Thursday 13 June 2019
FT
BUSINESS DAY
45
FINANCIAL TIMES
World Business Newspaper
Nicolle Liu, Alice Woodhouse, Eli Meixler and Sue-Lin Wong
P
rotesters fought pitched battles with police in central Hong Kong on Wednesday in an eruption of public anger against an extradition bill that critics see as a fundamental threat to the territory’s civic freedoms and rule of law. Police used pepper spray, rubber bullets and tear gas and by 7pm Hong Kong time had cleared demonstrators from immediately outside the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s de facto parliament, following violent scenes that left several people injured. But by 9pm, thousands of protesters remained in a stand-off with police in the centre of the city. “The police used some aggressive actions towards protesters today,” said one 24-year-old demonstrator, who identified himself only as Joe. He joined the protests around 8am but took refuge in a McDonald’s restaurant in the early evening. “They shot consecutively towards the protesters, who had no protection — only gloves and goggles. We cannot fight back,” he added, saying he watched eight officers surround a protester “and beat him”. Lawmakers, who had been due to debate the bill, were forced to delay the session because of the protests, which shut down large parts of Hong Kong, Asia’s premier financial centre, since the early morning. The government says the
Hong Kong extradition bill protests erupt into violence Opponents shut down city in bid to block proposed law seen as threat to territory’s freedoms proposed law, which will allow criminal suspects for the first time to be extradited to mainland China, is needed to fill a legal loophole allowing Hong Kong to be potentially used as a haven for criminal fugitives. But opponents fear it will allow China to extradite political opponents or others from the city on potentially trumped up charges. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong ’s chief executive, has vowed to push ahead with the bill, ignoring a protest against the law on Sunday that was Hong Kong’s largest since its handover in 1997 to China from Britain, with an estimated 1m taking to the streets. The government has not yet set a new deadline for resumption of debate on the bill. Ms Lam wept in a Hong Kong television interview on Wednesday. “Some people are saying that I am selling out Hong Kong, how can I sell out Hong Kong? I was born and raised here,” she said. But she insisted that she would not withdraw the bill. “I have never felt guilty because of this matter because I just said that the initial intention of our work is still solid and correct.” The “one country, two systems” framework agreed at Hong Kong’s handover was meant to guarantee the territory’s civic freedoms and legal system — unique in China — for 50 years. But critics argue these have gradually been eroded
over the past five years, starting with a crackdown on the prodemocracy Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. “Don’t underestimate the anger among average people. The young people are . . . the front line but actually there are so many people out there — middle class, working class — who are very, very angry,” said Charles Mok, a former IT executive who represents the sector in Hong Kong’s partially democratic Legislative Council. “They are angry because the
government isn’t listening to them.” Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index dropped 1.7 per cent on the protests, in spite of the announcement that the debate in the legislature had been delayed. “It’s not a success,” said a 30-year-old protester in reaction to the news the government had postponed the debate, adding that it could be rescheduled for any time. China’s foreign ministry said Beijing supported the bill. “Any behaviour that undermines
prosperity and stability in the territory will be opposed by mainstream public opinion in Hong Kong,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. But Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen said she was shocked that the government used rubber bullets against a peaceful protest. “When the freedom of the people of Hong Kong is facing a retreat under the trap of ‘one country, two systems’ set by China, we should resolutely guard the democracy and freedom of Taiwan,” said Ms Tsai.
VW and Goldman lead $1bn investment Agritech start-up Indigo to pay farmers for soil carbon capture Boston-based group wants to create market for selling carbon credits to companies in Swedish battery project Emiko Terazono and Leslie Hook
Northvolt plans to build two factories to challenge dominance of Tesla and Asian rivals Richard Milne
A
European attempt to build a battery maker that can challenge Tesla and Asian rivals has won the backing of Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs, Ikea and BMW, helping the Swedish project to raise $1bn of fresh capital. Northvolt, a Swedish company set up by former Tesla executives, is using the $1bn to build its first factory in northern Sweden and a newly announced second plant in Lower Saxony in co-operation with VW, which is based in the northern German state. The fundraising — on top of a promised €350m loan by the European Investment Bank — puts the Swedish group in pole position to be the first to establish a large European plant to take on Tesla’s gigafactory and those of Asian rivals such as Panasonic. “Today is not only a great milestone for Northvolt, it also marks a key moment for Europe that clearly shows that we are ready to compete in the coming wave of electrification,” said Peter Carlsson, Northvolt’s chief executive and co-founder. European carmakers have faced criticism for being slower
into electric cars than some Asian manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan as well as Tesla. VW said last year that it would spend €30bn over five years in an attempt to boost its fledgling production of electric cars to 3m a year by 2025. VW and Goldman’s merchant banking arm are leading the $1bn equity fundraising for Northvolt. Others taking part include BMW, the IMAS Foundation from the Ikea furniture empire, and the Swedish pension funds AMF and Folksam. Construction work will begin in August for the battery cell factory in Skelleftea, close to the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, with annual capacity set to start at 16 gigawatt hours and be increased to at least 32GWh. Tesla’s first gigafactory in Nevada in the US has a theoretical capacity of 35GWh per year but is running at about two-thirds of that, chief executive Elon Musk said in April. VW and Northvolt are setting up a joint venture to build a 16GWh factory to open in late 2023 or early 2024 in Salzgitter, close to the German carmaker’s headquarters. In total, VW is investing €1bn together with Northvolt. www.businessday.ng
I
ndigo Agriculture, a Bostonbased agritech start-up, will start paying farmers to store carbon in soil, as it seeks to spur a novel market that could help address climate change. The new initiative is part of a growing field of climate-related agricultural practices — which have been supported by companies including General Mills and Cargill — that seek to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Indigo, which has raised $650m from investors including Baillie Gifford and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, said the initiative was part of its efforts to encourage sustainable agricultural practices and address climate change. “The potential for agricultural soils to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide is the most hopeful solution I know of to address climate change,” said chief executive David Perry. “This is completely within our ability to execute, and we’re not waiting for new technologies. Founded five years ago, Indigo sells crop microbials to replace chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and operates a digital marketplace for grains akin to an “Ebay for farmers”, as well as a grain transport
https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng
service. Indigo said it hoped to sign up more than 3,000 growers, covering more than 1m acres this year. They will be paid $15 for every tonne of carbon dioxide that is stored underground. It plans to sell the carbon credits that can offset a company’s inherent emissions to the food and agriculture sector. Farming practices such as minimal tilling of the soil when planting, planting cover crops in-between main crops, and crop rotation can all help the soil capture more carbon. Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, then release it back to the air and soil as they decompose. But storing carbon in soil has traditionally been excluded from carbon markets because it is extremely hard to measure how much carbon goes into the soil and how long it stays there. Noah Deich, head of Carbon 180, a consultancy in California, said that storing carbon in soils has sometimes been an afterthought in climate policies because it is difficult to verify how much carbon has been stored. “We know a wide range of practices that almost certainly lead to carbon stored in soils. What we don’t know is exactly how much
@Businessdayng
carbon, and exactly how long that carbon stays in any given field,” he said, calling for more research. Indigo says it will use satellites and image analysis to measure soil carbon sequestration and on-farm emissions. The company is also participating in a decade-long study including tens of thousands of farms to study how carbon is stored in soil. An increasing number of agriculture and food companies are focusing on carbon offsets as part of their sustainability efforts. Earlier this year, a group of agricultural traders and food companies — including Indigo as well as Cargill, General Mills, McDonald’s USA and Mars — launched the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium that encourages farmers and ranchers to adopt conservation management practices to improve soil health and reduce emissions Mr Perry said a farmer would probably be able to capture 2 to 3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per acre a year, meaning additional revenue of $30 to $60 per acre annually. “This is a big impact for farmers,” he said. After the ocean and fossil fuels, soil represents that largest pool of carbon on the planet. Carbon levels in agricultural soils have been depleted due to poor farming practices, and carbon-rich soils are considered more beneficial for plants.