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Beyond the Bolsonaro policy, it is the very content of the EU-Mercosur agreement that promises an environmental disaster
18-Sep-2020 Veblen
The commission of experts has spoken: an annual increase in deforestation of 25% for 6 years, facilitated entry into the European market of foodstuffs produced with pesticides banned in the EU, risk of weakening European environmental and health standards.
Energy companies keep right to sue states in private courts, as treaty reforms blocked
16-Sep-2020 Climate Home News
Negotiators have ruled out an overhaul of private courts that allow energy companies to sue national governments when climate change policies hurt their profits.
Mercosur agreement a “direct contradiction” to European Green Deal
10-Sep-2020 Green News
The proposed EU-Mercosur trade agreement is a “direct contradiction” to the goals of the European Green Deal, according to a new study.
Poll: Vast majority of Europeans opposed to EU-Mercosur trade deal
10-Sep-2020 Sum Of Us
Consumer group SumOfUs urges the EU to call off its free trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in the face of Amazon rainforest fires.
Amazon, Bolsonaro, cattle: the ABC’s of destruction
9-Sep-2020 Greenpeace
The Amazon is under attack but the Canadian government plans to continue negotiating a Canada-Mercosur free trade agreement with Brazil. But you can do something about it.
‘Obsolete’ Energy Charter Treaty must be reformed or ditched, lawmakers say
8-Sep-2020 Euractiv
The 1991 Energy Charter Treaty must be profoundly overhauled in order to remove all “obsolete” provisions protecting fossil fuel investments and hindering climate action, lawmakers from across Europe said.
Japan blocks green reform of major energy investment treaty
8-Sep-2020 Climate Change News
The Japanese government is blocking reform of a treaty that allows energy companies to sue nation states when climate policies affect their profits.
How the little-known Energy Charter Treaty is holding environmental policy hostage
7-Sep-2020 Equal Times
Is it possible to take urgently needed action on climate change while simultaneously protecting the fossil fuel industry, the very cause of climate imbalance?
Green NGOs demand EU dumps controversial energy treaty
14-Jul-2020 EU Observer
Green groups have renewed their demand for the EU and member states to jointly withdraw from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
The obscure treaty that could kill a global green recovery
9-Jul-2020 The New Republic
The Energy Charter Treaty, with 53 signatories, allows energy companies to sue states that make their business unprofitable.
Corporations to sue states for pandemic billions
9-Jul-2020 The Ecologist
Corporations are busy weaponising obscure legal instruments to sue government for their actions to save lives and jobs during the coronavirus crisis.
World’s biggest trade deal in trouble over EU anger at Brazil deforestation
8-Jul-2020 Mongabay
The European Union-Mercosur free trade agreement faces growing opposition from European national governments, EU parliamentarians, and non-profit organizations, in addition to Latin American entities, putting its ratification at risk.
EU must end investment protection in the fossil sector
6-Jul-2020 Euractiv
The Energy Charter Treaty, which dates back to the 1990s, severely restricts Europe’s ability to change regulations in the energy sector, with many EU member states facing court actions worth billions of euros, write a group of MEPs.
EU-Mercosur deal will have devastating impact on climate, NGOs warn
3-Jul-2020 Euractiv
While the agreement still has to be approved by the European Parliament and Council, farmers and environmental NGOs remain disappointed.
Countries serious about climate change should leave the Energy Charter Treaty, says former ECT official
3-Jul-2020 bilaterals.org
Interview with Yamina Saheb, former head of unit in the Energy Charter Treaty Secretariat .
New NAFTA trade deal deepens oil and gas dependency during climate crisis
1-Jul-2020 Desmog
The deal provides loopholes for oil, gas, and mining companies to operate across borders, and paves the way for US companies to export even more fracked natural gas across the border into Mexico.
Planned EU trade deal with Mercosur threatens climate, environmental protection and human rights
29-Jun-2020 CIDSE
The agreement could have serious ecological and human rights repercussions, new study warns.
The environmental bias of trade policy
5-Jun-2020 Berkeley Haas
Most countries have implicitly created a carbon subsidy in trade policy. Using trade policy negotiations to decrease this environmental bias of trade policy could help address climate change.
Anchoring climate and environmental protection in EU trade agreements
4-Jun-2020 Power Shift
How trade agreements could contribute to a more sustainable world economy.
Companies sue states for ­ climate-protection measures
4-Jun-2020 D+C
On the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty, companies are suing countries for damages when the latter decide to phase out or limit the use of fossil fuels.