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US To Launch Clean Technology Fund In 2008-Treasury

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"The US will press forward with a multibillion-dollar 'clean technology fund' this year to help China and other developing countries finance advanced technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants...

The fund aims to 'put a dent in the funding gap' between more expensive advanced technology that reduces pollution and energy use and older, cheaper technology, David McCormick, Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs, said in prepared remarks at a leadership conference in La Jolla, California. ...

McCormick said many developing countries prefer to use the lowest-cost alternatives to stretch their resources in developing power and industrial infrastructure, and this often means using older, dirtier technology. He said that through 2030 it may cost developing countries an additional $30 billion to switch to cleaner technology. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]

Dow Jones adds that "...The administration has already had discussions with potential donors and plans additional meetings in January in Honolulu and in the spring in Paris, said McCormick. ...

He also said the US has made progress on environmental issues with China... At the December Strategic Economic Dialogue, the two countries agreed to come up with a 10-year plan to cooperate on clean technology and regulations, and they are in the process of setting up a working group, he said." [Dow Jones/Factiva]

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Tunisia Needs To Open Up Services-World Bank

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"Tunisia, the first southern Mediterranean country to reach a free trade accord with the EU, needs to open further its services sector to expand growth, a World Bank official said. 'Tunisia is a dynamic and transforming economy (which) is quite open, especially in the manufacturing sector,' said Ndiame Diop, World Bank Senior Economist... in an interview with Reuters. ...

He cited the example of telecoms, arguing openness will push firms to improve their offers to weather more competitiveness, with consumers benefiting from lower prices in the process. ... 'But, the international competition is stiff. Tunisia needs to permanently assess the situation and react quickly. This is the challenge for policymakers in all countries today'. ...

'In the medium term, liberalization is beneficial for the economy. But, some adjustments costs can be incurred in the short run. Hence the importance of the accompanying policies,' Diop said. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]

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UN Aims To Boost Creative Industries In Poorer States

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"The UN launched a drive on Monday to 'open the eyes' of governments in poorer countries to the huge export potential of creative industries ranging from art to fashion.

Developing economies should take their lead from the example of China which in 2005 became the top world exporter of creative goods, said UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi.

'If effective policies are in place, the creative economy has the potential to foster economic growth, job creation and exports earnings,' he told a two-day meeting of ministers and officials from Africa, Asia and Latin America. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua notes that "...International trade in creative goods and services surged to $445.2 billion in 2005 from $234.8 billion in 1996, according to preliminary figures released by the agency. Such trade grew at an unprecedented average rate of 8.7 percent a year in the period of 2000-2005, the figures show. ... Although developed countries continue to dominate the global market for creative products, exports of creative goods from developing countries increased sharply to $136.2 billion in 2005 from $55.9 billion dollars in 1996. ..." [Xinhua/Factiva]

AFP reports that "...China saw 'unprecedented dynamism' in this field from 1996 to 2005, with mainland exports rising from $18.4 billion to $61.4 billion over the ten year period...

However, UNCTAD officials conceded that further study and clarification was needed on how to most accurately define and measure cultural production in a globalized economy. ..." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

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ADB Chief Warns On Asia Growth

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"Growth in Asia's developing economies is likely to slacken this year because of the US slowdown and higher fuel prices, the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday.

Haruhiko Kuroda told the FT the ADB's next set of forecasts, due to be published in March, would put regional growth - including China but excluding Japan - at 'slightly less' than 8 percent. ...

Kuroda said that rising Asian inflation would be 'a really serious issue this year', which governments would have to confront by eliminating or reducing domestic subsidies, in particular for fuel after oil briefly breached $100 a barrel earlier this month.

Kuroda would not comment on specific countries but he said subsidy arrangements were 'unsustainable' in the longer term, even if many Asian governments might use their 'fairly sound fiscal position' to delay further reform. ...He predicted Japanese growth this year of about 2 percent, thanks to a pick-up in the second half. ..." [The Financial Times (UK)]

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Living Standards Set To Suffer Strain

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"Rich countries will struggle to achieve the rises in living standards their citizens think are normal unless they sustain faster increases in economic efficiency, according to a report on Tuesday from the Conference Board, the international business organization.

The Board's international comparison of labor productivity in 2007 shows sluggish growth in advanced economies compared with rapid improvements in many emerging markets. ... (that) now seem able to sustain much faster increases in economic efficiency as they catch up with their richer counterparts.

China's productivity growth rate has been accelerating to more than 10 percent in 2007, something [Conference Board Executive Director Bart] van Ark thinks is now more sustainable because there is increasing evidence of innovation and the movement of people from agrarian living to industrial working.

India is also sustaining rapid productivity growth, but not all emerging economies are alike, with Brazil struggling with low productivity growth and its economic improvement coming from more employment. ..." [The Financial Times (UK)]

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Also in this edition: Briefly Noted...

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Briefly Noted... Nigeria will not pour more cash into power, having spent $10 billion in the last seven years with little to show for it, until it has a clear idea of how to revamp the sector, President Umaru Yar'Adua said on Monday. [Reuters/Factiva]

The EU could cut its aid to Kenya over concerns about disputed elections, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told a meeting of the European Parliament's development committee on Monday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, who wraps up his tour of several European countries in Madrid on Monday, defended the reforms undertaken by President Evo Morales and said that his country needs investment with technology transfer to help it overcome poverty. [EFE/Factiva]

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will make an official three-day visit to China beginning Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday, citing Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Kuwait wants to fight rising real estate prices and ensure a decent living standard for citizens after inflation hit record levels, state news agency KUNA said on Monday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Finance ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the UK will meet Thursday afternoon in Paris to discuss the recent turbulence in European markets, the French Finance Ministry said in a statement Monday. The ministers will take the opportunity to review the initiatives undertaken following the European council meeting in October and the ECOFIN meeting in December, it said. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

The EU is hoping to form particularly close ties with Japan on climate change in the run-up to this year's summit of the G8 leading industrialized countries in July, despite some differences over how to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, EU Ambassador to Japan, Hugh Richardson told reporters in Tokyo. [Kyodo News (Japan)]

The EU promised Monday that its new push to promote biofuels will try to prevent harming the environment or adding to greenhouse gas levels as the rush toward the cash crop worries environmentalists. [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Fortis is to launch the ABN AMRO World Bank Eco-3 Plus note through its retail banking network in Belgium and Luxembourg. The sustainable investment product will also be offered through the Dutch ABN AMRO network which is now owned by Fortis and by related online banking services. [Banking Newslink/Factiva]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will join the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain on Tuesday to open a two-day forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, a UN-backed initiative aimed at encouraging dialogue between the West and Muslim countries. The event will be attended by dozens of government members, representatives of international organizations, civil society, the media and philanthropic foundations from some 80 countries. [The Associated Press/Factiva]