spring well began as disappointed. thousands of revelers gathered to watch the yearly events. here's how it works. if phil sees his shadow when emerging from the ground, that means another 6 weeks of winter weather. that is exactly what happened in pennsylvania. on wednesday, the groundhog day tradition in the u. s. states back to 1887. you're watching a t w news. don't forget you can always get more news and analysis on our website. it's d w dot com, or you can checks out on social media. instagram and twitter at dw, i'm player richardson in berlin from the team here. thank you so much for joining us. people in trucks injured one, trying to flee the city center. more and more refugees are being turned away at the border. families playing bomb attacks in syria. these credit owners will

demonstrate people fleeing extreme around $200.00 people around the world. more than 300000000 people are seeking refuge. yes. why? because no one should have to flee. make up your own mind. w. made for mines. ah, ah 30 trillion dollars, usda, it's a record some with help from the big spending spree of recent years. what does u. s. debt really tell us about the world's largest economy?

also on the show, the e u commission approves controversial new rules labeling some nuclear and gas energy investments sustainable. we'll talk to our correspondent in process and we'll visit your car to where new app is helping workers in the informal sector get some much needed. pandemic 811. welcome to the show. i'm seeing fiercely in berlin . it's good to have you with us. the u. s. national debt now exceeds 30 trillion dollars record some hit at the end of january. that's risen a whopping 7 trillion dollars in the last 2 years alone. fuel by government spending during the pandemic. the countries debt to g d, p g d. p ratio is around 100 percent, relatively high figure, but one that the u. s. has eclipse before. including at the end of world war 2. and we'll come back to that just a moment. the e commission says it will classify some natural gas and nuclear power investments as sustainable as part of its new taxonomy of green investments. environmentalist

and investor groups have criticize the controversial decision saying it would further green washing already. i was praise, however, by those who see nuclear and gas is essential to reducing reliance on heavy c o 2 emitters, coal oil over now the d. w. correspond max sandra has been following the story for us from brussels max, there's been a lot of debate around this issue in recent weeks, reminders why this classification is so important. right, so the e commission today presented their plan on the how to leverage investments into so called green energy by the private sector. and that way also achieve the use climate goals to become climate neutral by 2050. now that you taxonomy, i'm, is this the overall framework. it's a mix up guidelines to define for investors and for investors. which areas are green and suspend sustainable for investments. and the idea is to faint phase out

harmful energy sources, such as a, such as coal and oil, and replace them with ideally sustainable renewable sources, or in this case with less harmful energy sources, such as nuclear and gas as a transitional tool. and that's why critics, of course, a, this is green washing to say that basically allowing investors at banks to, to check that green box while financing what they called dirty energy projects. and what does the commission say to that? right, so this despite having added nuclear and gas to the, to the use taxonomy at the commission argues that the, it's still heavily regulated on just to give you an example, for example, gas power plants that will align with you taxonomy by 20 by 2035 will have to be low carbon luko plants will need special fuel and that depositories, in order to get this, the so called green label, there has been a lot of talks. and so the 1st draft was, it was, was leaked about a month ago. there has been a lot of criticism,

but the european commission didn't really change a lotta a about about this a proposal, nuclear and gas. we're still at, at the core of this, this delegated act. and this is probably also because of the majority. they know that they have the majority of backing in the european parliament, and the european council will be the next next steps there. but in terms of reacting to green washing, there has been a change of tone. um, commissioner mc guinness today, who was in charge of the youth economy said that the color coding is not necessarily the best way to, to address the issue of nuclear energy and the youth economy. the commission, she says knows that it's not green and sustainable, but it's still necessary to achieve the climate goals as a transitional tool. mcsaunder, they're in brussels for us now to fabulous schneider who research is sustainable financing and was part of the advising team working with the e. u on this taxonomy fabiola, thank you very much for joining us. what does today's announcement mean for green

investors? well, the set scientist and use the jewish nelson. ok, and gas has also been have any criticized by asset managers and the investment community. for example, the i g c. c institutional investor group on climate change with over $50000.00 euros off acids, unimagined henderson opened eta explicitly. connie for gas to be excluded from new taxonomy. you know, there's a claim of green washing here. but if nuclear and gas or bridge technologies to net 0 missions isn't the goal ultimately a green one of good you taxonomy was supposed to establish a common language and a clear definition of thought, constant use and environmentally sustainable activity. and thereby, and provide clarity to investors and prevent greenwashing. new criteria for new gas are doing exactly the opposite because they contradict existing market practice, for example, under green bond market, which exclude us a few of the nokia. the commission itself into you being recovering package extrude

again. nokia overall, it's just very inconsistent and hence splitting a mad, fabio. it will. investors then turn to other taxonomies for green investment that they like a because then you taxonomy is no longer the gold standard, but lagging behind globally. and with him that he hadn't been progress to was 0. in fact, on gas, the economy is less than a chinese and the russian taxonomy. and it was a nuclear in the south korean one fabulous schneider with university college dublin . thank you very much. and out of some of the other global business stores making headlines. hi, energy costs, especially oil and gas prices, drove inflation in the euro zone to a record high of 5 point one percent in january compared to a year earlier. the rise piles pressure on the european central bank ahead of a monetary policy meeting this week. us drug maker, johnson, and johnson and 3 drug distributors have agreed to pay

a $590000000.00 settlement to hundreds of native american tribes lawsuit blame the companies for opioid addiction among native americans study show the group has had the highest per capita rate of opioid overdose of any population and we want to go back to our top story now. the u. s. national debt exceeding 30 trillion dollars record some hit at the end of january ins, quarter joins me for more in new york. yes, that's a nice big round number, but what does it really tell us? it is a huge number ended 7 trillion dollars higher than early 2020. so before the pandemic really started here in the united states, i mean what that means is some, it will be very difficult to get a, the congress, sir, to approve of more a spending for example, for you infrastructure program. so that actually could hinder the u. s. economy to

grow stronger and then on top of it too, we do know that the federal reserve are very likely will increase interest rates this year. so that will make this debt blog even more expensive. so that could be a huge trick on the economy. but what is interesting in general on wall street and also in some parts of washington, a lot of people seem to ignore this huge debt float that we a master during the pandemic, and even before or against quarter in new york. thank you very much. or governments around the world have opened up their coffers to provide that kind of direct pandemic, relieved to employees and business owners in need in many cases cash. but what about those in the informal sector? think street vendors, farm hands are domestic workers who don't have tax numbers or bank accounts. in indonesia, 5 young professionals have developed an app to give exactly those workers,

lifeline scrolling or instagram account, marita poetry who had just lost her job in an advertising agency, discovered baggy data initiative that promised financial aid without red tape. for massive gung actually i had no income other than selling breakfast time from yeah, my husband used to work, but he was laid off too in the pandemic. if he did so to feed the family, i try to sign up for this platform baggy data to have at least some finance to keep my breakfast business going well, i'm laying whenever you, i have baggy data is the wealth distribution platform where the name reflects the aim it translates to equal share because this is what lote andrea felt was needed most in the lockdown. with 4 friends, the 29 year old designer founded the non profit organization buggy that, that it up. i tons of cdc la baggy rata is

a cross subsidy platform for the people who are affected by the pandemic, especially in formal workers who don't get government assistance, or who don't get help from their employers or freelancer's yet. so the platform itself allows people who can help financially to be able to get in contact with people who need help or out in them. and in the same way with those people can say what they need. i think what i think i'm good with lenin, monica more than 4000 people from all over indonesia have already received money through bucky data. the founders have distributed around $90000.00 euros in donations. the key to success was that adrien took advantage of an existing digital infrastructure that had been built up in indonesia. in recent years. he programmed becky rata as a direct transfer system, where the money doesn't have to go through their hands. donors can directly send funds to beneficiaries through their

e wallet. almost everybody here use us apps like oval go pay or donna and mobile phones are affordable. marita pottery no longer needs the platform, at least for now, for husband found a new job. and the 28 year old mother of 2 is now optimistic that the country's economy will recover to why is an app even necessary? why didn't the indonesian government do more in the 1st place to help families need? here's our correspondence. it matters with more. i to be fair, but when it comes to the government, one has to say that it's facing huge challenges. if you look down an economy like indonesia that creates enormous problems and so the government has put out some stimulus packages. some packages are to deal with the health sector. in fact, for this year, a loaner 30 mill f. 30000000000 euros have been earmarked for various projects. a lot of that will go into the health sector. but there is some controversy now

whether some of that money will is also a plant or to be used for the a moving of the capital of jakarta, a to a different island. and that is what some people a recheck because they say that the problems we have right now is, are already so big. and here's a reminder of our top is and story us. national debt now exceeds 30 trillion dollars a record. some has risen 7 trillion dollars in the last 2 years alone, fueled by the government's pandemic spending. and that's all for me and the dw business team to find out more aligned to w dot com slash business. thanks for watching o one, continent. 700000000 people with their own personal stories. europe,

with everyday life, with what europeans feared and what they hope for focus on your next d. w. into the conflict zone with tim sebastian. as mounting international, confirm, no, but tens of thousands of russian troops along the border with craig. we talked this week, so i respected foreign policy. i'm with the most of the other. you cannot of the west misunderstood russia position. i'm just hoping this is the current situation conflict zone. in 60 minutes on d w. oh.

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