Energy & Environment
WTO Environmental Goods Agreement product list shaping up
Efforts to finalise an agreement for eliminating tariffs on so-called ‘green goods’ among 17 countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) gathered momentum after the participants zeroed in on an initial list of 600 products that will be subjected to intense – and challenging – negotiations early May. Ravi Kanth …
Blog: A call to reframe the debate over the trade implications of the EU’s fuel quality directive
A new brief by the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace calls for better data collection and coordination with the World Trade Organization in setting fuel quality standards for climate change mitigation purposes, so as to avert future trade frictions.
EU parliament trade committee fine-tunes commission proposal on novel foods
[sh_light_text ]A long-stalled overhaul of trade rules on so-called novel foods is being scrutinised by the EU parliament, Jennifer Freedman reports.[/sh_light_text]
TTIP good or bad for the climate?
[sh_light_text ] The Energy Post, the debating platform on EU energy policy, has published two opinion articles discussing whether the planned transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) is good or bad for the climate. Take a plunge into the arguments and counter-arguments put forward by two eminent analysts, Ilana Salomon from the Sierra …
Green-goods initiative launched this week to underpin EU climate, energy goals
[sh_light_text ]The EU and 13 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) including the US, China and Japan wrapped up the first round of talks on the Environmental Goods Trade (EGA) today in Geneva. The EU hopes the deal will help it meet its climate and energy security targets. But major …
Doubts arise on whether WTO ‘green’ initiative can deliver the goods
[sh_light_text ]The world’s biggest trading powers will begin talks next month aimed at clinching a global agreement to spur trade in environmentally-friendly goods as part of efforts to combat climate change. The initiative was launched in January 2014. While the US trade chief has said he expects negotiators to reach an …
Editor’s Comment: TTIP and Europe’s energy question
[sh_light_text ]Energy trade has become an important topic of discussion around the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The crisis in Ukraine, Europe’s own energy crisis, and the US shale revolution have given the issue particular salience. Although TTIP can contribute to improving the EU’s energy challenges, it will certainly …
Editor’s comments: Leaked document on oil, gas & raw materials in TTIP – What’s behind the non-news
[sh_light_text ]A “leaked” EU Commission negotiating text on energy trade in TTIP has made the headlines this week, and is being accused of promoting fracking, the controversial technique to produce shale gas, and US crude oil exports. Iana Dreyer explains why the real secret in this matter is that there is no secret. …
