October, 27 2008, 02:21pm EDT
![Greenpeace](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012670/origin.png)
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mike Crocker, Media Officer, Greenpeace, U.S.A., 202-319-2471; Meg Boyle, Global Warming Policy Specialist, Greenpeace, U.S.A., 202-319-2410
New Global Energy Strategy Tackles Climate Change and Saves $18 Trillion in Fuel Costs
WASHINGTON
At a time when polluting corporations are trying
to use the economic slowdown as an excuse to delay action on global
warming, a new Greenpeace report shows that aggressive investment in
renewable power and energy efficiency can create a $360 billion a year
industry, provide half of the world's electricity, and slash $18
trillion in future fuel expenditures while protecting the climate.
Copies of the report can be downloaded at: www.greenpeace.org/energyrevolution and www.erec.org. For other regional reports please go to www.energyblueprint.info
"Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook," drafted by
the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and Greenpeace
International, provides a practical blueprint for rapidly cutting
energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to help ensure that emissions
of the heat-trapping gases peak and then fall by 2015, the time frame
scientists say is critical to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of
global warming. This can be achieved while ensuring economies in China,
India, and other developing nations have access to the energy needed to
lift people out of poverty.
"Unlike other energy scenarios that promote energy futures at the cost
of the climate, our energy revolution scenario shows how to save money
and maintain global economic development without fuelling catastrophic
climate change. All we need to kick start this plan is bold energy
policy from world leaders," said Sven Teske, Greenpeace International's
Senior Energy Expert and co-author of the report.
"Strict efficiency standards make sound economic sense and dramatically
slow down rising global energy demand. The energy saved in
industrialized countries will make space for increased energy use in
developing economies. With renewable energy growing four-fold not only
in the electricity sector, but also in the heating and transport
sectors, we can still cut the average carbon emissions per person from
today's four tons to around one ton by 2050," he added.
In the context of today's economic uncertainty, investing in renewable
energy technologies offers a win-win-win scenario: a win for the
economy, a win for the climate, and a win for energy security. The
report estimates that the cost of continued reliance on coal, from
today through 2030, is as high as $15.9 trillion, more than required to
pay for the renewable solutions proposed in the plan. These clean
energy sources will produce electricity without any additional fuel
costs after 2030, while creating millions of jobs and stimulating the
global economy.
Oliver Schafer, EREC Policy Director said, "The global market for
renewable energy can grow at a double digit rates until 2050, and
overtake the size of today's fossil fuel industry. Currently, the
renewable energy market is worth $70 billion and doubling in size every
three years."
"Because of economies of scale, renewable energies such as wind power
at good sites are already competitive with conventional power. From
around 2015 onwards, we are confident that renewable sources across all
sectors will be the most cost effective. The renewable industry is
ready and able to deliver the needed capacity to make the energy
revolution a reality. There is no technical impediment but a political
barrier to rebuild the global energy sector," he added.
"Countries like China and India are well placed to take the enormous
investment opportunity presented by the energy revolution," said John
Passacantando, Greenpeace U.S.A. Executive Director. "It would be
short-sighted for them to focus on fossil fuels to power their rapid
economic growth. The energy revolution is key to them climate proofing
their development."
The report also highlights the short time window for making the key
decisions in energy infrastructure. In order to achieve a greenhouse
gas emission peak by 2015 and a fast reduction afterwards, governments,
investment institutions and companies must act swiftly, and agree to a
strengthened UN climate deal.
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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'Tragic Outcome' for Gig Workers as California Supreme Court Hands Win to Uber, DoorDash
"Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers," the case plaintiff said.
Jul 25, 2024
Labor advocates on Thursday decried a ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding a lower court's affirmation of a state ballot measure allowing app-based ride and delivery companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors, limiting their worker rights.
The court's seven justices ruled unanimously in Castellanos v. State of California that Proposition 22, which was approved by 58% of California voters in 2020, complies with the state constitution. Prop 22—which was overturned in 2021 by an Alameda County Superior Court judge in 2021—was upheld in March 2023 by the state's 1st District Court of Appeals.
The business models of app-based companies including DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber rely upon minimizing frontline worker compensation by categorizing drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Independent contractors are not entitled to unemployment insurance, health insurance, or compensation for business expenses.
There are approximately 1.4 million app-based gig workers in California, according to industry estimates.
While DoorDash hailed Thursday's ruling as "not only a victory for Dashers, but also for democracy itself," gig worker advocates condemned the decision.
"Over the last three years, gig workers across California have experienced firsthand that Prop 22 is nothing more than a bait-and-switch meant to enrich global corporations at the expense of the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who power their earnings," plaintiff Hector Castellanos, who drives for Uber and Lyft, said in a statement.
"Prop 22 has allowed gig companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to deprive us of a living wage, access to workers compensation, paid sick leave, and meaningful healthcare coverage," Castellanos added. "Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers."
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said that "we are deeply disappointed that the state Supreme Court has allowed tech corporations to buy their way out of basic labor laws despite Proposition 22's inconsistencies with our state constitution."
"These companies have upended our social contract, forcing workers and the public to take on the inherent risk created by this work, while they profit," she continued. "A.B. 5 granted virtually all California workers the right to be paid for all hours worked, health and safety standards, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and the right to organize."
"Rideshare and delivery drivers deserve those rights as well," Gonzalez stressed.
The Gig Workers Rising campaign said on social media that "Uber and other app corporations spent $220 million to buy this law, and they did it by tricking Californians."
Prop 22's passage in November 2020 with nearly 59% of the vote was the culmination of what was by far the most expensive ballot measure in California history. App-based companies and their backers outspent labor and progressive groups by more than 10 to 1, with proponents pouring a staggering $204.5 million into the "yes" campaign's coffers against just $19 million for the "no" side.
"Voters were told the initiative would provide us with 'historic new benefits' and guaranteed earnings," said Gig Workers Rising. "But since it went into effect, drivers have seen our pay go down, learned the benefits are a sham, and have to accept unsafe rides because of the constant threat of being 'deactivated,' kicked off the app with little explanation or warning."
"If Uber really cared about good benefits and fair wages, it could make that happen tomorrow," the campaign added. "Instead, it has shown it would rather slash pay, bamboozle voters, and put drivers' lives and livelihoods in danger—all while promising $7 billion in stock buybacks to banks and billionaires."
Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who focuses on labor and inequality, toldCalMatters that Thursday's ruling was "a really tragic outcome," but "it's not the end of the road."
Dubal's sentiment was echoed by some California state legislators, who said the ruling presents an opportunity to act.
"While this decision is frustrating, it must also be motivating," said state Senate Labor Committee Chair Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-28). "I'm more determined than ever to ensure that all workers—including our diverse and Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led gig workforce—have the basic protections of workers compensation, paid sick leave, family leave, disability insurance, and the right to form a union."
Prop 22 has served as a template for lawmakers in other states seeking to deny or limit basic worker rights, benefits, and protections.
In Massachusetts, app-based companies have been fighting for years to get a measure to classify drivers as contractors on the state ballot. In 2022, Lyft made the largest political donation in state history—$14.4 million—to a coalition funding one such proposal.
Last month, Uber and Lyft reached an agreement with the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, to pay $175 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2020. As part of the deal, the companies also agreed to increase driver pay and provide paid sick leave, accident insurance, and some health benefits. The agreement does not address how app-based gig workers should be classified.
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Jul 25, 2024
Four youth-led groups on Thursday urged Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to "fight for our future" by pursuing a policy agenda the coalition unveiled in a March letter to U.S. President Joe Biden.
It's been less than a week since Biden left the race and endorsed Harris, who is expected to face former Republican Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in the November election. Since then, she's racked up endorsements from Democratic members of Congress and progressive groups focused on issues including climate, labor, and reproductive rights.
March for Our Lives, which was launched after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, honored Harris with the group's first-ever endorsement on Wednesday, calling her "the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve."
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"Democrats are at a critical crossroads with young people," the coalition wrote to Harris on Thursday. "Polls showed Biden and Trump neck-and-neck among young voters."
ANew York Times/Siena College poll conducted July 22-24 shows Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters and 48% to 46% among registered voters—differences that fall within the margin of error.
Forbesnoted Thursday that "Democrats are far more enthusiastic about Harris than they were Biden, the Times/Siena survey found, with nearly 80% of voters who lean Democrat saying they would like Harris to be the nominee, compared to 48% of Democrats who said the same about Biden three weeks ago."
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"You have an opportunity to win the youth vote by turning the page and differentiating yourself from Biden policies that are deeply unpopular with us, such as approving new oil and gas projects, denying people their right to seek refuge and asylum, and funding the Israeli government's killing of civilians in Gaza," the youth coalition highlighted Thursday. "You must speak to the economic pain young people are facing from crushing student debt and skyrocketing housing and food prices."
Looking beyond November, the groups told Harris—who could be the first Black woman and person of Asian descent elected to the country's highest office—that "you could be a historic president. Not just because of who you are, but what you can accomplish."
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After nearly two years of negotiations with video game giants and no deal that would protect performers from artificial intelligence, unionized voice and motion capture actors who work in video game development announced Thursday that they will go on strike starting at 12:01 am on Friday, July 26.
The performers are represented by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which last year won a contract for TV and film actors that included "unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI," after the union went on strike for four months.
The union has been negotiating on behalf of video game actors with major production companies including Disney Character Voices Inc., Activision Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc., and has won concessions over wages and job safety—but "AI protections remain the sticking point," said SAG-AFTRA on Thursday as the impending strike was announced.
Unionized actors want protections that would stop video game companies from training AI to replicate actors' voices or likeness without their consent and without compensating them.
"The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. "The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games. That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies."
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Sarah Elmaleh, negotiating committee chair for the union's interactive media agreement, said the negotiations have shown the companies "are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation."
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The strike was announced as more than 500 workers who help develop the popular World of Warcraft video game franchise voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with the games publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, recognizing the bargaining unit.
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