Working conditions, S&P 500 emissions, tiniest reptile

Plus: Europe’s got a new top trade partner. [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Parts of Texas are still without power. [Recriminations have begun]( after a bitter cold snap hit southern US states and [northern Mexico]( but the Lone Star is unique in having a [deregulated energy supply](. “No jab, no job.” British companies are considering making Covid vaccination a [mandatory condition]( of employment. New York sued Amazon for allegedly not protecting workers from Covid. The tech giant [accuses the state]( of overstepping its authority. Bitcoin broke through the $50,000 barrier. The cryptocurrency [just won’t quit]( and has risen more than 70% this year alone. A female Indian journalist won a high-profile #metoo case. Priya Ramani was among several women accusing ex-government minister MJ Akbar of sexual harassment, and was [today cleared]( of defaming him. Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial began. The military [added a new charge]( Covid rules—to the earlier allegation of illegally importing walkie-talkies. Sponsor content by Asana You’re wasting your workday. 'Work about work,' such as communicating about apps, or circling back, takes up to 60% of an employee’s day, leaving little time for actual skilled work. [Read Asana’s Anatomy of Work report and get down to business.]( What to watch for China wraps up its latest test of the digital yuan. This Lunar New Year, the government handed out 10 million yuan’s worth ($1.5 million) of the digital currency to 50,000 Beijing residents to spend from Feb. 10-17 in designated shops or on e-commerce platforms. As with previous tests, the digital currency [could be accessed]( through a digital yuan wallet app on a mobile phone, but this time users were also able to spend it by swiping a special bank-issued card. Additionally, several ATMs in Beijing allowed customers to deposit or withdraw the digital currency. One major motivation for an accelerated rollout of the digital yuan is the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. The government wants to impress participants by giving them access to the digital currency, which China hopes [will boost]( the yuan’s stature in the global financial system. Charting S&P 500 emissions US president Joe Biden hopes his $2 trillion infrastructure spending plan will make the American economy greener. If passed, it would also [benefit some of the country’s biggest companies]( especially those involved in construction. Biden’s challenge will be expanding construction without exacerbating the already high carbon emissions in the industrial sector. [A bar chart of S&P 500 company carbon emissions by sector. Energy accounts for 39% of emissions, industrials 20%, utilities 17%, consumer discretionary 11%, consumer staples 6%, materials 3%, information technology 2%, healthcare 1%, communications 1%, real estate 0%, and financials 0%.] Europe’s new top trade partner Recent data from the European Union’s statistics office, [Eurostat]( (pdf), show that China dethroned the US as Europe’s top trade partner in 2020. EU exports to China grew by 2.2% to €202.5 billion ($245 billion) and imports from China increased 5.6% to €383.5 billion in 2020, while EU exports to the US fell by 8.2% and EU imports from the US dropped 13.2%. That’s probably because China is the only major rich country whose economy [grew in 2020]( in part thanks to public investment in infrastructure that fueled demand for European manufacturing goods. On the other end, the [EU bought vast quantities]( of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and medical supplies from China, boosting imports. Remaining the world’s number one supplier of these kinds of goods is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s post-Covid plan to see China “[ascend] to its rightful place at the top of the global system whose discourse and power structures have long discriminated against it,” [writes Isabella Steger](. Read more in our field guide on [China’s changing influence](. ✦ We’d love to be your top partner. [Try a Quartz membership free for a week](. Quartz announcement How to promote disability inclusion at your workplace. [Join us]( on February 18 from 11am-12pm US eastern time for our free virtual workshop about accessibility in the workplace. You’ll learn from our guest speaker and founder of The Valuable 500, Caroline Casey, on how you can create an accessible and inclusive workplace for people of all abilities that extends past the pandemic. Surprising discoveries An Oklahoma museum has a room made of chocolate. The walls are coated in 100 pounds of the stuff to [recreate artist Ed Ruscha’s 1970 installation]( “Chocolate Room.” Earth’s smallest reptile was discovered in Madagascar. The nano-chameleon is just [13.5 millimeters (0.5 inches) long](. A 17,000-year-old shell still makes music. A modern musician was able to [coax a C, C-sharp, and D]( out of the paleolithic instrument. Venetian beads were found at an Alaskan archaeological site. They’re evidence that [European objects reached North America before Europeans](. Anthony Fauci won a $1 million prize for “defending science.” The [award from Israel]( also recognizes the US expert’s contributions to fighting AIDS. SHARE TO EARN SWAG Coffee cups, tote bags, free membership, and more. Refer the Quartz Daily Brief to friends, family, and coworkers to earn all of these premium prizes. [Share the Daily Brief today]( and start reaping the rewards. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, paleolithic music recommendations, and chocolate construction schematics to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Tripti Lahiri, Mary Hui, Jane Li, Annabelle Timsit, Oliver Staley, Nicolás Rivero, and Liz Webber. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. If you’re looking to unsubscribe, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10010 | United States Copyright © 2021 Quartz, All rights reserved.