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Kirk Moves to Quell Concern over Carbon Border Tax
A recent letter from US Trade Representative Ron Kirk downplays the notion that the Obama Administration would implement a border tax on imports from large developing countries to help domestic industry under a cap-and-trade scheme. Kirk’s statement came as a response to a request for clarification by Republican Congressman Joe Barton, regarding Energy Secretary Stephen Chu…
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Parties in Bonn Demand Greater Emphasis on Agriculture
As two weeks of climate change negotiations in Bonn, Germany, came to a close on 8 April, little concrete action regarding international climate change policy was agreed upon. But observers say an important shift in negotiations occurred with a strong consensus supporting a more significant focus on agriculture in a post-Kyoto deal. On 4 April, the…
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RSPO Certifies First Indonesian Palm Oil Company
An Indonesian palm oil company has become the country’s first to be certified ’sustainable’ by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). But environmentalists caution that production in the world’s largest palm oil producing country continues to pose a serious environmental threat. The sustainability certification, granted to a business unit of PT Musim Mas Group, covers…
- In Brief
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Fisheries ‘Roadmap’ Highlighted as WTO Rules Group Meets
An informal meeting of the WTO’s Negotiating Group on Rules focused exclusively on the committee’s negotiations on fisheries subsidies last week. Although the chair praised delegates for their “serious engagement” on the issue, progress toward new legal language to limit subsidies that contribute to overfishing remains uncertain. “It is too early to predict when [the chair]…
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Canada Challenges Korean Beef Ban at the WTO
Canada has launched a WTO case against a South Korean ban on imports of Canadian beef, Ottawa announced on 9 April. The ban was put in place five years ago after Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was found in Canadian cattle, but Ottawa now insists that a prohibition based on health concerns is…
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Monsanto Mulls Legal Action as Germany Bans MON810
Resisting the will of the European Commission, Germany has become the sixth European country to impose a national ban on the cultivation of MON810, a genetically modified strain of maize. The country said the ban, imposed on 14 April, was based on environmental concerns, but agriculture giant Monsanto, which manufactures the pest-resistant strain, said that…
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Mozambique Approves Policy on Biofuels
In the latest move in African biofuels development, the government of Mozambique has adopted a National Policy and Strategy for Biofuels. The new initiative, launched on 24 March, establishes guidelines for both the public and private sector to better participate in the biofuels industry. Officials say the primary purpose for adopting the measure is to reduce…
- Events
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Events
Coming up in the next two weeks (17 April - 1 May) 20-24 April, Anchorage, US. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ GLOBAL SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Many posit that indigenous people are on the front lines of climate change, witnessing environmental and climate changes first-hand, and as such, they are in a unique position to offer insight into the…
- 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 for review by the Bridges staff to Andrew Aziz at aaziz@ictsd.ch. SEA CHANGE: US CLIMATE POLICY PROSPECTS UNDER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. By the Swedish Prime Minister’s Office Commission on Sustainable Development, March 2009.…