Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 6 • Number 20 17th November 2006

  • MANDELSON CALLS FOR WORK ON CLIMATE, TRADE LINKS
    MANDELSON CALLS FOR WORK ON CLIMATE, TRADE LINKS Speaking in Beijing, China on 10 November, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson called for analytical work on trade policy and climate change. Noting that economic growth and trade can act as drivers of climate change, he said they can - and should - also be part of the…
  • OZONE MEETING CONSIDERS ILLEGAL TRADE, CLIMATE CHANGE LINKAGES
    OZONE MEETING CONSIDERS ILLEGAL TRADE, CLIMATE CHANGE LINKAGES Effective monitoring of trade in ozone-depleting substances (ODS) featured among the many issues on the agenda at the latest meeting on the protection of the Earth’s ozone layer. Illegal trade in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is a problem threatening the integrity of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete…
  • INTERNATIONAL TIMBER ORGANISATION CITES FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
    The forty-first session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-41) was held from 6-11 November in Yokohama, Japan. Issues discussed included the transition to a new treaty to govern trade in tropical timber and the current financing challenges. Participants also discussed linkages with work to combat climate change. While deforestation remains a real threat to tropical…
  • In Brief
  • World Energy Outlook Calls for Increased Investment in Alternative Energy
    The World Energy Outlook 2006 - the flagship publication of the International Energy Agency (IEA) - was released to International Press in London on 7 November. The Outlook presents two alternative scenarios for the state of world energy markets through 2030. A Reference Scenario predicts how energy markets are likely to evolve given current government energy…
  • Northern Nations Block South Pacific Fish Conservation
    Northern hemisphere fishing nations have blocked efforts to regulate deep sea fishing and bottom trawling in the South Pacific. At a recent meeting intended to establish a South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation in Hobart, Australia, the EU, Russia and South Korea halted a plan on bottom trawling protection, a proposal supported by Australia, New Zealand,…
  • China Pleges Commitment to African Development, But is it Environmentally Friendly?
    Political and business leaders from China and 48 of the 53 African countries attended a summit in Beijing on 4-5 November during which they vowed to greatly expand trade and investment flows, as well as other forms of bilateral cooperation. They adopted a declaration proclaiming the establishment of a “new type of strategic partnership” between…
  • South-South Cooperation on New Biofuels Initiative in Senegal
    Brazil and India are supporting a new programme in Senegal to produce biofuels. Launched on 27 October, the programme aims to decrease Senegal’s dependence on imported oil and to spearhead the production of an alternative, environmentally-friendly energy. While Senegal will supply the land and labour, Brazil will provide scientific and technical knowledge and Indian entrepreneurs will…
  • UN Panel Calls for Reforms to Environment, Development Policy
    A high-level panel on UN reform has published a report saying that streamlining UN country operations on development, environment, and humanitarian assistance could save as much as a fifth of expenditures for more productive use. Presented last week, the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel’s report, “Delivering as One,” recommends consolidating UN operations under the control of…
  • Events
  • Events
    For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Coming up in the next two weeks 17-18 November,…
  • Resources
  • Resources
    If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy or review by the BRIDGES staff to Malena Sell. THE WTO GMO DISPUTE: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE NEED FOR AN APPEAL. By Alice Palmer, November 2006. This report, written for GeneWatch…