Latest news with #GreenBook
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Will a Green Book revamp help bridge the North-South divide?
Changes to the way the government hands out money to the North have been welcomed - but cynicism remains about whether anything will actually improve. BBC Yorkshire Political Editor James Vincent investigates whether a rewrite of the Green Book will help to bridge the North-South Green Book, the government's document that guides decisions on whether projects are value for money, will be updated by Chancellor Rachel the past, the rules have been seen to favour the South because returns on investment are easier and quicker. Not many people have heard of the Green Book and - if you're not knee-deep in politics like some (hello!) - there is no reason why you should not a book of policies or plans that the government wants to achieve - it's the next level of decision making, behind the a project value for money? How much risk is there? Will it have an impact?Civil servants use it to say yes or no to investment plans and some in Yorkshire think it's holding us back. Sir Steve Houghton has been on Barnsley Council since 1988 - and though there is a risk of him sending me an angry text if I say this - he's been around local government for longer than most."Changes to the Green Book are really, really welcome. We've been calling for this for years and years," he says."To ask places, small towns in the North to give economic returns at the same rate as London for public investment has been a nonsense and still is a nonsense."Sir Steve knows that something built in Barnsley will not have the same immediate financial impact as it would in the South East - but says that's why it is needed more here."Having recognition that you're going to get different returns, you're going to get different benefits in different parts of the country, is a real win for us."It might not hit the public agenda, the Green Book, but in terms of making sure the government can invest in places other than those big cities like London, it's a real step forward." For a long time, whether you had a good business case defined whether you were going to get government money or Cost Ratios (BCR) are the assessments of what the number crunchers in the Treasury think they might get of the changes to the Green Book is to rely on BCRs less and have other benefits included, like societal ones, rather than just government also wants the Treasury to look at what transformational changes might happen in an area because of also wants the Green Book to be smaller. At the moment the guidance can run into thousands of pages. We've been here before though. The Conservatives changed the Green Book under Rishi Sunak's said it was to help areas in the North, but that was undermined by the PM's comments to voters in Tunbridge Wells where he told them he had taken money out of urban deprived Conservatives' Levelling Up Fund was also criticised for weighting the prime minister's constituency of Richmond as in higher need than asked the Conservatives for their view on these changes but they did not respond. 'Raise investment across the country' I sat down with Treasury Minister Torsten Bell to ask him whether Labour would also be accused of funding bias."You obviously do need cost benefit analysis of transport schemes but what we can't have is a system for doing that that is biased against certain parts of the country, that only funnels money to parts of the country that are already successful," he says."We all deserve a public realm that functions, and just because somewhere has lower incomes today doesn't mean that is always the case, in fact our policy should be to start turning that around."But are they heading down the same road as the Conservatives in favouring their own areas?"No, what we're doing is saying we need to raise public investment levels right across the country and we're making sure Yorkshire benefits from that like we are for every region."It's not about setting parts of the country against each other." The reality is that different parts of the country are wealthier than that ever changes is a huge question, and one that has faced every new the gap between North and South is the aim of these structural long will we have to wait to find out if it works? Well, no government has cracked it so far.
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Vadodara's green financing model: VMC launches book on successful bond issue
The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), in partnership with Deloitte, launched 'The Green Book: On Climate Finance and Green Municipal Bonds' in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on the sidelines of a Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) event, following the successful Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listing of Municipal Green bonds in March 2024. Taking VMC's success as a case study and benchmark for other civic bodies eyeing the stock exchange for generating funds, the Green Book shares the efforts undertaken by the VMC in launching Asia's first and a pioneering green bond. 'The Green Book, compiled through a joint effort of VMC and Deloitte, is an attempt to document the success and achievement of the VMC along with details of the efforts that went into listing the Green bond that will inspire other urban local bodies to take similar steps… The process and rules of SEBI are also included in the book,' said VMC Chief Accountant Santosh Tiwari. Tiwari has also been instrumental in the previous successful listing of a five-year Rs 100 crore bond at the BSE on March 23, 2022, for 14 projects under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme and had received 36 bids on the BSE BOND platform for Rs 1,007 crore, which was 10 times the issue size. The success of the listing had also enabled the VMC to become eligible for an incentive of Rs 13 crore from the Central government. The BSE BOND platform is an electronic platform provided by the BSE for the private placement of debt securities. It facilitates online bidding for these securities, aiming to improve price discovery and transparency in the fundraising process. The Green bond was VMC's second market issue. On Monday, Vadodara Mayor Pinky Soni, Municipal Commissioner Arun Babu, Deputy Mayor Chirag Barot, Standing Committee Chairman Dr Sheetal Mistry and Chief Accountant Santosh Tiwari, remained present at the event where SEBI whole-time member Ashwini Bhatia as well as SEBI Executive Director Pramod Rao and Deloitte Executive Director Vivek Mittal released the book. Babu, who took over as the Municipal Commissioner of Vadodara earlier this year, said, 'The bond is an innovative mechanism for green financing in the urban sector. Vadodara is playing a pioneering role in green financing.' The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) in March 2024 had successfully raised Rs 100 crore from the Certified Green Municipal Bond for Sustainable Water Infrastructure, which opened for bidding on the Electronic Bidding Platform (EBP) of BSE. The VMC received 44 bids on the BSE BOND platform for Rs. 1,460 crore within a second of opening the bid. The VMC said that the funds received from the bonds would be deployed in three projects — a 100 Million Litres per Day (MLD) sewage treatment plant (STP) at Sherkhi, a 21 MLD STP and pumping station at Undera and building new auxiliary pumping station (APS), pressures lines and drainage network at Bil village, which will help in disposal of sewage water effectively. Standing Committee Chairman Dr Sheetal Mistry said, 'The VMC has set a regional precedent with the success of the Green bond, which is certified by the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) as a first for India and Asia. The book will provide other urban local bodies to take inspiration and follow the path set by the VMC in raising funds for infrastructure projects without depending solely on Central government grants.' Aimed at fostering sustainable urban development aligned with the Paris Agreement, these bonds are dedicated to enhancing liquid waste water management infrastructure across Vadodara, according to the VMC statement.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
VMC releases book on Green Bonds issue at Sebi event
Vadodara: The successful issuing of Green Bonds by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has become a case study for other civic bodies in the country. The VMC has come up with a book titled 'The Green Book', which can be a guide for those wanting to study the process and utilization of the bonds. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The bond issue of the civic body, which opened on March 1, 2024, was oversubscribed, getting bids amounting to Rs 1,460 crore. It was brought out with the help of the US Treasury office and Deloitte and is considered a landmark in the history of municipal finance using bonds. These bonds were the most subscribed municipal bonds ever in the country. The Green Book, drafted with Deloitte, provides detailed information about how the civic body went about the process of bringing out the bonds. It also talks about the challenges faced by the civic body. The booklet was released at a workshop for municipal corporations organized by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 'pool financing' and 'being market ready'. "The event focused on alternative and smart initiatives to raise money for municipal projects," said VMC standing committee chairman Sheetal Mistry. The workshop was attended by mayor Pinki Soni, VMC commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu, chief accountant Santosh Tiwari and others.
Wales Online
30-06-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Covid jabs to be offered in Wales – this is who can get one
Covid jabs to be offered in Wales – this is who can get one The eligibility for the vaccine has significantly narrowed for the vaccinations this autumn in Wales Over the past four and a half years immunity to Covid-19 has increased and the disease is mild for most people. However with it still occurring regularly in Wales older people are the most vulnerable to hospitalisation and death, according to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Vaccinations for Covid-19 are still being rolled out but the eligibility has reduced since the pandemic in 2020 when they were first introduced. Now the vaccine programme focuses on "targeted vaccination for people who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease including mortality". Jeremy Miles MS, cabinet secretary for health and social care in Wales, has announced the eligibility criteria for those who can get the vaccination as they roll out this autumn. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here . He said: "Eligibility for the autumn 2025 Covid-19 programme will be narrower than in recent years and with similar eligibility to the current spring programme. "This is in line with a transition to a narrower programme overall as high levels of population immunity have developed over the past four and a half years. "The focus of the programme is towards targeted vaccination for people who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease including mortality. Article continues below "This includes older adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed." The changes to the eligibility come after a review by the JCVI, an independent expert advisory committee making recommendations to UK governments about vaccination schedules and vaccine safety. Within the report the JCVI said: "As Covid-19 becomes an endemic disease, and with a move towards standard assessment of cost-effectiveness, the focus of the programme is shifting towards targeted vaccination of the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed. "These are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality." Who is eligible for the vaccine? In autumn 2025 and spring 2026 the following groups will be eligible for a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine: Residents in a care home for older adults All adults aged 75 years and over People aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group as defined in the immunosuppression sections of tables three and four of the Covid-19 chapter of the Green Book. Article continues below The immunosuppression sections of tables three and four of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book includes: people undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression people undergoing radical radiotherapy solid organ transplant recipients bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients anyone with HIV infection at all stages people with multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement disorder, SCID) people who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including, but not limited to anti-TNF, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, and patients receiving protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors people treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil people treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day for adults people with a history of haematological malignancy including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma people who require long-term immunosuppressive treatment for conditions including but not limited to systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, scleroderma, and psoriasis
Korea Herald
13-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Economy faces continued downward pressure amid sluggish domestic demand, export slowdown
South Korea's economy continues to face downward pressure due to delayed recovery in domestic demand and slowing exports amid lingering global trade uncertainties, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment, the Green Book, the Ministry of Economy and Finance pointed to persistent downside risks for the sixth consecutive month, citing weak consumption, sluggish construction investment and ongoing challenges in the labor market, coupled with worsening export conditions. "Recently, the domestic economy has seen a delayed recovery in private consumption and construction investment, while difficulties in employment persist, especially in vulnerable areas," the report said. "Export growth has slowed due to worsening external conditions triggered by US tariff impositions, maintaining overall downward pressure on the economy." Despite adding 245,000 jobs in May -- the first time in 13 months that job additions surpassed the 200,000 mark -- the report noted ongoing employment losses in key industries, such as manufacturing and construction. The manufacturing sector, considered a cornerstone of the South Korean economy, lost 67,000 jobs in May compared with a year earlier, marking the 11th consecutive month of decline. The construction industry shed 106,000 jobs, continuing a downward trend for the 13th straight month. The report also raised concerns over growing global economic risks, noting that trade conditions have deteriorated, leading to heightened volatility in international financial markets. South Korea's exports fell 1.3 percent on-year to $57.3 billion in May, ending a three-month growth streak. The decline was largely attributed to a sharp drop in shipments to the United States, following trade measures implemented by US President Donald Trump's administration. The ministry said it will continue to focus on measures to support the economic recovery, revitalize consumption, and assist vulnerable groups and small merchants. It also pledged full-scale efforts to mitigate the impact of global trade risks, including damage from US tariffs on South Korean companies. (Yonhap)
