WTO says worldwide trade likely to take off
Global trade recovered from its pandemic lows faster than anticipated in the first half of 2021 and is set to grow more quickly than expected next year, lifting global growth forecasts, the World Trade Organization said Monday.
The WTO now forecasts global merchandise trade to grow 10.8 percent in 2021, up from the 8 percent it forecast in March, as the flow of goods recovers from last year’s slump. Global trade is expected to rise 4.7 percent in 2022 as the growth rate approaches its pre-pandemic trend, the WTO said.
That trade growth has not been equal as a result of the pandemic, the group said, with developing regions in particular lagging behind because of lower vaccination rates, and supply chain disruptions continuing to weigh on trade in some areas.
In remarks Monday, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the WTO director-general, said uneven access to vaccines was exacerbating an economic divergence across regions. She urged the group’s members to come together to agree on a foundation for more rapid vaccine production and equitable distribution.
“This is necessary to sustain the global economic recovery,” she said. “Vaccine policy is economic policy — and trade policy.”
More than 6 billion doses of the vaccine have been produced and administered worldwide, the WTO said, but only 2.2 percent of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.
AIRLINES Group aims for zero carbon emissions
The world’s largest association of airlines said Monday that it is aiming for the air transport industry to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, while acknowledging it will be a “huge challenge.”
The International Air Transport Association said its general meeting in Boston had agreed on the target, a commitment that would line it up with the goal of the 2015 Paris accord to help keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The industry appears to be counting heavily on a carbonoffset plan laid out by a U.N. organization on civil aviation, but suggests governments have a role to play, too.
“With collective efforts of the entire value chain and supportive government policies, aviation will achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” IATA Director-General Willie Walsh said in a statement.
IATA said industry can take steps through use of sustainable fuels, new plane technologies, improved efficiencies and new power sources like electric or hydrogen power — but carbon capture and carbon-offset programs will also have a role.
Walsh said one scenario foresees sustainable fuels accounting for nearly two-thirds of the roughly 1.8 gigatons of carbon that would need to be mitigated in order for airlines to reach net zero emissions.
ENTERTAINMENT Production workers closer to a strike
Hollywood production workers pushing for better working conditions and pay voted nearly unanimously Monday to authorize a strike, a scenario that could hobble the entertainment industry as content companies race to keep pace with the evergrowing demand for new programming.
Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees will attempt to return to the bargaining table before actually striking. The union represents more than 60,000 set builders, costume designers, video engineers and other behind-the-scenes workers.
IATSE members have pressed production companies to improve compensation and on-set work conditions as increasing sums of money inundate the content industry. Salaries for off-camera personnel have not grown commensurate with those of actors and writers, workers say, and the rush to produce new programs has deprived workers of bathroom breaks, sleep and time with family.
With demand for streaming content continuing to soar during the pandemic, a work stoppage could cause major headaches for production companies. Experts say a strike would slow production and potentially interfere with seasonal start dates or airtimes.
ENERGY ‘Dirty fuels’ could gain in popularity
The “skyrocketing” prices of energy will encourage customers to use dirtier fuels that could impact demand for oil and gas in the near term, according to an Indian gas producer.
The spike “will be a shortterm blip where people will switch to dirty fuels,” Santosh Chandra, Chief Executive Officer of Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Ltd., said in a Bloomberg TV interview Monday. “Industries do get impacted and there will be some demand destruction if the prices stay high.”
Prices of crude oil to natural gas are at a multi-year highs driven by production curbs and surging demand ahead winter, when consumption peaks leading to a scramble for dirtier coal from China to India and Europe to help stave off the deepening power crisis. Coal’s resurgence comes as India is pushing for greater use of cleaner fuels such as natural gas and renewables to reduce pollution and meet its decarbonization goals.