US Tariffs on Chinese EVs | EarthxNews Full Episode - video Dailymotion

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EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/   US hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs; invasive seaweed found in San Diego port; California to build wildlife highway; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs a bill banning lab-grown meat.   About EarthxNews:  A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.   EarthX & EarthXtra  Love Our Planet.  The Official Network of Earth Day.    About Us:  At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.     EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.       EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/    Follow Us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia  Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/earthxmedia    How to watch:    EarthX - Cable:  - Spectrum  - AT&T U-verse (1267)  - DIRECTV (267)  - Philo  - FuboTV   EarthXtra - Streaming:  - Plex  - Fire TV  - Xumo  - Sling    #EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #Conservation #EarthX

Transcript

00:00The U.S. is strengthening tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, while some say this will not help America's

00:09green transition. Plus, an invasive seaweed is causing some trouble at a port on the west

00:15coast. And California wildlife is getting a helping hand crossing the road. How the state

00:21plans to assist the animals avoiding traffic? Hello and welcome to EarthX News, where we

00:34focus on sustainability, conservation and the environment. I'm Sarah Williamson, in for

00:40Christina Thompson. Let's get into some of the biggest headlines facing our planet.

00:46President Biden announces his administration is hiking tariffs on $18 billion worth of

00:51Chinese imports. The new measures include an increase in the tariff rate on electric vehicles

00:57from 25% to 100% this year, along with hikes on tariffs in strategic sectors, including

01:05semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, steel and aluminum. Now, the tariffs, which are

01:12expected to be phased in over the next three years, come amidst growing concern from officials

01:18that low-priced Chinese EVs could soon start flooding the U.S. market. President Biden and

01:25his aides say the move is an effort to protect American workers against unfair Chinese trade

01:30practices. But Colorado's Governor Jared Polis is criticising the plan, calling the tariffs

01:37horrible news for American consumers and a major setback for clean energy. Joining us now to discuss

01:44is Mandy Gunasekera, former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mandy, thank you

01:52so much for joining us today. How would the influx of cheap Chinese-made EVs be a bad thing as we move

01:59into a greener auto industry?

02:02Well, anything manufactured in the United States is done consistent with a gold standard of

02:07environmental rules and regulations. We took these very seriously at the Environmental Protection

02:12Agency and know how to minimize the effects of byproducts of the industrial process, whether

02:18you're making cars or other items, how to control those and to limit air pollutants, water pollutants,

02:26and then to protect the safety of the workers. When you allow the infiltration of cheap Chinese

02:32goods into the American market, you're incentivizing the manufacture of those goods overseas in places

02:40like China, where their standards are not nearly as good as ours. They are not really enforced and even

02:46worse. A lot of the raw materials that go into the batteries for these electric vehicles that are

02:52manufactured abroad, they come from minerals that are mined in places where they employ things like child labor.

03:00They don't really take into account any impact on the surrounding environment. So if you're looking

03:05at the environment from a global perspective, you want things manufactured here in this country and

03:11incentivize that versus trying to incentivize the development of cheap goods in other countries where

03:18they don't comply with the same environmental protections and health protections that we do here.

03:23And Mandy, what's the impact on everyday Americans? How can this help them or how does it hurt them?

03:29Typically, tariffs don't result in increased costs to consumers. What does is continued inflation driven

03:37by poor spending. The tariffs in and of themselves are not necessarily impacting the cost, but protecting

03:44U.S. interests. Officials in Beijing, well, they're vowing to respond to these new U.S. tariffs,

03:50though they haven't actually laid out any specifics. There are reports, though, that Chinese EV maker BYD

03:57has explored the possibility of opening factories in Mexico. Now, the Biden administration is suggesting

04:04the possibility of additional penalties if this does happen. So this seems like an endless game of

04:10whack-a-mole. What is the end goal here?

04:12Well, certainly there's going to be some reaction to policies instituted here in the United States that

04:21negatively impact Chinese China's ability to dump their cheap goods into the American market. That is

04:27ultimately what they want. And they've gotten away with that for a really long time. At the end of the

04:32day, whether it's tariff policy or energy policy, tariff policy in particular, in this instance, it

04:40needs to be a long-term strategy designed to encourage innovation, allow for the reward of that innovation

04:48to remain here in this country, and then to ensure that American consumers and workers reap the benefits of

04:55that innovation as well and aren't undercut by these cheap Chinese goods that have all sorts of secondary

05:01negative impacts.

05:03And just finally, Mandy, I want to ask you about solutions because environmentalists and economists

05:09both have concerns about these tariffs. So what are some of the solutions here?

05:14Well, I think the solution is keeping these tariffs going long-term. Let's make sure it's not just a

05:25political ploy to try and boost support in some of these key swing states that also happen to be

05:31in the Rust Belt area where a lot of this vehicle manufacturing occurs. Let's make sure it's a longer

05:36term strategy to ensure that the vehicles we use comply with the standards that we set in this

05:44country, which will be better for the environment, better for safety, and produce goods in a much

05:51more efficient manner.

05:53Mandy Gunasekara, thank you so much. We appreciate your insight.

05:58Yeah, thanks for having me.

06:00Microsoft's relentless push to become a world leader in artificial intelligence

06:05is jeopardizing one of its other goals, to remove more carbon than it emits by the end of the decade.

06:11Now, it was one of the most ambitious and comprehensive plans to tackle climate change

06:16when the software giant made the announcement four years ago. The company's total planet warming

06:21impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020. Now, that makes getting to below zero by 2030

06:29even harder than it was when it announced its carbon negative goal.

06:33Microsoft's predicament is one of the first concrete examples of how the pursuit of AI

06:38is colliding with the efforts to cut emissions. And climate-friendly alternatives to traditional

06:44meat sources may be harder to come by in the state of Florida. Leonardo Feldman reports.

06:50Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is concerned about lab-grown meat. He recently signed a bill banning the

06:55sale of such protein in Florida. It is designed to represent a threat to agriculture as we know it. It is

07:02not just about having a product on the market. That's the first step, but they want much more than

07:09that. And I think we're snuffing this out at the beginning. DeSantis' recent action on lab-grown meat

07:14comes just a few months after the World Health Organization's director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom,

07:19gave remarks on the alleged impact that food systems have on gas emissions. Transforming food systems

07:25is therefore essential by shifting towards healthier, diversified, and more plant-based diets.

07:33DeSantis also recently signed another bill in the Sunshine State that slashes climate agenda directives.

07:39This in an effort to focus on cost efficiency. He stated that the legislation he signed will keep

07:45windmills off the state's beaches, put gas in Floridians tanks, and kick China out of the state.

07:51For EarthX, I'm Leonardo Feldman. Leonardo Feldman, thank you. And in Maine, the Governor's Energy

07:58Office is boosting the clean energy sector by launching the Maine Clean Energy Jobs Network.

08:04This initiative will direct job seekers to local clean energy employers and training programs. So far,

08:10the Governor's Energy Office job board currently has close to 30 employers seeking work and more

08:16than 270 jobs available. Thousands of acres in Colorado wetlands and miles of streams will be

08:23protected despite being left vulnerable by the Supreme Court. After weeks of negotiations,

08:30a bipartisan group of state lawmakers will implement a new program overseeing construction, road blocking,

08:37and other activities impacting state waters. Environmental advocates say Colorado leads the

08:43nation in adopting such regulations, which will replace certain Clean Water Act rules that were

08:49wiped out in the Sackett versus EPA Supreme Court ruling. In Colorado and other western states,

08:56vast numbers of streams are temporary, flowing only after major rainstorms and during spring runoff season,

09:04when the mountain snow melts. And still in Colorado, Colorado parks and wildlife officials explain that

09:10an angler tipped them off in the presence of the invasive bighead carp in Jack B. Tomlinson Park in

09:17Arveda, Colorado last week. 14 bighead carp were found in total and all of them were hefty. All of the fish

09:25were at least three feet long and the heaviest was a whopping 46 pounds. A green growing invasive seaweed is

09:33taking over San Diego's port, causing enough of a problem that the city had to declare a local

09:39emergency. Now the plant known as Killer Algae was first discovered in the South San Diego Bay last

09:46September with more patches popping up in a neighboring bay called Coronado Cays. Now officials are working

09:53to protect the local ecosystem because scientists say the rapidly reproducing invader can quickly take over

10:00all of the native habitat if left unchecked. Now this algae could eradicate native seaweeds and seagrasses

10:08like eelgrass, which local fish, birds and green sea turtles rely on for food and shelter. Officials

10:16have not confirmed the source of the infestation, but said it was most likely caused by someone emptying a

10:22saltwater aquarium into the bay since the seaweed is a popular and common saltwater aquarium plant.

10:30Because of the environmental risk, it is illegal in California to possess, sell or transport the

10:35invasive seaweed. Fines can range from $500 to $10,000 for each violation. And California is reportedly

10:45building the world's largest wildlife bridge across Highway 101 amid a roadkill epidemic. Now the Tenley

10:53Freeway in Southern California is one of the busiest in the country, cutting through the natural ecosystem,

11:00disrupting the movement of animals and threatening their survival. The massive infrastructure project,

11:06the Wallace-Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, costs $100 million, funded by a mix of public and private money.

11:14And it's expected to open in early 2026. Now reportedly, 200 people are killed in wildlife

11:22vehicle crashes every year, and another 26,000 are injured. And animal collisions cost Americans

11:29$10 billion annually. Coming up, an international court ruling may have widespread implications

11:35on efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Stay tuned, that story is just ahead on EarthX News.

11:44Welcome back. A new report from a climate think tank showing 30% of electricity produced worldwide,

12:14in 2023 came from renewable sources, including hydropower, solar power and wind power.

12:22Hydroelectric dams were the biggest producers across the globe, although droughts in India,

12:27China and North America cut into overall energy production. Electricity usage also increased by

12:35around 2% globally, with technologies like heat pumps, electric vehicles and electrolyzers driving this new

12:42demand. China also accounted for more than half of all new solar power and wind power added globally,

12:49whilst also being responsible for over half of all coal generation worldwide.

12:55The United Nations issued a warning about the environmental impact of the illegal trafficking of animals.

13:02Now according to the agency's global wildlife crime report, more than 4,000 species around the world are being targeted, causing an untold harm upon nature.

13:15The report found that 40% of all the animals targeted are on the red list of threatened or nearly threatened species,

13:23and illegal trade appears to have played a major role in the extinction of numerous rare species.

13:29The UN Office on Drugs and Crime report added that the trade driven by demand for medicine,

13:35pets and trophies, is active in more than 80% of countries around the globe.

13:41The report concluded that wildlife trafficking persists worldwide despite two decades of concerted action

13:48at international and national levels. An international court governing the world's oceans

13:55is calling on countries to protect marine environments by reducing their greenhouse gases,

14:01a move that some legal analysts say could impact the future pledges

14:06countries make under the Paris Agreement. Ross Cullen reports.

14:11The oceans and coastlines are some of the world's most beautiful places, but also some of the most fragile.

14:18And now a top court says that carbon emissions can be considered a sea pollutant.

14:23The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is the UN's Court for Marine and Maritime Disputes.

14:29Its latest ruling is that the emissions from GHGs, or greenhouse gases,

14:34that are absorbed by the seas are considered marine pollution.

14:39The Convention and the Paris Agreement are separate agreements, with separate sets of obligations.

14:45Article 194, paragraph 1, imposes on states a legal obligation to take all necessary measures

14:53to prevent, reduce and control pollution from anthropogenic GHG emissions, including measures to reduce such emissions.

15:02The court also called on the world's most powerful countries to carry more of the burden,

15:07because small island nations are being disproportionately affected by climate change.

15:13In the context of marine pollution from anthropogenic GHG emissions, states with greater means and capabilities

15:20must do more to reduce such emissions than states with less means and capabilities.

15:27The court's opinion is only advisory and non-binding, but the ruling could make waves in future climate cases,

15:34because experts say it could have far-reaching implications for countries' climate change obligations.

15:41For EarthX, I'm Ross Cullen.

15:43Thank you, Ross Cullen.

15:45Africa's biggest oil-producing country is launching an eco-friendly initiative.

15:51Nigeria's president is gearing up to introduce roughly 3,000 buses and tricycles powered by compressed natural gas, or CNG.

16:02The ambitious plan seeks to convert one million vehicles to more green energy sources over the next three years.

16:10Spearheaded by the government, the goal is to provide Nigerians with affordable,

16:15safer and environmentally sustainable energy options, whilst revolutionising the nation's transportation infrastructure.

16:23The effort to make the switch from gas to CNG follows the removal of fuel subsidies,

16:29which resulted in a substantial hike in petrol prices.

16:33Officials say that by reducing emissions and dependence on traditional fuels,

16:38the initiative aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and promote eco-friendly alternatives.

16:45Designs for a massive coastal regeneration plan have been unveiled in Dubai.

16:50The initiative is called the Dubai Mangroves Project,

16:54and it aims to install 100 million new mangroves across more than 40 miles of coastline in the United Arab Emirates.

17:02Now that's enough trees to absorb over 1.2 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide,

17:09a year or the equivalent of removing 260,000 gas-powered cars from the road.

17:15This is according to the project's developer.

17:17Now the project, currently in the design and research stage,

17:22aims to enhance Dubai's marine biodiversity and transform the appearance of its coastline

17:28and create 10,000 ecotourism jobs.

17:32Coming up, a museum in Italy is looking to butterflies in an effort to recreate a known

17:38hotspot for biodiversity. Stay tuned, we have more on that story just ahead on EarthX News.

17:55An Italian museum has recreated a Tanzanian butterfly forest to raise awareness of biodiversity.

18:15Alex Selvey reports.

18:16The butterflies fluttering around the greenhouse in Trento, Italy are not native to the town in the Alps,

18:23but their survival may depend on it. The project by the Museum of Science, better known as Muse,

18:29facilitates their growth into adulthood while attempting to replicate their habitats in southern Tanzania.

18:35Climate change and deforestation are threatening their existence,

18:39with life cycles, migratory patterns, and mating behaviors all being affected.

18:44Scientists behind the butterfly forest hope they can not only facilitate their recovery,

18:48but develop long-lasting conservation techniques.

18:53Our aim is that of being able to study better, to understand better what is happening.

18:57Therefore, everything that concerns deforestation,

19:00social problems linked to the conservation of the environment and the species.

19:05The goal of the project is to not only conserve the butterfly species,

19:09but to better understand them in hopes of sustaining their existence,

19:13while raising public awareness by showing off their natural beauty.

19:16The Idzungwa National Park in Tanzania is home to more than 2,500 plant species,

19:21120 mammals, thousands of invertebrate species, and more than 40 types of butterflies.

19:28Researchers at Muse say changing current farming policies and limiting human contact

19:33is necessary for their survival.

19:35Butterflies provide critical benefits to their environment as pollinators,

19:38allowing plants to reproduce and food supplies to flourish.

19:42And, likely to their dissatisfaction, they're oftentimes food for birds and other animals,

19:48meaning without them, their environments and the planet could look dramatically different.

19:53For EarthX, I'm Alex L.

19:55Alex Selby, thank you.

19:59Now, caught on camera, a rare subspecies of leopard has been spotted in its natural habitat in China.

20:06Infrared cameras recently captured video of the North China leopard reappearing in the

20:12traditional mountainous terrain near Beijing, according to officials at a national nature reserve in the region.

20:19The species, also known as the Chinese leopard, is classified as a national first-class protected

20:26animal in China. Scientists say that deforestation and rampant illegal hunting led to a sharp decrease

20:33in their numbers in the second half of the 20th century. But the recent sighting is a sign that

20:39leopard populations are growing. Recent data finds the subspecies number between 600 to 700,

20:46and that's a dramatic increase from a previous census that estimated their population to be fewer than 400.

20:54And before we leave you, a six-year-old sloth makes her debut at the Oregon Zoo.

21:00Zoo officials say that Berry, a lion's two-toed sloth, is quickly settling into her new habitat in the

21:07rainforest area after recently arriving from a wildlife facility on the east coast.

21:13Two-toed sloths are considered a species of least concern by the International Union of Conservation

21:19Nature, but their numbers are in decline. Berry's move to Portland was recommended by the Association of

21:26Zoos and Aquarium Species Survival Plan, an organisation among zoos to promote self-sustaining populations.

21:34And that's it for this edition of EarthX News. Please join us again next week. I'm Sarah Williamson.

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