Day: September 7, 2022

As the world grapples with multiple climate-related disasters on different continents, a watchdog group in Washington is pressing the Biden administration to take more aggressive action to reduce emissions in the United States.

A report, issued by the liberal-leaning Revolving Door Project, outlines a wide number of actions that the group believes President Joe Biden can implement by executive action, meaning that he would not need to coax cooperation from U.S. lawmakers currently preoccupied with looming midterm elections.

Headlines this week underscore the challenges facing the planet. As the report was issued, Pakistan was suffering from catastrophic floods that have displaced tens of thousands and ravaged crops; a powerful typhoon recently dropped a meter of rain on South Korea; China is suffering its worst heat wave on record; and the western United States is gripped by a drought of historic severity.

The Environmental Protection Agency may seem like the most obvious focus of the report’s attention, and the list of steps that agency might take is indeed long. However, the report also homes in on actions available to many other federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, that are not typically associated with climate change issues.

“Every part of the government should be thinking very much about how to consider climate in the work that they do — how to incorporate it into their existing mandates to protect their various domains, and to be thinking and acting very creatively and aggressively on this,” Max Moran, a research director at the Revolving Door Project and one of the report’s authors, told VOA.

EPA urged to act

The Environmental Protection Agency has the most expansive authority over climate-related issues in the federal government, but its enforcement capacity was significantly reduced during the Trump administration.

“The EPA can be one of the most powerful governmental actors in the United States when it is given the resources and direction to effectively implement its mandate,” the Revolving Door Project notes. “It has broad authority to police pollution and environmental degradation to minimize environmental destruction and public health impacts.”

The report urges the agency to be more aggressive in punishing corporations that violate environmental regulations, pointing out that penalties handed out by the agency often involve companies hiring their own auditors to assure future compliance or funding projects that have little to do with mitigating the damage they have caused.

As the agency works to reinvigorate its enforcement capacity, the report recommends multiple other ways in which it can step up its policing of rules regulating some of the most environmentally damaging emissions, including the powerful greenhouse gas methane.

Departments of Interior, Justice

The report notes a number of measures available to the Department of the Interior to reduce carbon emissions, one of the largest of which is capping abandoned oil and gas wells. Although old wells are not commercially viable, they still emit thousands of tons of methane into the environment every year, and capping them would greatly reduce the volume of gas that escapes.

In addition, the report calls on Interior to stop leasing federal land to energy companies for further development of fossil fuel extraction operations and to reform mining regulations to reduce damage to the environment from factors including the degradation of water sources and the runoff of dangerous chemicals.

The Department of Justice, the report argues, is insufficiently aggressive about prosecuting criminal violations of environmental laws.

“Environmental litigation is key to ensuring that companies and individuals comply with environmental laws,” it says. “Without the threat of litigation, the laws protecting ecosystems and public health are toothless.”

It notes that one government database identifies “thousands of facilities across the country with multiple significant violations” that have remained out of compliance for years without facing prosecution.

Administration shifts climate team

There is reason to believe the Biden administration is prepared to focus more on executive action than it has in the first year and a half of the president’s term. For most of that time, Biden was trying to negotiate with a balky Congress on major environmental legislation, and aggressive action by the executive branch might have made agreement more difficult to reach.

Now, however, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included the largest investment in green energy and other climate-conscious programs in history, the likelihood of further legislation is unlikely in the near term.

Last week, Biden announced that he has hired a veteran Washington insider, John Podesta, as a senior adviser in charge of rolling out the billions in tax incentives and other programs put in place by the IRA.

At the same time, Biden announced the promotion of Ali Zaidi to national climate adviser, to replace the departing Gina McCarthy. Zaidi is a veteran of the Obama administration where, for eight years, he served in a variety of posts related to climate policy.

In a statement announcing the nomination, Biden seemed to signal that more executive action is coming.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest step forward on clean energy and climate in history, and it paves the way for additional steps we will take to meet our clean energy and climate goals,” the president said.

While the IRA earned the support of some Republicans in Congress, there is significant resistance in the GOP to greater regulation in general, and greater environmental regulation in particular. If the Biden administration does become more assertive about environmental regulation, Republicans will have little recourse in the near term. However, they are likely to use the issue to try to drive turnout in both November’s midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election.

Source: Voice of America

photo exhibition on the Vietnam – Laos relations kicked off at the National News Agency Centre in Hanoi on September 6.

Opening the event, General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang emphasised that 2022 is a significant year to bilateral ties as it marks 60 years since the establishment of the countries’ diplomatic relationship (September 5, 1962) and 45 years since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (July 18, 1977).

In celebration of these anniversaries, the VNA and the Lao News Agency KPL have coordinated to organise the exhibition, which showcases more than 100 outstanding photos from their archives that reflect the special ties between Vietnam and Laos since the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) came into being on September 2, 1945 and the Lao Issara Provisional Government declared the independence of Laos on October 12 that year.

The exhibits demonstrate the close-knit comradeship between the two countries’ Parties and peoples during the struggles for national independence in the past as well as national development and defence efforts at present, she noted, adding that they highlight the special friendship founded by late Presidents Ho Chi Minh, Kaysone Phomvihane and Souphanouvong and nurtured by generations of the countries’ leaders, revolutionaries, and peoples to become a precious heritage and a decisive factor in the success of each countries’ revolution.

Beautiful images of the Vietnam – Laos friendship will continue to be captured by VNA and KPL reporters to contribute to the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, and peoples, according to Trang.

In his pre-recorded speech, KPL General Director Khampheuy Philapha said the exhibition not only spotlights the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries but also illustrates the close and effective partnership for decades between the two news agencies, which has substantially helped reinforce the countries’ special relations.

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga said the display is highly meaningful since it coincides with the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic ties, adding it also inspires the belief in a bright future for both nations and for their special friendship.

Tran Nhat Hoang, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said more cultural activities like this exhibition should be organised so as to help Vietnamese and Lao people, especially the young, understand more about bilateral relations.

Source: Lao News Agency

A panel of federal health advisers voted Wednesday to recommend approval for an experimental drug to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease, a remarkable turnaround for the much-debated medication that was previously rejected by the same group earlier this year.

The Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 7-2 that data from Amylyx Pharma warranted approval, despite hours of debate about the strength and reliability of the company’s lone study. The FDA is not required to follow the group’s advice, but its positive recommendation suggests an approval is likely later this month.

The FDA has approved only two therapies for the disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which destroys nerve cells needed for basic functions like walking, talking and swallowing.

Patients support drug

ALS patients and their families have rallied behind Amylyx’s drug, launching an aggressive lobbying campaign and enlisting members of Congress to push the FDA to grant approval.

Despite a negative review published by FDA’s internal scientists ahead of the meeting, a majority of the outside panelists said Amylyx had presented enough evidence to suggest the drug is helping patients live longer. The same group of neurology experts narrowly voted against the drug in March, because of concerns about missing data and other issues in the company’s study.

“To deprive ALS patients of a drug that might work, it’s probably not something I would feel terribly comfortable with,” said Dr. Liana Apostolova of Indiana University’s School of Medicine, who voted for approval. “At the previous meeting it wasn’t that clear and it’s still questionable.”

Amylyx also appeared to benefit from an unusual exchange in which a company executive — at the FDA’s request — committed to pull the drug from the market if its benefits aren’t confirmed by a large, ongoing study.

The FDA has the power to force companies to pull drugs from the market, though it’s generally faster if drugmakers voluntarily take that step. In cases where companies resist removal the regulatory process can drag on for years.

New data prompts second look

Wednesday’s vote concluded a rare second meeting to review several new statistical analyses submitted by Amylyx in support of the treatment’s benefit in slowing disease and extending life.

The ALS drug review is being closely watched as an indicator of FDA’s flexibility in reviewing experimental medications for the terminally ill and its ability to withstand outside pressure.

Amylyx conducted one small, mid-stage trial of its drug that showed some benefit in slowing the disease, but it was plagued by missing data and other problems, according to FDA reviewers.

“The final result — for a single study — is borderline and not very statistically persuasive,” FDA statistician Tristan Massie told panelists.

Company says data shows drug extends life

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company says follow-up data gathered after the study concluded showed the drug extended life. Patients who continued taking the drug survived about 10 months longer than patients who never took the drug, according to a new company analysis.

Panelists favoring the drug cited that data, along with the drug’s mild side effects, to suggest there would be little downside for patients even if it doesn’t ultimately slow ALS.

Hanging over the review is FDA’s controversial approval of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm last year, which was reviewed by the same agency scientists and outside advisers.

In that case, the FDA disregarded the overwhelmingly negative vote by its outside advisers, three of whom resigned over the decision. The agency’s approval — which followed irregular meetings with drugmaker Biogen — is under investigation by Congress and federal inspectors.

Source: Voice of America

The National Assembly of Laos, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Sept 6 launched a new project to strengthen the Lao National and Provincial People’s Assemblies.

The Strengthening Capacity and Effectiveness of The People’s Assemblies System (STEPS) in Laos, or STEPS Project is a five-year (2022-2026), US$ 15 million initiative that will be implemented by the National Assembly and the Provincial People’s Assemblies in partnership with UNDP and is fully funded by USAID.

STEPS aims to strengthen the capacity of the legislatures in the Lao PDR to effectively represent, engage, and respond to citizens’ needs. The Project will support the national and provincial assemblies, including elected members, committees and staff, in enhancing their mandates and ability to revise and approve legislation, monitor the implementation of the country’s National Socio-Economic Development Plan and advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, improve understanding of societal concerns, and enhance overall accountability and transparency in the Lao PDR.

Ms. Pingkam Lasasimma, Secretary General of the National Assembly, Dr. Peter M. Haymond, U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR, and Ms. Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP’s Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, officially launched the project with the attendance of representatives from the assemblies, Government ministries, USAID, development partners and UN agencies.

“On behalf of the National Assembly, I would like to thank USAID and UNDP for their commitment to ensuring that the assemblies in the Lao PDR can become better established and more effective, and can build strong alliances with constituents,” said Secretary General Lasasimma.

“The U.S. Government is proud to support the STEPS program in partnership with the National Assembly and UNDP. We want STEPS to help further strengthen the National Assembly’s ability to review and approve legislation, analyze important national issues, and support the implementation of the Lao PDR’s development goals,” said Ambassador Haymond.

Ms. Wignaraja highlighted the key role played by the assemblies, particularly in times of crisis: “The Lao PDR is facing the economic and social impacts caused by climate change and COVID-19. Our experience is that when a country is faced with these kinds of challenges, parliaments make their strongest contribution by increasing their engagement with the people they represent. Bringing people into the work of parliament helps build connections between elected representatives and the public they serve. It shows the communities that they are being listened to and heard”.

The STEPS Project provides support to both the National Assembly and Provincial People’s Assemblies to fulfill their functions of representation, oversight and law-making. Targeted support will be provided to the provincial assemblies, established in 2016, to strengthen people’s participation in decision making at the district and community level.

The project will strengthen the assemblies’ and their members’ ability to represent their constituents, in particular women and vulnerable groups, to hold the government to account and to explore an expanded role in budgeting and law-making processes. Members, staff and gender champions will be supported to mainstream gender equality and inclusion in all law-making, oversight and representation activity.

Source: Lao News Agency