The Last Dance?

This afternoon, the Senate is expected to engage in a cloture vote on a national security package that includes the controversial TikTok bill passed by the House over the weekend. By calling for cloture, the Senate is limiting further debate and pushing to wrap things up. President Biden has already expressed his support for the bill and is expected to sign it into law if it passes in the Senate.

Here's what’s actually in the TikTok provision:

• The legislation would bar a covered entity—such as an app store or web hosting service— with more than 1 million monthly active users from distributing, maintaining, or updating social media apps controlled by foreign adversaries (defined as North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran) if the president determines an app presents a significant national security threat. 

• The measure specifically names TikTok or any other application operated by ByteDance as covered by the bill. The ban would also apply to apps controlled by any subsidiary or a successor to ByteDance or TikTok.

• Prohibitions would go into effect within 270 days after enactment unless the covered apps divest from foreign adversary control. For TikTok, this would mean severing ties with ByteDance.

• The bill provides the president with the authority to grant a one-time extension of 90 days if a divestiture is under way. 

• It also requires the president to subject any sale to an interagency review process to determine whether the new controlling entity is a foreign adversary.  

• It requires covered apps to provide all personal data to a US user upon their request prior to a divestiture. The data would be provided in a machine-readable format and include the user’s content and account information.

• The measure would impose civil penalties based on the number of users in the United States for each violation.

On the heels of Earth Day, we’re sharing the FGS Global Climate team’s three key insights for businesses navigating a climate policy arena that is more complex, dynamic, and fast-paced than ever: 

1. The COP29 buzzword is “finance”...  but all eyes are on COP30 in Brazil. COP29 is shaping up to be much more technical and quieter than COP28 in Dubai, with the goal of agreeing on a new global climate finance goal to help developing nations with the energy transition. 
   
   Meanwhile, Brazil looms large, as it will play a unique role in shaping global climate action through its 2024 G20, 2025 BRICS and COP30 presidencies. Major companies and coalitions are already striking up partnerships with the Brazilian government and making plans for COP30 in Belém.
   

2. There is global momentum on nature, biodiversity and finance.
   
   Governments are rapidly advancing efforts to integrate nature protection as a central element in combating the climate crisis, recognizing the substantial domestic economic opportunities this presents.
   
   More countries are also due to publish biodiversity plans with new rules requiring businesses to stop deforestation in their supply chains or demonstrate a biodiversity net gain for certain land uses. 
   
   Finance is also in focus, with governments looking to reinvigorate the voluntary carbon markets to channel investment into nature-based solutions and the prospect of new biodiversity markets emerging.
   
   At the same time, the private sector's role is more crucial than ever. Banks and asset managers are developing new forms of finance to get a wider set of investors deploying capital to nature. Many more companies are launching their nature strategies and committing to more comprehensive nature-related disclosures.

3. The definition of climate leadership has evolved. Policymaker and stakeholder expectations continue to rise for companies and organizations to align their businesses with a net-zero future:

• Ambition and target-setting alone is no longer sufficient. Leadership is now defined by real-world implementation and results.

• Businesses cannot act in isolation. Convening power is critical as sectoral or supply chain interventions are needed for progress.

• Major events can’t just be one-offs. Achieving a leadership position requires consistent campaigning and thematic interventions throughout the year.

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Almost three quarters of Americans believe there is a housing crisis across the country—and more than half say housing affordability will play a role in who they vote for in the 2024 presidential election. These are some findings from a recent survey of housing polling by FGS’ Research and Insights team. Here’s what they learned:

• 72% of Americans say there is a housing crisis across the United States and 56% believe there is a housing crisis in their community.

  • Nineteen percent of Americans say they have struggled to afford housing costs within the last year.

  • Similar shares of Americans who own a home pay a mortgage (26%) and own without a mortgage (24%).

• Over the next year, more consumers think mortgage rates will increase (34%) than decrease (29%). 

• Half of Americans (53%) agree housing affordability plays a role in who they are planning on voting for in the 2024 presidential election.

  • To afford housing-related costs in the past year, 21% of homeowners and renters had to work more hours and 18% had to borrow money from family and friends. 

• 57% of Americans say their housing costs have gone up in the past year.

  • 61% of renters are pessimistic about their ability to one day own a home.

  • Americans say the top two obstacles for owning a home are having enough for a down payment (51%) and high interest rates (50%). 

• Two-thirds of renters (66%) say renting works better for their lifestyle than home-owning.

  • 17% of renters say there is more financial flexibility to renting rather than paying a mortgage.