IPCC: rapid carbon emission cuts vital to stop severe impact of climate change
Governments can keep climate change in check at manageable costs but will have to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2100 to limit risks of irreversible damage, according to the most important assessment of global warming yet published. The stark report, released in Copenhagen by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), states that climate change has already increased the risk of severe heat waves and other extreme weather and warns of worse to come, including food shortages and violent conflict. But it also found that ways to avoid dangerous global warming are both available and affordable. “With fast action, climate change could be kept in check at manageable costs”, Ban Ki Moon said. Approved by more than 120 governments, the study will be the main handbook for negotiators of a U.N. deal to combat global warming due at a summit in Paris in December 2015. (The Guardian; Reuters)
Employees
Over 1,000 UK employers now accredited on Living Wage
The UK Living Wage – an hourly rate based on the amount needed to cover the basic costs of living – has been raised today by 20p to £7.85, with the London Living Wage set at £9.15. The voluntary rate has been adopted by more than 1,000 employers across the country, benefiting 35,000 low-paid workers. Rhys Moore, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said: “As the recovery continues it is vital that the proceeds of growth are properly shared…. The number of accredited Living Wage Employers has more than doubled this year – over 1000 employers across the UK have signed up. In the last 12 months, the number of Living Wage employers in the FTSE 100 has risen from four to 18, including Canary Wharf Group and Standard Life.” During 2014, household names such as Nationwide and Nestlé have made the move to become Living Wage employers, ensuring all their directly employed staff, as well as third party contractors such as security and cleaning teams, are paid at least the Living Wage. (Living Wage Foundation; BBC)
Policy & Research
Explosion in wealth inequality needs urgent plan of action, says Oxfam
Development charity Oxfam is calling for a seven-point plan to tackle the “explosion” in inequality after reporting that the world’s richest people have been left untouched by austerity and are seeing their wealth increase by half a million dollars every minute. In a new report, Even it Up, Oxfam calls for measures such as minimum and living wages, equal pay legislation and a clampdown on tax dodging. Earlier this year, the charity said the world’s 85 billionaires owned the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. The report found that inequality has risen within countries since 1980, so that seven out 10 people live in nations where the gap between rich and poor is greater than it was 30 years ago. “Oxfam’s decades of experience in the world’s poorest communities have taught us that poverty and inequality are not inevitable or accidental, but the result of deliberate policy choices. Inequality can be reversed,” the report says. (Guardian)
Tax
Argentina accuses Procter & Gamble of tax fraud
Argentina has accused Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s number one household products maker, of tax fraud and said it has suspended the company’s operations in the South American country. A statement published on Argentina’s presidential website accuses the company of over-billing $138 million in imports to get money out of the country. “P&G funnelled currency abroad and hid income that was subject to tax in Argentina,” it said and further added “We have to put an end to these tricks used by international companies.” Paul Fox, P&G spokesman, said the company is working to understand fully the allegations and resolve them. “We don’t pursue aggressive tax/fiscal planning practices as they simply don’t produce sustainable results,” he said, adding the company values its relationship with Argentina and its consumers. P&G has been operating in Argentina since 1991 and runs three manufacturing plants and two distribution centres. (FT*)
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