Kell: 'Climate change is bad for business'

1000 companies as well as powerhouses such as BlackRock, BT Pension or Rockefeller- and Rothschildfunds are pushing for a global carbon deal. UN Global Compact founder Georg Kell tells why.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Kell, The United Nations has won some unexpected allies in the fight against global warming.

Georg Kell: For the first time, the private sector has argued in favor of pricing externalities. This is a breakthrough because usually business blocks climate action on a national level. Investors are actually making the case for putting a significant price on carbon. Polluters are making the case to be charged. That has never happened before. This is a very promising major development which will encourage policy makers.

The COP climate conferences showed very limited results in the past two decades because big companies lobbied against new climate laws and most heads of state didn’t show up. Can you comment?

Georg Kell together with Statoil CEO Helge
 Lund, José Manuel Entrecanales Domecq,
Chairman and CEO of Spanish wind energy
 company Acciona and Frank Pegan, CEO
 of the Australian Pension Fund Catholic
Super (FLTR)

Now 73 countries, including Russia and China, have signed a declaration which fights global warming. 120 Heads of State, even US President Barack Obama and the French President Hollande, attended the recent UN Climate Summit in September. Ban Ki-moon also mobilized the streets: More than 400,000 people participated in the Climate March in New York. Most importantly, however, 1000 companies made the case for pricing carbon. Unthinkable only two years ago.

What caused this change?

Extreme weather and sea water level rises are not just a horror scenario any more. Storms, floods, droughts and water scarcity can disrupt almost any planned economic activity. There is big nervousness going on for good reason. The exposure to such risks has increased enormously. Climate change is bad for business.

Hurricane Sandy recently flooded huge parts of New York. Do real estate owners such as the Rockefeller Family support the UN because they are now getting "wet feet”?

Yes, it’s a mixture of many things. Obviously the fear of property losses is a major factor. Much of the world's wealth, about 60 percent, is invested in property and infrastructure. For the first time the investor community is actually realizing that their future asset performance is seriously under threat.

Financial powerhouses such as BlackRock, BT Pension Scheme and the Rothschild & Cie Gestion Group, have just signed a call on governments to implement a major global carbon pricing. Some of the asset owners who represent about 24 trillion dollars did more than this.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, built with profits from their great-grandfather's Standard Oil Company, is now selling investments in the fossil fuel industry and is putting pressure on companies that are adding to climate change. Rockefeller Brothers will abandon companies reliant on coal and tar sands because carbon is now recognized as the evil in the game. Scientific evidence strongly shows that carbon is the cause of global warming. You cannot deny this any more.

George Kell says greenhouse gas emission will have a high priece in the future.

The IPCC has just released a report that we need to cut carbon emissions by 40 - 70 percent before 2050 if we aim to limit global warming below two degrees. What’s your take on this?

This is why pricing carbon high enough is essential. It provides incentives to move towards an energy efficient low carbon consumption and production. Many companies still have a double-faced identity: One the one hand showing a bit of green credentials, on the other hand lobbying against carbon action. They focus on short term profits. Therefore, we need to give strong signals and strong incentives. A quick transition is possible. Philips Lighting already switched 40 percent of its turnover to energy efficient LED. Unilever and Nestlé have invested large sums in to a sustainable supply chain.

Can subsidies be shifted to renewable energy?

Yes, 500 billion dollars are spend are annually to subsidize fossil fuels. We have to get rid of perverse subsidies, stop using dirty diesel and coal, and invest in green technologies.

For decades the oil industry was one the biggest opponents of renewable energies. Now UN Global Compact members such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Statoil have signed a call for a global carbon pricing. How come?

Getting oil on board is a very important step. For almost 10 years, the UN Global Compact and others have been working on winning the business community, to get them to realize that sustainably and a natural system that can support all of us is good for business. Many companies have discovered that energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint gives them a competitive advantage. Greenhouse gas emission will be priced highly in the future.

How high?

The Norwegian government charges its oil and gas industry with a CO2 tax of up to 75 dollar per ton. This has made Norway a leader in carbon-efficient oil and gas production. Helge Lund, the CEO of Statoil, said an international price on carbon should be at least 100 dollar per ton. This is a start.

This will increase energy cost significantly. What about the losers, such as the coal industry?

There are always winners and losers. The world has to adapt to changes. A low carbon world opens up a whole universe of new business opportunities: new products, new services, and new solutions. It will push green growth and create many new jobs. A major shift to renewable energy has made Denmark an export leader of green technology .The Danish think tank Sustainia just nominated Newlight Tech for an award. The US based company developed a process to take CO2 out of the air and transform it into carbon negative plastics.

Greenhouse emissions don't care about national boarders. What about major polluters such as China?

Working on climate issues is a huge opportunity to also revive collaboration among states. China is putting in place a national pricing system for carbon next year. This will be the biggest carbon market. China is now also the biggest investor in renewable energies.

82 percent of the world's energy is still produced by fossil fuels. Do you think the UN will have a chance to close a global deal on carbon pricing at the COP21 climate summit in Paris next year?

It's in the cards. Not pricing pollution and carbon emissions is the biggest market distortion in human history. The voices of those who make the case for pricing carbon are getting louder and stronger. Our job is now to win more companies to lobby for carbon pricing and to encourage policy makers to be courageous. The world is longing for solutions.

Georg Kell is the founder and executive director of UN Global Compact. Global Compact members are signing a declaration in which they express their commitment for an ethical way of conducting business. With more than 8000 members the UN Global Compact is the biggest corporate sustainability organization.

Peter O’Neill, head of the Rockefeller family and great-great-grandson of John D
Rockefeller, along with Neva Rockefeller Goodwin (second from the right_, 
great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, and Stephen B Heintz, president of
the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

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Warren Buffett Ready to Increase Renewable Energy Investment to $30 Billion

One of the wealthiest men in the U.S., Warren Buffett said Monday
that he would double his renewable energy investments. Video
screenshot: Georgetown University/YouTube

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

Jokowi Tells Obama He’ll Keep Fighting Terrorism

'Indonesia has played an extraordinary role in promoting pluralism,' American president says

Jakarta Globe, Robertus Wardhy, Nov 10, 2014

US President Barack Obama, right, gestures during a bilateral meeting with
 President Joko Widodo, left, in Beijing on Monday. (Reuters Photo/Kevin Lamarque)

Beijing. President Joko Widodo has promised to continue combating terrorism and extremists as he met US President Barack Obama for the first time on Monday.

Joko and Obama were attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing this week, before departing to Myanmar to attend the East Asia Summit on Wednesday.

This is Joko’s first international summit as head of state, testing the former furniture businessman’s diplomatic skills.

Obama praised his Indonesian counterpart, calling Indonesia a model for nations with large Muslim populations.

“As one of the world’s largest democracies and also one with a large Islamic population, Indonesia has played an extraordinary role in promoting pluralism and respect for religious diversity,” Obama said, thanking Indonesia for its efforts to isolate extremists.

Obama said his country was keen on increasing its partnerships with Indonesia, stressing his interest in Joko’s flagship programs and reforms.

“I know that President Joko Widodo has a strong agenda and ambition toward reform and increasing the welfare of Indonesians. The United States is willing to become a partner in this reform process,” he said.

The US president noted Joko’s ambition to transform Indonesia into a world maritime powerhouse, saying that Indonesia could play a pivotal role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Joko said he would continue to forge cooperation with the United States to combat terrorism.

“We will continue it. Not just from a security perspective, but also through a cultural and religious approach to isolate and eliminate radicalism and extremism,” he said.

Indonesia a key partner

The United States has been seeking closer ties with Southeast Asian countries as a defense against what it sees as China’s aggression in pursuit of its claims in the South China Sea, as well as Beijing’s increasing economic influence.

Indonesia is seen as a key partner in this goal, as shown by Joko’s predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

To maintain relations with the new Indonesian president, Obama sent a delegation led by Secretary of State John Kerry to attend Joko’s inauguration.

However, Washington is competing with Beijing to draw Indonesia to its side as Chinese President Xi Jinping met first with Joko on Sunday, telling the new Indonesian president that links between the two nations ran deep in history, while quoting an Indonesian proverb to demonstrate emotional ties.

“Joko has a big challenge to maximize gains from Indonesia’s relations with big powers while maintaining neutrality,” said Bantarto Bandoro, an international relations expert at the Indonesian Defense University.

“But I think Indonesia has all the cards to do it as long as we play it correctly,” he added.

Shinzo Abe, Vladimir Putin

Later on Monday, Joko also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also expressed an interest in Joko’s maritime ambitions.

Indonesia and Japan “are both maritime countries, both countries must contribute to peace and justice,” Abe said.

“The Japanese government wishes to make some contribution in [Indonesia’s maritime] industry and the development of human resources,” he added.

Another world leader who held talks with Joko was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sought to forge stronger economic partnerships with the new Indonesian government.

Partnerships between the two countries have mainly centered on the defense industry.

“Indonesia and Russia have good partnerships and histories,” Putin said.

“There is slow growth in terms of our economic partnerships. I hope in this forum we can discuss how to address this shortcoming.”

Joko welcomed more investment and partnerships from Russia, saying it had a lot to offer in developing Indonesia’s energy, transportation, agriculture and manufacturing potential.

In his maiden speech at an international forum on Sunday, Joko pitched his country as a prime investment destination to regional business leaders, pledging to slash fuel subsidies that have crimped the government’s ability to spend on social and infrastructure development.

Describing the $27 billion that Jakarta spends annually to hold down fuel prices as “huge,” Joko told the APEC CEO Summit that the savings would be used to build much-needed ports, railways and other infrastructure for the sprawling nation and help improve the livelihoods of rural residents.

Additional reporting from Reuters

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, second from right, and Chinese President Xi
Jinping, second from left, attend a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in
Beijing on Nov. 9, 2014. (Reuters Photo/Jason Lee)

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Pope Francis appoints first Briton as Vatican foreign minister

Liverpudlian Paul Gallagher, 60, currently working as ambassador to Australia, gains senior post after papal reshuffle

The Guardian, John Hooper in Rome, Sunday 9 November 2014

Pope Francis has appointed Briton Paul Gallagher as foreign minister, a post regarded
as a stepping stone to the papacy. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

Pope Francis has appointed the first Briton to be the Vatican’s foreign minister – a post regarded as a possible stepping stone to the papacy itself.

Paul Gallagher was promoted as part of a reshuffle at senior levels of the Vatican, which Francis used to sideline the main spokesman of a conservative faction at last month’s synod. The 60-year-old, from Liverpool, is currently the Vatican’s nuncio (ambassador) in Australia.

An acquaintance of Gallagher, speaking on condition of anonymity, described him as “a discreet man, but with a calm and engaging personality. He is not over-formal and really quite proactive.”

Gallagher, who holds the rank of archbishop, will head the Vatican section charged with overseeing its worldwide diplomacy.

Before being sent to Australia, Gallagher had served as the pope’s envoy in Guatemala and Burundi, both countries that had been torn apart by civil war. In Burundi, he took over from a predecessor who had been assassinated. Archbishop Michael Courtney, from Ireland, died of gunshot wounds after his car was attacked in 2003 as he was returning to the capital, Bujumbura.

Gallagher also spent five years as an official in the secretariat of state, the Vatican department that doubles as a form of interior ministry, looking after relationships with the various national churches, and as a foreign ministry. He is regarded as well versed in the often Byzantine ways of the Roman curia, the central administration of the Catholic church.

In Australia, where he has been the nuncio since 2012, he found himself at a focal point of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic church: more than 100 Catholic priests have been charged with abuse-related offences there.

Last year, Gallagher was involved in a standoff with the Cunneen inquiry into cases of sex abuse in New South Wales. He at first claimed that documents sought by the inquiry were covered by diplomatic privilege, but surrendered them last December.

Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker, told the Guardian: “We are delighted to see a British secretary for relations with states for the first time in history. Paul Gallagher is a very capable man, highly regarded here in Rome both by foreign diplomats and within the curia.

“He is a good linguist and a good diplomat – someone who has served in difficult and dangerous places. He has an impressive track record.”

The reshuffle that led to Gallagher’s promotion followed a two-week gathering of Roman Catholic leaders that ended in a setback for the pope after traditionalists blocked the endorsement of even a watered-down document proposing that gay men and women “be welcomed with respect and sensitivity” into the church.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American, came to be seen as the leading representative of the conservatives after an interview criticising an earlier and more radical draft. While the synod was still in session, Burke signalled to Buzzfeed that he was going to be dismissed from his job as prefect of the Segnatura Apostolica, the church’s supreme court. When asked who had told him, Burke replied: “Who do you think?”

A two-line statement from the Vatican confirmed that the 66-year-old American had been made patron of the Sovereign Order of Malta, a largely ceremonial post normally bestowed on retired cardinals or given as a second job.

Gallagher’s predecessor, the French prelate Dominique Mamberti, takes over Burke’s job and is expected to be made a cardinal.

Related Article:

Bishops scrap welcome to gays in sign of split

Merkel says fall of Wall proves 'dreams can come true'

Yahoo – AFP, 9 Nov 2014

Chancellor Angela Merkel opens an exhibition dedicated to the Berlin Wall during

 commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary of its fall on November 9, 2014 in

 the German capital (AFP Photo/Soeren Stache)

Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday praised the courageous citizens who peacefully brought down the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, calling the momentous day proof that "dreams can come true".

Merkel, who grew up in the communist East, was speaking at a memorial site to the 138 people killed in Berlin alone as they tried to flee the Soviet-allied state.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C)

shakes hands with children as she walks

along a preserved segment of the Berlin

Wall on November 9, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Fabrizio Bensch)

"The Berlin Wall, this symbol of state abuse cast in concrete, took millions of people to the limits of what is tolerable, and all too many beyond it," she said. "It broke them."

"Little wonder that after the border opened, people took apart the hated structure with hammers and chisels. Within a year it had all but vanished from the cityscape."

Merkel, in an unusually emotional speech, said the lesson of November 9, 1989 was that "we can change things for the better -- that is the message of the fall of the Berlin Wall".

She said this was true for her reunified country and the world, "especially for the people in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and in many, many other regions of the world where liberty and human rights are threatened or being trampled".

"It is a message of confidence in our ability to tear down walls today and in future, walls of dictatorship, violence, ideology and hostility," she said.

Visitors look through a preserved segment

 of the Berlin Wall decorated with roses

during the commemorations to mark the

25th anniversary its fall on November 9,

2014 (AFP Photo/Tobias Schwarz)

"Too good to be true? A daydream that will burst like a bubble? No, the fall of the Wall has shown us that dreams can come true."

Merkel recalled that November 9 is also the anniversary of Nazi Germany's 1938 anti-Jewish "Kristallnacht" pogroms that marked the start of the Holocaust, "a day of shame and disgrace".

"How could that date ever become a day of happiness and joy?" she asked.

Merkel thanked those abroad who paved the way for the historic events, from the Czech and Polish pro-democracy movements to Moscow's "glasnost" and "perestroika" reforms, saying that in 1989 "the Iron Curtain had already been torn".

"We Germans will never forget that the freedom and democracy movements in central and eastern Europe paved the way for the happiest moment in our recent history," she said.

People light candles at the National 

Memorial for the Victims of the Berlin 

Wall during commemorations to mark

 the 25th anniversary of its fall on

 November 9, 2014 in the German

capital (AFP Photo/Tobias Schwarz)

Merkel was speaking at the Berlin Wall Memorial which features a 220-metre (720-foot) section of what was once a 155-kilometre (100-mile) concrete cordon encircling West Berlin.

The street saw dramatic scenes as residents tried to flee the Soviet sector, sliding down ropes and jumping from windows into the rescue nets of West Berlin firefighters -- or, in tragic cases, to their deaths.

Merkel honoured the East Germans who found the courage to protest against a repressive regime that beat and arrested demonstrators, and which in June 1989 openly praised China's bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown.

"Tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands took to the streets against state domination, repression and economic mismanagement," she said, pointing out that parents among them were uncertain they would see their children again that night.

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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… The Great Shift began in 1987 with the Harmonic Convergence. The first part of that shift ended in 1999. It's important that you understand that this first portion of the shift included the galactic alignment. For the true galactic alignment energy began in the first phase of the shift. As my partner indicated, this astronomical alignment is not coming in 2012. It's already here. This is not esoteric information, but something that your astronomers will verify with their telescopes and computers. The ancients did their best, and a good estimate it was. But the 2012 date for the galactic alignment is incorrect.

There are those of you sitting in the chairs who know what I mean. These past 20 years have been remarkable for you, have they not? Look at what has taken place and the awakening and changes that have occurred... all without any prophesy that foretold of them. Those who walk this stage today were not interested in spiritual things 20 years ago. Oh, they may have been seekers, but they had no core, they had no center, they had no purpose. This includes the one who channels in front of you [Lee Carroll], and the ones that have channelled before me on this stage [Geoff Hoppe-Tobias]. Twenty years ago, they were all separate and unknown to each other, without any spiritual purpose. They had no idea what Kryon was or Tobias was. None at all. Their lives were those of men with careers and of an age where starting another passion wasn't something they would do. But they did, and it coincided with the Great Shift.

Remember, there is no such thing as predestined prophecy. God cannot tell you what's going to happen, for on this planet, humans are in charge. "If that's the case, Kryon, how can you tell us about a plan?" It is because these things I speak of are the potentials in front of us, generated by the consciousness of humanity. Therefore, what I give you is something we read into the consciousness of potentials. They are not predictions, but potential energies of what you are about to accomplish as you act upon the energy of the consciousness you have now. Much has happened in these 20 years, and it's part of the shift. Here was the plan from 1987 to 1999 - we told you the following things would take place:

Remember, as I speak to you now, this is history. But when I gave it to you in 1989, it was your future. The first thing that was at hand was moving the magnetic grid. That's why I came here. The grid group came in 1989 and left in 2002, and the grid was moved for the reasons I've been giving you and itemizing for 20 years. It was to build a matrix for a change in your DNA. This is, indeed, what happened, for the grid's magnetic field moved greatly in that time, and it has intersected with the magnetic field of your DNA elements. This overlap has transmitted information and energy and a new quantumization to your DNA, which has always been quantumly prepared for this.

The second item in this first phase was the voiding of the energy of Armageddon. Now, for those of you who think nothing happened, a great deal happened: This planet moved into another energy at that time. One of the largest political systems on the planet fell over and didn't come back, known as the Soviet Union. Again, we say to you there is no Nostradamus quatrain that predicted this, and that should tell you something. It changed the future greatly, yet no prophet called it. Something was happening that was out of synch with everything you had been told. This one event changed the future of a potential war that would never happen. The Armageddon scenario simply didn't take place. Look back at your prophesy, but clearly it said it would. …”


“… Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]

These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. …”

China's President Xi touts 'Asia-Pacific dream' ahead of APEC summit

Chinese President Xi has told a gathering of business leaders that his country's economy offers "lasting and infinite promise." Beijing is using its APEC host status to assert its ambitions as a leader in the region.

Deutsche Welle, 9 Nov 2014

In a speech to business and political leaders in Beijing on Sunday, President Xi Jinping touted the benefits of Chinese development and described his vision of an "Asia-Pacific dream" based on a "shared destiny" for the region.

"For the Asia-Pacific and the world at large, China's development will generate huge opportunities and benefits, and hold lasting and infinite promise," Xi told the gathering, ahead of the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit which kicks off in the Chinese capital on Monday.

Beijing last hosted the event in 2001, and it's seizing the opportunity to promote its credentials as the world's second largest economy and a leader in the region.

"We have the responsibility to create and realize an Asia-Pacific dream for the people of the region," Xi said.

As "China's overall national strength grows," he added, it would focus on "managing its own affairs well" while looking to "bring more benefits to the Asia-Pacific and the world."

China's outbound investment would exceed $1.25 trillion (1 trillion euros) over the next 10 years, Xi told business leaders, adding that the country would import more than $10 trillion in goods and send more than 500 million tourists abroad in the next five years.

China's free trade push

Next week's APEC summit will be attended by leaders from the forum's 21 member countries, including US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

One of the top items on the agenda is expected to be a Beijing-backed free trade initiative for the region - known as the Free-Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) - widely seen as an attempt by China to counter US domination of global trade.

The US is also promoting its own regional trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which excludes Beijing and is part of Washington's strategic "pivot" to Asia.

The APEC group accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and almost half of its trade.

Silk Road Fund

As part of another initiative aimed at increasing China's influence in regional and international trade, President Xi on Saturday pledged $40 billion for a "Silk Road Fund" to boost trade ties between Asian nations. He made the announcement following a meeting with leaders from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar and Tajikistan in Beijing, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

The fund will finance infrastructure and cooperation in industry to increase connectivity across Asia, Xi said.

"Efforts by a single or several countries are far from adequate," Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying. "Only by building extensive partnerships where all will think and work in unison can we expect to achieve positive results."

Last month, China and 20 other Asian governments launched a $50-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to finance infrastructure in the region - a move the US objected to, saying such work was already being done by the World Bank.

nm/kms(AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)

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Americans freed by North Korea arrive in US

Yahoo – AFP, Tim Exton, 9 Nov 2014

US citizens Kenneth Bae(R) and Matthew Miller were held in North Korea for two 

years and seven months respectively (AFP Photo/Handout)

The plane carrying Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller touched down at around 9:00 pm (0500 GMT) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, following a secret mission by US intelligence chief James Clapper to secure their freedom.

Bae, a Korean-American missionary who has served two years in prison, expressed thanks to those who had been "supporting me and lifting me up and not forgetting me."

This undated picture released from North

 Korea's official Korean Central News

Agency (KCNA) on November 8, 2014

shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C)

inspecting the Jongsong pharmaceutical

general factory (AFP Photo/Kns)

The men disembarked the US government jet with shaved heads and carrying luggage, then embraced family and friends on the tarmac.

North Korea's surprise release of Bae and Miller followed the equally unexpected decision by Pyongyang last month to free 56-year-old US national Jeffrey Fowle.

In a brief press conference, Bae said he was also grateful to those "supporting my family as well during this tremendous difficult time," and asked for supporters to not forget "the people of North Korea."

President Barack Obama hailed the latest releases as "wonderful," as State Department officials said there had been no "quid pro quo" deal with North Korea to secure Bae and Miller's freedom.

US Director of National Intelligence Clapper traveled to North Korea and "engaged on behalf of the United States in discussions with DPRK authorities about the release of two citizens," a State Department statement said.

A senior administration official said Clapper carried a "brief message" from Obama to North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un indicating he was his personal envoy to bring the Americans home.

"It was a skillful move on the part of the administration," former US envoy to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who negotiated with the North in the past, told CNN.

Obama, speaking just hours before leaving for a tour of Asia, praised Clapper's role in the "challenging" mission.

"I think it is a wonderful day for them and their families and obviously we are very grateful for their safe return," he said.

Former basketball player Dennis Rodman, who has talked up his cozy relationship with Kim, claimed his trips to the country had triggered Bae's release.

"I understand the crimes (Bae) committed, and ask you my dear friend, the highly respected Marshall Kim Jong-Un for his release to show my country how loving and compassionate you and the DPRK can be," Rodman wrote in a letter to the leader in January released by celebrity website TMZ.

Family joyful, relieved

Director of US National Intelligence James

 Clapper speaks on July 22, 2014 at the

 Newseum in Washington, DC (AFP Photo/

Alex Wong)

Bae marked the two-year anniversary of his detention this week.

The sickly 46-year-old said Saturday he is "recovering at this time" when asked about his health.

Bae was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years' hard labor.

His sister Terri Chung expressed joy at her brother's release.

"We finally are here. My brother is home. All of our hopes and prayers for this moment have finally come true," she said, speaking before Bae took to the podium.

"We're thankful that God never abandoned us even though the last years have been a journey that we wouldn't wish on anybody -- even when it seemed like there was no hope."

She said the family were also thankful "for the mercy of leaders in North Korea."

Bae was born in South Korea and his family came to the United States in 1985, his sister said.

Miller, 24, had been sentenced to six years' hard labor by the North Korean Supreme Court following his arrest in April, after he allegedly ripped up his visa at immigration and demanded asylum.

Washington had condemned Pyongyang over the detentions, saying the Americans were held as political hostages to extract diplomatic concessions.

Nuclear program

North Korea has expressed interest in the past in reviving six-party talks with the US and others about its nuclear program, but Washington insists Pyongyang must first show a tangible commitment to de-nuclearization.

US President Barack Obama, pictured at

the White House, on November 6, 2014,

hailed the latest releases as "wonderful"

(AFP Photo/Yuri Gripas)

A State Department official insisted the release of Bae and Miller did not reflect a shift in posture over the mothballed nuclear negotiations.

"North Korea knows what it needs to do if it wants a better relationship with the international community and wants to end its isolation and pariah status," the official told AFP.

"North Korea must show it is serious and prepared to abide by its commitments, particularly concerning denuclearization. And they must take significant steps to improve their human rights record.

"The release of our citizens is unrelated."

As recently as Tuesday, North Korea was maintaining its defiant stance, ruling out dialogue with the United States about its nuclear program and human rights record and accusing the US of trying to destroy its system.

The North "will never allow any human rights dialogue or nuclear one with the enemy keen to overthrow it," a foreign ministry spokesman said through the official Korean Central News Agency.

Asia-Pacific ministers pledge to step up graft fight

Yahoo – AFP, 8 Nov 2014

Visitors walk past a sign promoting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

(APEC) summit in Beijing on November 8, 2104 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Beijing (AFP) - China secured backing from Asia-Pacific ministers Saturday to deepen anti-graft efforts, in a move that dovetails with a high-profile Communist Party "fox hunt" for corrupt officials who have fled abroad.

The anti-corruption proposal is said to have been pushed by China and backed by the United States at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Beijing, which culminates in a two-day summit of leaders from 21 member-economies starting Monday.

China's President Xi Jinping speaks to 

other leaders at a meeting on the

 sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic

 Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing

 on November 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/Kim

Kyung-Hoon)

US Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the moved as a "major step forward" in combatting graft.

"Corruption not only creates an unfair playing field, it not only distorts economic relationships, but corruption also steals from the people of every country the belief that the system can work for everybody," he told reporters in Beijing.

But it remained unclear how effective the move would be, amid apprehension in some countries over returning suspects to China due to fears they could be subject to abuse and denied legal due process.

China in July launched its so-called "Fox Hunt" -- a campaign to bring back corrupt officials or their family members who have moved abroad, taking ill-gotten gains with them.

Since taking office last year, President Xi Jinping has made the graft fight a central theme of his administration as public anger swells over widespread corruption.

A report attributed to China's central bank and leaked three years ago said that as many as 18,000 corrupt officials had left the country between the 1990s and 2008, taking as much as $123 billion with them.

'Deny safe haven'

In a statement, APEC ministers pledged to step up nascent anti-corruption efforts with a regional commitment to "deny safe haven to those engaged in corruption, including through extradition".

Regional leaders gather in Beijing on November 8, 2014 for the Asia-Pacific 

Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the Chinese capital (AFP Photo/

Kim Kyung-Hoon)

But they stressed that such moves would be "subject to domestic laws and policies" and needed to be carried out "in accordance with fundamental legal principles of each economy".

"We, APEC member economies, recognise that corruption impedes economic sustainability and development, threatens social security and fairness, undermines the rule of law, and erodes government accountability, as well as public trust," the statement said.

It pledged to establish an office for the day-to-day running of the APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies (ACT-NET), a body coordinating anti-corruption efforts that was launched by Chinese and US officials in August.

The office will "assist in detecting, investigating and prosecuting corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade" and seek cooperation on tracking cases across borders.

China has recently announced stepped-up efforts to extradite former officials suspected of corruption from countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

China's President Xi Jinping (C) speaks to

 other leaders attending the Dialogue On 

Strengthening Connectivity Partnership in

 Beijing on November 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Australian police said last month that they would work with their Chinese counterparts to track down and seize illegal assets, but foreign concerns over the country's legal system linger.

Anti-corruption efforts with the ruling Communist Party are carried out by an internal body which operates without any legal oversight, and there is concern that the crackdown may be used for political faction-fighting.

APEC Secretariat Executive Director Alan Bollard said Thursday the proposal had been championed by China and the United States.

Bollard said any anti-corruption effort "needs to happen within the different laws and legal structures" of APEC members, but the statement did not spell out how this would work.

"Corruption impedes economic sustainability and development, threatens social security and fairness," the ministers added.

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Upgraded anti-graft office to catch more crooked Chinese officials