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RENEWABLE ENERGY, AIR POLLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS CONSIDERED AT WTO
RENEWABLE ENERGY, AIR POLLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS CONSIDERED AT WTO At an informal meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Special Session (CTE-SS) on 4-5 April, WTO Members evaluated proposals seeking expedited liberalisation for certain renewable energy and air pollution control products. The technical discussions — held under a mandate from Paragraph 31(iii) of the…
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COMMENTARY ON THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (CBD) COP-8
COMMENTARY ON THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (CBD) COP-8 By Jeffrey A. McNeely, Chief Scientist, IUCN-The World Conservation Union* Curitiba, Brazil, was the host of a gruelling three weeks of fierce negotiations among the Parties to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Parties to the CBD itself (COP-8). The bleary-eyed…
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FORESTS UPDATE: US-INDONESIA, JAPAN AND PHILIPPINES
FORESTS UPDATE: US-INDONESIA, JAPAN AND PHILIPPINES US, Indonesia Launch Landmark Talks On Illegal Logging The US government announced on 4 April that it was launching the first-ever agreement to facilitate bilateral cooperation to combat illegal logging under President George Bush’s global initiative to address illegal logging set up in 2003. Meeting on 4 April, US Trade Representative…
- In Brief
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Developing Countries Propose Disclosure at WIPO Patent Meeting
A group of developing countries proposed at a 10-12 April informal meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) that the SCP should take into account disclosure of origin of genetic resources and other biodiversity-related issues when considering harmonising global patent laws. The SCP was meeting to…
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Desertification Conference Highlights Trade Impacts
Trade liberalisation can adversely impact on the ability of communities dependent on drylands to practice sustainable land management, participants heard at a 11-12 April international conference entitled “Desertification, hunger and poverty”. The conference was organised by the Graduate Institute of Development Studies and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and included…
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EU Biotech Debate Breaks Out Into the Open
The EU procedures for risk assessment and approval of biotech products were the subject of intense scrutiny at a meeting of the EU Executive Council in Brussels on 12 April. An internal paper tabled by EU Environment Minister Stavros Dimas and Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou contained specific recommendations on changes to the…
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Basel Convention Points to IMO Negotiations on New Ship Treaty
The Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes met for its fifth session in Geneva on 3-7 April. Executive Secretary Kuwabara-Yamamoto identified ship dismantling as a major issue which recently attracted international attention because of the controversial proposed dismantling of French ship Clemenceau in Indian…
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Ratification of EU-Morocco Fishing Agreement Stalled
The European Parliament on 4 April voted against ratifying the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) owing to controversy regarding Moroccan control of the Western Sahara region. Although the FPA treats Western Sahara as part of Morocco, and requires only the ratification of the accord by Moroccan authorities to justify fishing in the waters of Western…
- Events
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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 17-21 April,…
- Resources
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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 smohan@ictsd.ch. ICTSD Resource FISHERIES ACCESS AGREEMENTS: TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. By Stephen Mbithi Mwikya, ICTSD, April 2006. The paper provides an overview of different types of fisheries…