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<ul><li>M&amp;M, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors have recovered from their intraday low.</li><li>Gadkari while speaking at a SIAM conference had said that the rising level of pollution is a health hazard for citizens.</li><li>There is no such proposal currently under active consideration by the government, said Gadkari in is clarification</li></ul> The auto index, <keyword id="3540651" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nifty-Auto" source="Orion">Nifty Auto</keyword>, recovered from its 400 point or approximately 2.5% fall after Union Minister <keyword id="26680" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nitin-gadkari" source="Orion">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> clarified on Tuesday clarified his '10% additional <keyword id="18747014" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="GST-on-diesel-vehicles" source="Orion">GST on diesel vehicles</keyword>' comment made earlier in the morning. At the time of updating the story, the index is 1.6% in the red. Auto stocks had fallen sharply after Gadkari said he will seek a "<keyword id="2169429" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="pollution-tax" source="Orion">pollution tax</keyword>" in the form of additional <keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword> of 10% on diesel vehicles and gensets in order to cut down on air pollution. This in turn has dragged the stocks down as most of the commercial vehicles in the country currently run on diesel. At the time of updating, Mahindra and Mahindra is down 1.7% but shown a recovery from the 3.48% slide. Ashok Leyland has now recovered slightly too and is down 2.4% while Tata Motors which had slipped 2.8% is now down 1.8%. The Road and Transport Minister has subsequently clarified his comment on X (formerly Twitter). He said that that there is no such proposal currently under active consideration by the government. <div type="twitter" handle="nitin_gadkari" handlename="nitin_gadkari" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1701501884324860043"></div> Earlier, speaking at the 63rd Annual SIAM convention Delhi, the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister said the rising level of pollution is a health hazard for citizens. "I am going to handover a letter to the Finance Minister this evening stating that an additional 10% GST be put on diesel-powered vehicles," Gadkari said. In the passenger vehicle segment, various carmakers including Maruti Suzuki India and Honda have already stopped manufacturing diesel cars. Gadkari said the contribution of diesel cars has already come down drastically in the country and the manufacturers need to stop selling them in the market. Terming diesel as a hazardous fuel, he noted that the country has to import the fuel to meet the demand. "Say goodbye to diesel... Please stop making them, otherwise we will just increase the tax so much that it would become difficult to sell diesel cars" Gadkari said. He said he will propose additional GST on diesel-powered generators as well. Automobiles are currently taxed at 28% GST, with additional cess ranging from 1% to 22% depending on the type of vehicle. SUVs attract the highest GST at the rate of 28% along with a compensation cess at 22%. Gadkari also asked the industry to focus on environment-friendly alternative fuels like ethanol. He also asked the industry to focus on green hydrogen. Explained: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/what-is-ethanol-blending-current-targets-and-challenges-for-india/articleshow/103460113.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">What is ethanol blending and what are the challenges faced by India</a>

Auto stocks recover after Gadkari clarifies his '10% additional GST on diesel vehicles' comment

<ul class="summary-list"><li>World leaders are in Ottawa negotiating a treaty to end plastic pollution.</li><li>The US, a major plastic exporter, says its a dealmaker but is under pressure to be more ambitious.</li></ul>World leaders are gathering in Ottawa, Ontario, this week to hash out a global treaty to end plastic pollution.It's a pivotal point in the talks, with countries aiming to strike a deal by the end of the year. The US has positioned itself as a broker between other big oil, gas, and petrochemical exporters — including Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia — and countries that want steep cuts to plastic production.But critics say the US isn't being ambitious enough."We'd like to see clear recognition from the US that the treaty has to confront the production of plastic polymers and resins if it's to be successful," Carroll Muffett, the president and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law, told Business Insider. "We cannot recycle our way out of the plastics crisis."Muffett is among a handful of scientists and business and community advocacy groups who told BI they wanted to see a stronger position from the US. The country has a lot of sway as the world's largest exporter of oil and gas, the main ingredients in plastics. The US has also been at the forefront of a massive build-out of new plastics and petrochemical plants over the past decade. The Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, <a target="_blank" href="https://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Feeding-the-Plastics-Industrial-Complex-3.14.24.pdf">identified 50 plastic plants built after 2012</a> and found that at least 20 more would be built or expanded over the next five years.The trend is global. Plastic production is expected to nearly triple by 2060 unless countries reach a deal to rein it in, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/global-plastic-waste-set-to-almost-triple-by-2060.htm">according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development</a>. A treaty could be the most impactful climate action since the Paris agreement because the plastic industry accounts for 5% of global carbon emissions. That could grow to 20% by 2050 if current trends continue, <a target="_blank" href="https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/publications/climate-impact-primary-plastic">the US Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a> said.A State Department spokesperson in an email said the US is concerned that "overly prescriptive approaches" to ending plastic pollution put the treaty at risk because the largest producers and consumers of plastics might not support it. The US position is focused on policies that drive down the demand for new plastic, such as through government incentives and reuse models. However, the spokesperson said that countries "would not be precluded" from adopting their own policies.The Biden administration wants to finish a deal this year, given that the presidential election is in November, several observers of the negotiations told BI. But it will be difficult to persuade the Senate to ratify a treaty, they said.In Ottawa, major disagreements remain over how to tackle the more than 350 million metric tons of plastic waste produced globally each year, much of which ends up in landfills and the environment. Only 9% of plastics are recycled.Hundreds of businesses and countries support cutting plastic production. This could involve phasing out "problematic" plastics that can't be recycled or are harmful to public health and mandating that products be made with more recycled material. Taxing plastic polymers is also being discussed, which could help finance improvements to waste infrastructure in developing countries."Shared financial responsibility is something we really want to see," Allison Lin, the global vice president of packaging sustainability at Mars Inc., said. Lin represents the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, which includes more than 200 companies. Among them are Walmart, PepsiCo, and L'Oréal.Lin said the coalition supported a policy called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recycling-rate-us-extended-producer-responsibility-cans-bottles-plastic-paper-2023-2">extended producer responsibility</a>, which slaps a fee on companies' packaging to help fund recycling and collection and has been successful in countries such as Belgium. Plastic makers similarly should bear some of the financial burden, she said.Stewart Harris, a spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Association, agreed that plastic makers needed to make greater investments, and the group supports EPR and recycled-content mandates. But the industry is opposed to taxes because they would be difficult to implement and it would be hard to ensure money flows into programs tackling plastic pollution, he said.Plastic makers also oppose setting caps on production, as do countries including Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Harris cited <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/mapping-the-plastics-value-chain/">an industry-commissioned report</a> by Oxford Economics that found a cap could increase costs for consumers as well as greenhouse-gas emissions. Plastics require less energy to manufacture and transport compared with some other materials, the report found.Cutting plastic production would also hit the bottom line of oil majors such as Exxon. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/news/petrochemicals-set-to-be-the-largest-driver-of-world-oil-demand-latest-iea-analysis-finds">International Energy Agency forecast</a> that by 2050, petrochemical products like plastic would outpace trucks, aviation, and shipping in oil demand.Neil Nathan, a project scientist at UC Santa Barbara, and his team built an artificial-intelligence model of how 11 policies could curb plastic pollution. While many can make a big dent in the problem in the near term, pollution will eventually go up again without production caps, he said.The model has been shared with US negotiators, Nathan added. He's disappointed the US hasn't included some of the most impactful policies into its position, he said."If the US takes a position or is supportive of something, we typically see a snowball effect," he said.Editor's note: April 25, 2024 — This story has been updated to include a statement from the State Department and clarified to reflect that Neil Nathan said UC Santa Barbara's recommended policies can initially curb pollution, but without production caps, pollution will go up in the long term.

The US is under pressure to lead the way in reducing plastic pollution &mdash; but it keeps making more of it 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A study found that implementing a global universal basic income could boost global GDP by 130%.</li><li>Funding a global UBI with a carbon tax would also promote sustainability, the study's authors say.</li></ul>Some might say a universal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/minneapolis-guaranteed-basic-income-program-results-study-gbi-ubi-2024-1">basic income</a> is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iowa-republicans-block-guaranteed-basic-income-socialism-steroids-ubi-poverty-2024-1">wishful thinking</a>, but one study suggests it could have staggering impacts on the global economy.Researchers behind the newly published study, called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/fulltext/S2949-7906(24)00164-2#secsectitle0040">"Utilizing basic income to create a sustainable, poverty-free tomorrow,"</a> outlined how universal basic income could provide a "two-pronged solution to both environmental sustainability and social resilience" that could grow the global GDP from 39% up to 130%.Basic income pilots gained popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused record-high unemployment — <a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46554/9#:~:text=The%20unemployment%20rate%20peaked%20at,to%20February%202020%20(3.5%25).">nearly 15%</a> — in the United States in early 2020.Most American programs are guaranteed basic income pilots, which provide a specific demographic of people with a set amount of cash with no strings attached for a predetermined time period. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-works-red-state-blue-state-2023-10">universal basic income</a> program, or UBI, would provide regular cash payments to everyone.Rashid Sumaila, the study's primary author at the University of British Columbia, found that a UBI funded by carbon taxes on a global scale would be costly upfront but pay off in spades.The study said that it could cost a third of global GDP to operate, but would result in an overall increase of the global GDP by as much as 130%."I must concede that the US may be the last place to engage with our proposal for all sorts of reasons," Sumaila told Business Insider. "But the situation may not persist forever as there are indications that Gen Z and millennials seem to care relatively more about tackling both climate change and inequality than older Americans."Basic income pilots in America have met with opposition from conservative lawmakers. One representative in Iowa, which moved to ban such programs, called it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iowa-republicans-block-guaranteed-basic-income-socialism-steroids-ubi-poverty-2024-1">"socialism on steroids."</a> In other parts of the world, however, the idea enjoys wide political support. South Africa is on track to be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-africa-universal-basic-income-anc-2024-6">the first country</a> to adopt a universal basic income.Sumaila and the study's other co-authors focused on funding this global UBI plan through a carbon tax "because of the global push to reduce carbon emissions to reach sustainability goals," the study says. They found that a carbon tax could generate trillions annually, depending on the scale of the flat tax."In theory, it is a beautiful idea to use basic income to help people, sustain nature, and boost the economy. It also seems possible to raise a big chunk of the funds needed to do this by taxing C02 emitters, degraders of biodiversity, overfishers, deforesters, plastic polluters, oil spillers, and the agricultural sector," Sumaila told Business Insider.

Here's an idea: a worldwide universal basic income paid for by a carbon tax. A study found that it could boost the global GDP by 130%.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sen. Ed Markey on Wednesday announced legislation to raise taxes on jet fuel used by private planes.</li><li>The Massachusetts Democrat proposed raising private jet-fuel taxes from $0.22 to $1.95 per gallon. </li></ul>Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, on Wednesday announced legislation to raise taxes on private jet fuel and use the revenue to fund air monitoring in vulnerable communities and long-term investments in public transportation. The bill — called the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (FATCAT) Act — would raise federal taxes on private jet fuel from $0.22 to $1.95 per gallon. Private jet travel has <a href="https://businesstravelerusa.com/news/flying-private-jets-became-more-popular-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surged in recent years</a>. But private travelers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ultra-wealthy-private-flyers-are-costing-average-flyers-a-lot-in-taxes-2023-5">pay a significantly smaller share of taxes</a> used to maintain US airports and keep airspace safe than commercial flyers do, according to <a href="https://ips-dc.org/report-high-flyers-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent report</a> by the Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires. Private planes make up about one in every six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic controllers, but private travelers pay just two percent of the taxes used to fund the agency, the report found. Commercial flyers pay a tax on every ticket equivalent to 7.5% of the fare price on top of a facility fee of up to $4.50 per flight, while private flyers only pay jet-fuel tax. And private jet owners are among the wealthiest people in the world, with a median net worth of $190 million, the IPS report found."The 1 percent can't free ride on our environment and our infrastructure at a discount," Markey, who sits on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said in a statement provided to Insider. "Billionaires and the ultra-wealthy are getting a bargain, paying less in taxes each year to fly private and contribute more pollution than millions of drivers combined on the roads below."He went on, "It's time to ground these fat cats and make them pay their fair share so that we can invest in building public transportation that communities across the country and our economy desperately need."The tax revenue would support a Clean Communities Trust Fund that would be managed by Treasury and used to support air quality monitoring and affordable public transportation, including passenger rail and bus systems near commercial airports. A press release announcing the bill cited the IPS report, which <a href="https://ips-dc.org/report-high-flyers-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">recommended</a> the government double the federal jet-fuel tax — from $0.219 per gallon to $0.438 per gallon — to discourage short flights and fund sustainability efforts."If we can't phase it out, we should tax it at a high level and use that money to build a better transit system," Chuck Collins, the director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at IPS and a coauthor of the report, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ultra-wealthy-private-flyers-are-costing-average-flyers-a-lot-in-taxes-2023-5">told Insider in May.</a>The surge in private jet travel raises serious environmental concerns. Because private jets carry many fewer passengers than commercial planes, they emit up to 14 times more climate-warming pollution per passenger than commercial flights, according to <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/private-jets-can-the-super-rich-supercharge-zero-emission-aviation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 2021 report</a> by the NGO Transport &amp; Environment. A spokesperson for Markey noted that the wealthiest one percent of people worldwide <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/21/worlds-richest-1-cause-double-co2-emissions-of-poorest-50-says-oxfam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cause more than twice as much carbon dioxide emissions</a> as the poorest 50% of the world's population between 1990 and 2015.

Sen. Ed Markey announces bill to raise taxes on private jets and their ultra-wealthy passengers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The richest 10% of Americans' <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/net-worth-to-be-wealthy-at-every-age-2019-8">income</a> has generated 40% of US carbon emissions, a new study found.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthiest-americans-now-own-record-high-share-of-stocks-2021-10">Investments by the top earners</a> and "super emitters" play an outsized role in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-alter-human-life-un-ipcc-report-2022-2">climate crisis</a>.</li></ul>Income for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richest-billionaire-families-america-2018-7">wealthiest 10% of Americans</a> generates over 40% of the country's emissions of greenhouse gases, a new analysis found.Those gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, are filling the planet's atmosphere, trapping more and more <a href="https://www.insider.com/summer-2023-heat-wave-tracker-temperature-records-2023-5">heat from the sun</a>, and causing the climate crisis.So far this summer, heat waves are barraging the planet, <a href="https://www.insider.com/family-vacationing-in-maui-shares-how-they-got-of-hawaii-2023-8">Maui suffered the deadliest US wildfire in over a century</a>, and forecasters project an "above-normal" hurricane season due to record-high sea temperatures.<div type="image" title="A side-by-side image shows aerial views of Lahaina on the island of Maui before and after a wildfire destroyed the old courthouse building and damaged the giant banyan tree" height="1500" width="2000" msid="102812768" hostid="261"></div>The call to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-effective-climate-solutions-to-implement-right-now-2022-4">slash emissions and reign in the climate crisis</a> is growing more and more dire. In the US — the world's second-biggest carbon emitter — a small number of people hold nearly half the responsibility for that, the new study suggests."So 40% of the US emissions, I guess you could say, are created in order to create income for the top 10% of households," Jared Starr, a sustainability scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the lead author of the analysis, told Insider.<div type="image" title="graph shows tons of co2 equivalent emissions by income category with the top 10% bar reaching past 2600 tons and the rest below 400 tons" height="432" width="648" msid="102812770" hostid="261"></div>The <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, published in the journal PLOS Climate on Thursday, adds more evidence for a growing truth about climate change: the people and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-worst-places-in-the-world-hardest-hit-2021-10">countries who contribute the least</a> to causing the crisis are suffering the most from it."It just seems morally untenable to have such an extreme disparity in our society," Starr said.He says the findings also show that policies like carbon taxes are barking up the wrong tree. Instead of taxing consumers, he says, tax the wealthiest people's investments.<h2>Consumer power — and responsibility — may be less than you think</h2>The earnings of shareholders, rather than consumers, seem to have an outsized emissions impact.<div type="image" title="large bronze statue of bull in running stance in a brick plaza" height="1500" width="1999" msid="102812772" hostid="261"></div>That's because the further up the income distribution you go — from the top 10% to the top 1% to the top 0.1% — the more emissions are coming from investments, rather than wages those households earn, Starr and his team reported.You can see the huge role of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-climate-crisis-stock-market-wealth-inequality-report-picketty-2021-12">wealthiest Americans' investments</a> in this chart showing the study's findings:"If you think about why businesses exist, in the US, at least, it's to create value for shareholders," Starr said.That's why he ran this analysis in the first place: to see "how much greenhouse-gas emissions are used to create this value for shareholders," he said.<div type="image" title="jeff bezos bald wearing sunglasses gestures with open mouth in the window of a blue origin space capsule" height="1500" width="1999" msid="102846419" hostid="261" sizebytes="68208"></div>In an unprecedented investigation into the emissions impact of investments, the study authors assessed 30 years of data (from 1990-2019) on inter-sectoral financial transfers and traced the carbon emissions associated with them.They made separate calculations for emissions from the supply chain — such as the extraction of coal from the ground — and emissions from production — such as burning coal in a power plant to produce energy for consumers.They then linked those calculations to data on wages and investment income for over 5 million Americans.<div type="image" title="elon musk frowning smirking with hand on top of head wearing black occupy mars shirt" height="1499" width="1999" msid="102846420" hostid="261" sizebytes="138060"></div>Not only was the top 10% earners' income generating over 40% of emissions, but the income of the top 1% was responsible for 15%-17% of emissions, they found.Then there were the "super emitters." Almost all are in the top 0.1% of US earners. Those households — more than 26,000 of them — earn about $11 million per year on average.For them, 15 days of income generates "as much carbon pollution as a lifetime of income for a household in the bottom 10%," Starr said in a press release.<h2>Taxing the rich, rather than consumers, could be more effective</h2><div type="image" title="bearded man wearing rain jacket pulls rope on wooden raft in flooded forest river with tent in background" height="1500" width="1999" msid="102846421" hostid="261" sizebytes="683220"></div>Carbon taxes — where fossil-fuel companies must pay the government for each ton of greenhouse gases they emit — are an increasingly popular policy worldwide. Dozens of countries have implemented them. In the US, multiple proposals for a carbon tax have been introduced in Congress.But companies usually pass this tax to consumers by raising their prices, according to the <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2019/06/what-is-carbon-taxation-basics#:~:text=Carbon%20taxes%2C%20levied%20on%20coal,services%20that%20depend%20on%20them." target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Monetary Fund</a>. That means carbon taxes hit low-income households most heavily.Starr and his co-authors argue that a more effective, and fairer, policy would be to "tax shares of companies based on how much carbon pollution they're enabling," he explained.Over time, that tax could incentivize shareholders and financial-services companies to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/blackrock-mega-forces-artificial-intelligence-ai-geopolitics-carbon-banking-demographics-2023-6">shift their investments</a> away from industries like oil and gas, and towards more sustainable industries like solar and wind energy.<div type="image" title="first responders in an inflatable lifeboat in floodwaters" height="1665" width="2224" msid="102846422" hostid="261" sizebytes="353986"></div>Such a strategy would have a larger impact on polluting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clean-energy-republican-controlled-states-invest-conservative-groups-oil-gas-2023-8">industries</a>, the analysis argues, and it would shift the financial burden of cutting emissions away from the poor and onto the wealthy."I'm shining a light there, because I think we all sort of felt that there was this disparity between rich and poor in terms of climate responsibility," Starr said.That's not to say there isn't a place for consumer-focused strategies to reduce emissions, such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-sales-plateau-early-adopters-competition-2023-8">driving electric vehicles</a> or eating less meat. Those movements can still play a role.But Starr wants to see policymakers put more onus on investors and the wealthy, since his analysis indicates their money created so much of this problem in the first place.This story has been updated. It was originally published on August 17, 2023.

The money of America's top 10% is causing almost half of US emissions. So tax it, researchers say.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Traffic, pollution, and a struggling mass transit system have all become increasingly urgent issues in New York City. </li><li>Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to levy a new toll on drivers in Manhattan is being celebrated by environmentalists. </li></ul>Long gone are the days of eerily deserted Manhattan streets as New York City ground to a near-halt during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.Traffic is back in <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/03/13/nyc-drivers-travel-just-12-mph-during-rush-hour/">the most congested city</a> in the country — and it's worse than ever before.Delivery trucks are a big part of the surge, as the pandemic rapidly accelerated <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/too-many-trucks-on-nyc-streets-city-launches-a-pilot-program-to-tackle-congestion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Yorkers' demand for online shopping</a>. Driving speeds, including for public buses, <a href="https://new.mta.info/document/92756" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are way down</a>.At the same time, the shift to remote work means <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/28/93-of-nyc-subway-stations-have-fewer-riders-than-pre-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">way fewer people are riding</a> New York's subways and other public transit systems — a gut punch for the struggling Metropolitan Transportation Authority. To reduce traffic and pollution and boost funding for the city's subways, buses, and commuter rail, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is championing a policy known as congestion pricing. The policy would impose a toll between $9 and $23 on drivers who enter Manhattan south of 60th Street and use the revenue to fund the MTA. It aims to reduce the 700,000 trucks, cars, and taxis that drive into the Manhattan zone by at least 10%, while simultaneously generating about $1 billion in proceeds per year to fund mass transit. The details of <a href="https://new.mta.info/project/CBDTP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the so-called Central Business District Tolling Program</a> still need to be ironed out. But this week, the Federal Highway Administration <a href="https://new.mta.info/press-release/icymi-governor-hochul-announces-first-nation-congestion-pricing-will-move-forward" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted the MTA final approval</a> to move forward with the policy. The next step is for a small panel appointed by the governor and mayor to decide what the toll prices would be and which drivers could be exempt.While many New Yorkers, transportation experts, and city planners celebrated this week, critics — including Democrats across the river in New Jersey — say they'll do everything in their power to stop the plan. The situation has laid bare tensions between the commuters who regularly drive in the city, and those who are more concerned about the environmental impact of traffic and the possibility of reinvesting in transit infrastructure."New York's anti-environment, anti-commuter, and anti-business Congestion Tax is a cash grab to bail out the terribly mismanaged MTA," Democratic Rep. Gottheimer said in a statement to Insider.New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez said in a statement to Insider that he would "not stop fighting until we defeat this plan and ensure New York is not allowed to balance its budget on the backs of hard-working New Jersey families."New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, is <a href="https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/transportation/2023/06/26/murphy-hires-lawyers-as-nyc-congestion-pricing-clears-hurdle-mta/70358110007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatening to sue</a> over the plan, which he and his allies say unfairly hits suburban commuters and burdens his state's mass transit system.Even some of the staunchest congestion pricing advocates say some of the criticism is fair and there's a compromise to be found with New York's neighbors. <div type="image" title="Cars fill Midtown amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 19, 2021 in New York City." height="640" width="1280" msid="101434338" hostid="261" sizebytes="179644"></div><h2>Why supporters say it's a win-win for New York</h2>Supporters of the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing policy say it would be a major victory for New York and serve as a model for other cities dealing with similar issues.Charles Komanoff, a transportation analyst whose <a href="https://nurturenature.org/pages/balanced-transportation-analyzer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modeling</a> was used to craft New York congestion pricing legislation <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/nyregion/new-york-congestion-pricing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in 2019</a>, called it "the most exciting actual specific public policy idea that's in play and within reach for New York City and really any city in the country."It also makes economic sense, Komanoff said. Driving, particularly in one of the busiest urban areas in the world, has major societal costs, ranging from pollution to traffic casualties."It is a policy of making prices tell the truth about costs and about resource constraints," Komanoff said. Congestion pricing is a win-win, Komanoff told Insider. If more drivers stay on the roads than expected, the city will rake in more revenue. If the toll keeps more drivers out of New York's business district than anticipated, there will be even less traffic and pollution than expected. New York's successful implementation of the toll, which could go into effect as early as next spring, could help embolden cities across the country and the world to follow suit, much as <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-congestion-pricing-other-countries-20190314-story.html">successful congestion pricing</a> in London, Stockholm, and Singapore paved the way for New York."New York alone isn't going to solve our greenhouse gas problem, but multiply it by Toronto doing it and Mexico City doing it — Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, so many other places will now feel that they could get it through," Sam Schwartz, a former New York City traffic commissioner, told Insider. "If you can do it in New York, you can do it anywhere. If you can't do it in New York, you won't be able to do it anywhere."<div type="image" title="The Empire State Building and Tourist District are seen while Traffic jam is reported along the route to New York City on August 17, 2022, in Jersey City, New Jersey." height="640" width="1280" msid="101434340" hostid="261" sizebytes="103420"></div><h2>Outrage and opposition in New Jersey</h2>Last year, the MTA released an in-depth assessment of <a href="https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/transportation/2022/08/10/nyc-congestion-pricing-options-charge-nj-drivers-extra/65396022007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven versions</a> of the congestion pricing plan. Multiple scenarios involved charging the full toll for drivers who enter lower Manhattan from New Jersey by crossing the Hudson River through the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and the George Washington Bridge, all of which already levy their own tolls. New Jersey lawmakers seized on this double tax as a central sticking point, with Sen. Menendez, and Reps. Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell saying in a joint statement this week that these drivers should be exempt from the congestion tax. Komanoff said most congestion pricing advocates agree — they don't want drivers who enter lower Manhattan through the tunnels to pay the full congestion toll. He and Schwartz would like to see the tunnel toll deducted from the congestion fee. Komanoff blames the MTA for a "bungled" policy roll-out that has stoked a massive, avoidable outcry, particularly from New Jersey politicians. He also argued that the MTA significantly undercounted the number of cars that will leave the roads, thus exaggerating the amount of diverted traffic and pollution New Jersey and the outer boroughs will face. "The whole thing would have been so much less virulent and less vituperative," he said, calling the double fees on tunnel drivers "really poor public policy" and "a basic fairness thing." Schwartz also said he's open to New Jersey getting a cut of the congestion toll revenue proportionate to their contribution."If Gov. Hochul and Murphy got in a room, they could iron it out," Schwartz said.Still, congestion pricing advocates say New Jersey politicians are taking their criticism too far and those who consider themselves environmentalists should use the opportunity to improve mass transit and get their residents out of cars. "New Jersey recently released an ambitious set of climate goals — reducing car usage is a key component to climate action, and congestion pricing in New York City will encourage New Jersey residents to leave their cars at home, benefiting their home state as well," Sarah Kaufman, interim director of New York University's Rudin Center for Transportation, told Insider. <div type="image" title="New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from the Bronx, supports congestion pricing after extracting key environmental wins for his district." height="853" width="1280" msid="101434341" hostid="261" sizebytes="47336"></div><h2>Disagreement over exemptions</h2>Schwartz argued that it's hypocritical of New Jersey to demand exemptions from other states' tolls, when the Garden State charges a slew of fees on drivers passing through the state. "These elected officials in New Jersey tout what great environmentalists they are. They claim that double-tolling is anti-American, whereas no place has more double- and triple-tolling than New Jersey," Schwartz said. "If they're looking for some exemptions, I think New Yorkers should get exemptions in New Jersey."Taxi and for-hire drivers are also <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/06/21/will-congestion-pricing-properly-toll-taxis-and-ubers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staunchly opposed</a> to any congestion fee. Many congestion pricing advocates, including Komanoff and Schwartz, want exemptions for both taxi and ride-hail drivers, with yellow cab drivers paying nominal or no additional tolls. Critics have also raised concerns about the policy potentially increasing traffic and pollution outside Manhattan, particularly in marginalized communities in the Bronx. Komanoff suggested that New Jersey lawmakers take a page out of Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres' book. Torres, who represents parts of the Bronx, <a href="https://www.amny.com/transit/torres-slams-congestion-pricing-cross-bronx/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemned the policy last year</a> after an MTA environmental assessment showed it could <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/nyregion/nyc-congestion-pricing-manhattan-bronx.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divert traffic into the Bronx, increasing pollution</a> in an area already struggling with poor air quality and high rates of asthma. But since then, he's <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/03/27/exclusive-secret-mta-memo-offers-funding-for-bronx-clean-up-to-get-congestion-pricing-over-the-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extracted big environmental wins</a> for his district, including tens of millions of dollars to electrify diesel-powered refrigeration trucks, install air filtration systems for schools, and upgrade parks, among other measures. This spring, Torres came out <a href="https://ritchietorres.house.gov/posts/u-s-rep-ritchie-torres-issues-statement-on-tentative-approval-of-mtas-final-environmental-assessment-report-for-nyc-congestion-pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in support of the policy</a> and spoke at Hochul's announcement ceremony on Tuesday. "He bargained hard and he got from the MTA and the governor what looks like an ironclad promise," Komanoff said. "He is helping to deliver congestion pricing for the city — and which will benefit his district — and he's delivering these remediations that his district needed and deserved anyway. So it's just effing brilliant." But congestion pricing still has a long way to go, particularly as long as New Jersey leaders stand in the way. "I'm not breaking out the champagne yet," Schwartz said.

Inside the furious debate over New York City's new tax on drivers, which New Jersey Democrats are fighting against tooth and nail

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6358584" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hsbc" source="Orion">HSBC</keyword> <keyword id="11897975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uk" source="Orion">UK</keyword> is letting 35,000 staff lease <keyword id="11947664" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="evs" source="Orion">EVs</keyword> for up to four years and then opt to buy them outright. </li><li>Under UK law, EVs are subject to a lower <keyword id="12148805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tax" source="Orion">tax</keyword> rate if they're bought as part of an employee benefit. </li></ul>HSBC's new corporate perk allows 35,000 UK staff lease Teslas, and nearly 200 other models of electric vehicles.The news was first reported by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-31/hsbc-offers-uk-staff-chance-to-lease-teslas-with-pre-tax-pay">Bloomberg</a> and confirmed to Insider by the bank. Workers will be able to lease EVs from the bank for up to 48 months and receive tax benefits. They will then have the option to buy the car in full at the end of the contract, per the report. Banks are keen to improve their offers to employees amid a talent war with tech and other industries, which has forced them to boost pay, improve corporate culture, and heed calls to provide more flexible working. Offering EVs, or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/workplace-ev-chargers-are-an-alluring-perk-for-workers-2021-5">at least a place where workers can charge their electric cars</a>, is becoming an increasingly popular way of attracting talent as concerns over the climate crisis, and therefore a desire for more sustainable forms of transport, increase. Bank of America unveiled a similar scheme earlier this year, per Bloomberg. HSBC UK's green car program will help employees become more sustainable in their day-to-day lives, said its CEO, Ian Stuart. Under <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/company-car-benefit-the-appropriate-percentage-480-appendix-2">UK tax rules</a>, employees have to pay tax on employee benefits like company cars. But they pay less for electric or hybrid vehicles, which are subject to "benefit-in-kind" tax breaks. The tax rate on EVs with a range of 130 miles is 2%.Many UK employers offer a similar cycle to work schemes, where they subsidize the purchase of a bike or let employees pay them back as part of their monthly paycheck — a practice known as salary sacrifice. Climate-focused perks, like access to greener transport or<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/firms-spending-millions-sustainability-training-amid-shortage-of-green-skills-2022-4"> sustainability education and training, </a>is also a way for banks to boost their green credentials.In May, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hsbc-suspends-senior-banker-playing-down-climate-crisis-report-2022-5">HSBC suspended an executive after he appeared to publicly dismiss the climate crisis</a>. During a presentation at the Financial Times Moral Money Summit, Stuart Kirk, head of responsible investing in the bank's asset management office, claimed that warnings over the climate crisis were "unsubstantiated" and "shrill." In March, the bank promised to reduce its investments in the highly pollutant oil and gas industry, which it will outline in a global transition plan in 2023, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/hsbc-announces-phase-down-of-funding-for-fossil-fuel-clients">Bloomberg</a> reported. Data compiled by Bloomberg at the time found that HSBC was behind only Barclays as the largest European underwriter of oil and gas companies.Since the Paris Climate Accords in 2015, the bank helped fossil fuel companies generate $52 billion through the sale of bonds, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/hsbc-announces-phase-down-of-funding-for-fossil-fuel-clients">Bloomberg</a>.

A bank is letting 35,000 staff lease Teslas and hundreds of other electric cars as its latest perk

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cindy Pedraza owns the family-run Cocoandré Chocolatier in <keyword id="12213682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dallas" source="Orion">Dallas</keyword>' Bishop Arts district.</li><li>Bishop Arts, like many areas of the country, has seen an uptick in real-estate-investor development.</li></ul>Cindy Pedraza knows firsthand how real-estate investors can change the makeup of a neighborhood.The owner of Cocoandré Chocolatier— a family-run Mexican American chocolate shop in Dallas — has seen her community transform as developers move in, looking to invest in prime <keyword id="11893295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="real-estate" source="Orion">real estate</keyword>.Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts neighborhood, where Pedraza set up shop, is a hop and skip away from downtown Dallas. The district is locally known as one of the most <a href="https://www.bishopartsdistrict.com/">independent</a> communities in the city and boasts a diverse and lively arts scene looking to rival larger hubs like <a href="https://texashighways.com/travel-news/retro-active-the-bishop-arts-district/">Austin, Texas,</a> and <a href="https://zerodown.com/neighborhood-guide/bishop-arts-district--dallas--tx'">New York</a>. In recent years, the small neighborhood of artists and college students has become a hot spot for real-estate investment — and it's throwing locals for a loop.Since 2012, the Bishop Arts area has had almost 4,000 new apartments <a href="https://oakcliff.advocatemag.com/2022/02/oak-cliff-gateway-tif-annual-report/">built</a>, an annual report from February said. There are seven multifamily developments under construction, including a new project being led by the Lennar Multifamily Corporation.The Charlotte, North Carolina-based real-estate developer plans to demolish the 500 block of 8th Street, replacing <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/neighbors-fear-loss-of-affordable-housing-with-bishop-arts-redevelopment/2914843/">affordable</a>, picturesque 20th-century complexes with 225 market-rate apartments — regardless of whether locals can afford them."There has to be a way to invest in the neighborhood without causing so much disruption," Pedraza told Insider. The nation's hot housing market is pushing up property values across the country. Nationally, property taxes <a href="https://journal.firsttuesday.us/property-taxes-leap-in-2020-2021/80369/#:~:text=California%20home%20prices%20have%20increased,values%20produce%20higher%20property%20taxes.">increased twice as fast</a> in 2020 compared with 2019, jumping by 5.4%. In Bishop Arts, property taxes for one business reached as high as <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/owners-adapting-to-overcome-rising-rent-in-bishop-arts-district/219837/">$700 a month</a>. Businesses' sales <a href="https://oakcliff.advocatemag.com/2019/03/tyler-station/">are also declining</a> as priced-out locals seek out more affordable locations. It could be difficult in the metro area — in 2021, Dallas homeowners paid $5,817 <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2022/04/14/with-record-home-prices-property-owners-can-count-on-a-bigger-tax-bite/">in property taxes</a> on average, compared with $3,785 nationwide. For small businesses like Cocoandré Chocolatier, this could create a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/small-businesses-are-victims-of-gentrification-too">make-or-break</a> situation."It's been two years since the start of the pandemic, and we thought our business was finally getting to a better place," Pedraza said. "But now there's another thing that's going to stop growth in the neighborhood and the local businesses that have been recovering."Lennar did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.<h2>'It's just been one thing after the other'</h2>Before moving to 7th Street, Cocoandré Chocolatier had a home on Davis Street. Pedraza's family rented the property, but a local developer bought it from underneath them. Pedraza's family owns her new property and developers can't force them to leave, but she fears how the neighborhood's transformation will affect her business in the long run — especially since it's located directly behind Lennar's 8th Street project. Since the project kicked off, she said people have taken shelter in the soon-to-be-demolished homes on 8th Street. Pedraza said that last month a boarded-up apartment building behind her business caught fire."Every week, it's just been one thing after the other," Pedraza said. "Since that fire happened, there's been fire trucks every weekend or all the time now in the alley, which makes us concerned about all the dirt and traffic. We experienced this once before when they were building apartments farther away, but these are now directly right behind us."Pedraza said real-estate construction has disrupted the lives of local homeowners and businesses. As developers move into a neighborhood, they come with "massive 18-wheelers, dust, road blockades, and noise pollution," she said"Unfortunately, none of the residents that exist have been contacted by the new company that owns the properties, and it hasn't been communicated to us how they will work not to disrupt daily life," she said. <h2>'You've got to take control of your own destiny' </h2>Chad West, a Dallas councilman and mayor pro tem, said businesses and homeowners who are engaged in city meetings and planning are more likely to understand their rights and how to express concerns about aggressive developments. "You've got to take control of your own destiny," West told Insider. "If not, what happened in Bishop Arts could happen to your neighborhood."West said the train that led to 8th Street's demolition left the station over a decade ago, when the City Council approved <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2010/08/10/oak-cliff-rezoning-heads-to-dallas-city-council/">rezoning</a>. In the years since, he said, Bishop Arts has fallen victim to investors "assembling properties," when developers move into an area and purchase entire blocks."If neighbors who own their individual lots want to see their neighborhood stay single-family or want to add gentle density — which is like duplexes and granny flats — those are the kind of things you can put into planning documents for the future," West said. Although Pedraza said Dallas residents do need to start listening and learning, she believes it's up to elected officials to make sure their interests are represented. "I feel like it's the city's job to look out for residents and inform them on what is planned in their neighborhoods, especially in a way they understand," she said. "We don't see our leaders talking to us or including us in the conversation."'To ensure residents are well-informed on housing decisions, West <a href="https://dallascityhall.com/departments/pnv/Pages/West-Oak-Cliff-Area-Planning.aspx">introduced</a> the West Oak Cliff Area Planning effort, an initiative that aims to protect existing single-family neighborhoods, businesses, and affordable-housing choices. The effort involved a task force of local community leaders in 2020 and has begun community-engagement efforts, with the goal of full adoption by the end of 2022. "We have to both protect everything we love about our neighborhoods and also plan for the future," West said. "Dallas is growing rapidly, and if we as neighbors don't take steps to preserve what we love and address growth and change in a meaningful, straightforward way, someone outside of our neighborhoods or even outside the city might do it for us." Pedraza feels Bishop Arts has already missed its chance but hopes the conversation will trigger meaningful change for other neighborhoods in Oak Cliff. "I feel like it's a little too late to do change here in the Bishop Arts area, but I think we can still cause some kind of change for the other neighborhoods in the area," Pedraza said.With more than 426,000 apartments <a href="https://www.realpage.com/analytics/2022-will-be-a-record-year-for-apartment-construction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slated to be completed</a> around the country by the end of 2022, and the conversation around development bound to pick up steam, she might be right.

Meet a Dallas business owner who fears her neighborhood is changing for the worse as big real-estate investors move in next door

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11916124" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="paul-constant" source="Orion">Paul Constant</keyword> is a writer at Civic Ventures and the cohost of the "<a href="http://www.pitchforkeconomics.com/">Pitchfork Economics</a>" podcast.</li><li>He spoke with Peter Goodman about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-jeff-bezos-threaten-globalization-davos-man-book-2022-1">his new book and </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-jeff-bezos-threaten-globalization-davos-man-book-2022-1">the World Economic Forum meeting in </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-jeff-bezos-threaten-globalization-davos-man-book-2022-1">Davos.</a></li></ul>Every year, some of the most powerful people on Earth gather in <keyword id="12777989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="davos" source="Orion">Davos</keyword>, a town in Switzerland, for the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2022">World Economic Forum's annual meeting</a>. "These are <keyword id="11940268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="billionaires" source="Orion">billionaires</keyword>, heads of state, the odd celebrity," said New York Times global economics correspondent Peter Goodman <a href="https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/how-davos-man-devours-the-world-with-peter-goodman/">in the latest episode of "Pitchfork Economics</a>." "It's a place where billionaires go to meet in secret rooms where they're not bothered by SEC disclosures, journalists, or other annoyances."The WEF and its participants promote the annual gathering as a huge positive for the world, a forum in which super-wealthy do-gooders and other global superpowers gather to "build problem-solving communities and initiatives," according to the WEF's website.The WEF <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2022/about">breathlessly hails</a> this year's forum on its website as a comic-book-style battle between good and evil, with the oligarchs on the side of justice: "Against a backdrop of deepening global frictions and fractures, it will be the starting point for a new era of global responsibility and cooperation."Goodman, who attended Davos for a decade, begs to differ. He said the annual WEF meeting is "a gathering that is full of the ultimate beneficiaries for the status quo," and that it promotes "win-win solutions to every problem — and win-win is a great way of avoiding sacrifice."<a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/davos-agenda-2021/in-full/overview-3791e1d030#impact">Last year's Davos forum</a>, for example, discussed topics including plastics pollution, providing internet access for the poorest nations in the world, and "the responsible adoption of AI in the global public interest." But Davos's most noteworthy topics are the ones that don't typically get discussed: For instance, historian <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/30/18203911/davos-rutger-bregman-historian-taxes-philanthropy">Rutger Bregman made waves in 2019</a> when he told the affluent audience at Davos that they were ignoring the solution that mattered most: "<keyword id="11898253" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="taxes" source="Orion">Taxes</keyword>, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my <keyword id="11905565" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion" source="Orion">opinion</keyword>," he famously told the hostile crowd, adding that "it feels like I'm at a firefighters conference and no one's allowed to speak about water." Goodman's new book, "<a href="https://bookshop.org/books/davos-man-how-the-billionaires-devoured-the-world/9780063078307">Davos Man: How Billionaires Devoured the World</a>," elaborates on Bregman's argument by identifying how the Davos gathering gives the world's richest people a do-gooder cover story that allows them to continue extracting their exorbitant wealth from the global 99% — and feel good while doing it. "This is an elaborate prophylactic against fair distribution of wealth and against progressive taxation, regulation, and antitrust enforcement," he said.One of the examples Goodman points out is Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, a billionaire who <a href="https://www.thinkunthink.org/latest-unthinking/2021-01-27-ceo-heroes-deserve-praise-for-inspiration-during-covid-19">at Davos last year announced</a> that "in the pandemic it was CEOs in many, many cases all over the world who were the heroes."Benioff "wasn't talking about frontline medical workers," Goodman said. "He wasn't talking about the people delivering our packages or processing our food, having to put their own health on the line so the rest of us can eat. He was talking about CEOs" as the true heroes of the pandemic. Benioff's statement indicates that the world's richest people genuinely believe their own hype. Trickle-down <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2013/12/11/sorry-henry-blodget-but-the-rich-do-create-nearly-every-job/?sh=69cde26527ad">economists</a> and <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser/">politicians</a> have spent four decades<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/30/republicans-trickle-down-tax-cut-196333"> telling the super-rich</a> that they, not working people, are<a href="https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/are-ceos-todays-heroes"> the true heroes</a> of the <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword>, and that they're worth every single penny they stash away in their <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/billionaires-offshore-accounts/">offshore accounts</a>. At events like Davos and through their much-publicized philanthropic work, the wealthiest people in the world are celebrated and celebrate themselves — all while quietly spending untold billions lobbying for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/08/31/business-lobbying-democrats-reconciliation/">self-enriching policies</a> like<a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/corporations-are-spending-millions-on-lobbying-to-avoid-taxes/"> tax cuts </a>for the wealthy and the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/30/bank-profits-soar-wall-streets-political-spending-hits-new-high/">deregulation of the finance industry</a>, and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/starbucks-fights-expanding-unionization-effort-at-its-stores">pushing against unions</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/tgi-fridays-ceo-says-ending-the-tipped-minimum-wage-would-boost-prices.html">minimum-wage hikes</a>, and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-21/how-corporations-get-around-local-labor-laws">other policies that empower average workers</a>.Goodman said critics have told him that he's too hard on the world's wealthiest people. "The point of this book is not to demonize billionaires or wealthy people," Goodman said. "It's to note that we should not be outsourcing the solution of life's problems to billionaires and expecting that, through stakeholder capitalism or philanthropy or whatever idea they cook up next in their public relations laboratory, we can just simply dismantle government and forget about progressive taxation and regulation."The solutions to the very real problems discussed at Davos every year are relatively simple, but they'll never be welcomed by the Davos audience.By paying the same share of taxes that ordinary people pay and by improving economic outcomes for working families around the globe, the Davos crowd could immediately end a huge amount of pain and suffering at a historic scale. The only people who aren't ready to hear about that solution, unfortunately, are the people who gather at Davos every year.

The wealthy elite who gather in Davos to talk about saving the planet always ignore the best solution: paying more taxes

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11897862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-carbon-tax-biden-administration-rejected-tesla-spacex-2021-2">once again</a> voiced his support for a carbon tax at <keyword id="11900744" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tesla" source="Orion">Tesla</keyword>'s annual shareholder meeting. </li><li>He said the policy "is really needed," and would benefit Tesla, but hurt ultimately <keyword id="11908743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex" source="Orion">SpaceX</keyword>. </li></ul>Elon Musk endorsed a carbon tax at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, a position he's held since 2015, even though implementing one could impact his spaceflight ambitions.Earlier this year, Musk said he suggested the policy to the Biden administration but was told it was too "politically difficult." "Can there be a carbon tax? I mean, what the hell?" Musk told shareholders, adding that while the tax would benefit Tesla, it would ultimately hurt SpaceX. He added that people should not "worry too much about methane," the gas responsible for 20% of global greenhouse emissions. According to the EPA, methane is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane">25 times as strong as carbon dioxide</a> when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere.It's also the gas used to fuel SpaceX's Starship rocket, which Musk hopes to send to Mars. In January, Tesla announced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-spacex-plans-to-drill-natural-gas-in-texas-2021-1">plans to drill</a> near a Texas launchpad for natural gas. "Methane quickly breaks down into CO2," Musk said. "Methane is not a stable molecule, CO2 is extremely stable."Significantly reducing methane emissions would "have a rapid and significant effect on atmospheric warming potential," the EPA says. According to the agency's Global Methane Initiative, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have doubled over the last two centuries. Since SpaceX is among the first companies to use liquid methane and hydrogen as fuel, there is not enough research available to calculate exactly how methane-fueled rocket engines may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2019 <a href="https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/RocketEmissions_0.pdf">report</a> by The Center for <keyword id="11895441" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="space" source="Orion">Space</keyword> Policy and Strategy. With Musk's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-xprize-carbon-capture-competition-2021-2">$100 million investment</a> in carbon-capturing technologies, it may be possible for SpaceX to continuously recycle gas released by its rockets into the atmosphere. "We try very hard to do the right thing in all respects. We do not always succeed," Musk said at the meeting. "But if you're looking for a company where we say, is that company really trying to do the right thing? That is Tesla."

Elon Musk says 'do not worry too much' about methane, the gas used in SpaceX rocket fuel that accounts for 20% of global greenhouse emissions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Colorado is the third state to approve taxing bottles, food wrappers, and other packaging.</li><li>The tax revenue will be used to help boost the state's below-average recycling rate of 15%.</li></ul>This article is part of Insider's weekly newsletter on <keyword id="11896309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword>, written by Catherine Boudreau, senior sustainability reporter. It's not every day that <keyword id="12454038" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-business" source="Orion">big business</keyword> backs a new tax, especially on their own products.But that's what happened in Colorado, which on Friday became the third state to <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1355">enact a law</a> that will slap fees on bottles, food wrappers, and other packaging to help fund recycling programs and keep waste out of landfills. Colorado — a state that prides itself on protecting the environment — has an <a href="https://cdphe.colorado.gov/colorado-recycling-totals">abysmal recycling rate of 15%</a>, less than half the national average of 32%. The law, known as extended producer responsibility, got rare public endorsements from food and beverage brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, <a href="https://www.americanbeverage.org/education-resources/blog/pr/colorado-governor-signs-landmark-law-shifting-recycling-responsibility-to-private-sector/">and their trade group, American Beverage</a>. <keyword id="11893281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart" source="Orion">Walmart</keyword> and the software giant <keyword id="11892769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword> also got on board, marking the first time each company engaged in the policy for packaging. They joined forces with environmental groups like Recycle Colorado, World Wildlife Fund, and Sierra Club. For brands and retailers, boosting US recycling rates is key to meeting sustainability targets to use more recycled materials and less virgin plastic. For Salesforce, whose eponymous <a href="https://salesforcetower.com/">headquarters</a> building soars over the San Francisco Bay, backing the Colorado law was part of a new policy push announced Wednesday to protect oceans' role in fighting climate change. Plastic pollution is a major threat to the world's oceans, which have <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/09/25/srocc-press-release/">absorbed more than 90 percent</a> of the excess heat trapped on the planet because of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions in the atmosphere. Rising water temperatures and pollution is harming fish and other marine life, a food source for billions of people. Only 9% of plastic ever gets recycled, while an estimated 11 million tons of it ends up in the <keyword id="12127110" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ocean" source="Orion">ocean</keyword> each year — or more than a garbage truckload every minute, <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/world-leaders-set-sights-plastic-pollution">according to the United Nations</a>."We can't just deploy climate solutions on land and destroy the oceans," Whitney Johnston, Salesforce's director of oceans sustainability, told Insider. "Plastics is also a petroleum-based product, so we need to be strategic about how much we're producing and keep it in circulation."The broad coalition of industry and environmental groups backing Colorado's program set it apart from similar laws enacted in Maine and Oregon last year, which didn't attract much support from big business. The difference is in the design. In Maine, lawmakers and environmental groups were worried that giving industry too much control over a recycling program would maintain the status quo. The state's law gave regulators the authority to set packaging fees and manage the money, with input from brands. In Colorado, these responsibilities will fall entirely to the industry, which will develop a plan with approval from an advisory board and a state agency."The reason we had so many industry partners is because of the structure," Liz Chapman, the executive director of Recycle Colorado, said. "They know what it takes to get materials back into their systems and see this as an opportunity to innovate."That doesn't mean there wasn't opposition in Colorado. Ameripen, a trade group <a href="https://www.ameripen.org/page/member_companies">that represents plastic and packaging makers</a>, as well as brewer Molson Coors and some state business groups, lobbied against the law. Molson Coors brews its namesake Coors in Golden, Colorado.Dan Felton, the executive director of Ameripen, told Insider that the group objected to the law requiring companies to fund 100% of the recycling system without any controls on the potential costs. Ameripen supports a shared-responsibility model, where taxpayers pick up some of the tab. "We worry it will be a blank check," Felton said. Colorado will know the price tag of expanding recycling to more residents after a needs assessment is finished by January 2024 at the latest.

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