standards. And there has been no sign of opening up to any political pluralism.
CORPORATE BRIEFICMAB holds post-budget discussion Business Desk
The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh held a post-budget discussion on national budget 2008-2009 at ICMA Bhaban in the Dhaka city on Thursday. Wahiduddin Mahmud, former adviser of cartaker government, was present at the discussion as chief guest, said a press release. Zahir Uddin Ahmed, president of the ICMAB, presided over the discussion. Among others, economist Atiur Rahman, chairman of Unnayan Shamunnay, former presidents of ICMAB MA Baree and AKM Delwer Hussain, and Abu Sayed Md Shaykhul Islam, secretary of ICMAB, were also present.
Bush urges more oil exploration Acknowledges ‘tough times’ Agence France-Presse . Washington
Faced with skyrocketing gasoline prices, US president George W Bush called Saturday for more oil exploration in US territory — and blamed Democratic-controlled Congress for lack of action on the issue. ‘One of the factors driving up high gas prices is that many of our oil deposits here in the United States have been put off-limits for exploration and production,’ the president said in his weekly radio address. ‘Past efforts to meet the demand for oil by expanding domestic resources have been repeatedly rejected by Democrats in Congress,’ he added. Bush proposed increased drilling on the US continental shelf, expanding shale oil production on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountain, permitting oil exploration in northern Alaska, and enhancing the nation’s oil refining capacity. ‘It’s time for members of Congress to address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens,’ Bush argued. ‘Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college.’ Oil prices rocketed to records above 147 dollars on Friday as traders seized on the weak US currency, simmering tensions over Iran and Nigeria and news of a looming strike in Brazil. Bush allowed Friday that these were ‘tough economic times’ for Americans, but insisted his administration was working to improve conditions. ‘These are tough economic times for the American citizens but there is a way forward to help relieve some of the pressure on their pocketbooks,’ Bush said. The US president spoke as US stocks sank and investor concern spiked over the financial health of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two US firms which provide key financing to the vast mortgage market. Fears mounted about the financial stability of the two firms amid a lingering housing market slump. Bush argued that ‘members of Congress, particularly the Democratic leadership, must address this issue before they go home for this upcoming August break. ‘They have a responsibility to explain to their constituents why we should not be drilling for more oil here in America to take the pressure off of gasoline prices,’ Bush said.