Report: “Extreme” fossil fuel investments have surged under Donald Trump
Bank holdings in “extreme” fossil fuels have skyrocketed globally to $115 billion during Donald Trump’s first year as US president according to a new report. A sharp departure from fossil fuels investments after the Paris agreement reversed last year with a return to energy sources dubbed “extreme” due to their contribution to global emissions – including an 11% increase in funding for carbon-heavy tar sands, as well as Arctic and ultra-deepwater oil and coal. US and Canadian banks were found to lead this return, following Trump’s promise to withdraw from Paris, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its coal funding by a factor of 21, and quadrupling its tar sands assets. Chase’s $5.6 billion surge in tar sands holdings added to nearly $47 billion of gains for the industry last year, according to the report by NGOs including BankTrack, the Sierra Club and Rainforest Action Network. (Guardian)
Lawsuits
Facebook users sue over collection of call and text history
Three users of the Facebook Messenger app have sued Facebook, saying that the social network violated their privacy by collecting logs of their phone calls and text messages. The US lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California seeks status as a class action on behalf of all affected users and asks for unspecified damages. Facebook, which is still reeling from a scandal over its handling of personal data, has acknowledged that it has logged some users’ call and text history but said it had done so only when users of the Android operating system had opted in. It said that it does not collect the content of said calls or text messages, that the information is securely stored and not sold to third parties. (Reuters)
Policy
Chinese hackers ordered to report software holes to spy agency
China’s spy agency has ordered local hackers to abstain from global hacking contests and instead report any vulnerabilities to the security ministry or the affected company as Beijing seeks to tighten its control over technology and information. The move is the latest bid by China to secure control of technology and information and follows initiatives such as Made in China 2025 — a scheme to restructure China’s industrial policy — and last year’s cyber security law that requires foreign companies to store data locally and allow data surveillance by China’s security apparatus. “Clearly this is about local control,” said Christopher Ahlberg, co-founder and chief executive of US-based cyber intelligence firm Recorded Future. “Vulnerabilities could be problems in software but are also an opportunity to get backdoors into them.” (Financial Times*)
Employees
Report: Pregnant migrant workers in Asia face discrimination and deportation
Women migrant workers in parts of Asia risk being deported if they become pregnant, forcing many to have unwanted abortions or abandon their new-born children according to a report, Triple Discrimination: Woman, Pregnant, and Migrant, from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). The report claims that migrant workers are forced to undergo regular pregnancy tests and urges countries to scrap laws that allow or encourage pregnancy tests and the use of contraception as a condition of employment. The report states that Malaysia has the most restrictive legal environment for female migrants, requiring them to take a pregnancy test prior to departure from their home country, and on a yearly basis thereafter. A migrant working in a Malaysian factory found to be pregnant is immediately deported at her own expense. To avoid deportation, many enter the informal workforce where labour laws are often ignored and abuses are common to avoid the threat of deportation. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Technology & Innovation
New material made from desert sand could offer low-carbon alternative to concrete
A team of scientists in the UK have developed a biodegradable construction material made from desert sand. Called Finite, the material was developed by a group from Imperial College London to be as strong as concrete but with half the carbon footprint. This breakthrough comes amid increasing concern about the world’s dwindling supply of construction-grade sand, a crucial ingredient in concrete. Sand-mining is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and illegal sand mining plagues countries such as India, where criminal gangs plunder riverbeds and beaches, damaging ecosystems. In addition to being low-carbon and reducing the strain on current sand resources Finite is more reusable than concrete, which often ends up in landfills, with its inventors claiming it can be left to decompose naturally or be remoulded to be used again. (Dezeen)
Events
AVPN Conference
Date: 4-5th June 2018 Location: Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Now in its sixth year, the AVPN Conference will bring together a diverse group of funders and resource providers from around the globe to take part in the largest gathering of social investors in Asia from grantmakers and impact investors to corporates and governments.This year’s theme, “Maximising Impact”, reflects the importance of driving strategic, collaborative, and outcome-oriented approaches to social investment. Through this lens, the conference will highlight opportunities and challenges for social investors and provide a platform for leaders across sectors to connect, learn and be thought leaders.
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