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Landmark Biodiversity, TK Provisions Accompany EFTA-Colombia FTA
Since the implementation of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) in 1996, several international fora have been working to agree upon the appropriate nature of the relationship between intellectual property provisions and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The debate expanded to other fora in the early 2000’s when other…
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EU, Canada Set to Square Off on Seal Ban
When EU foreign ministers voted in July to ban imports of seal products into the European market, they set ablaze a trade and environment dispute that has been slowly gathering fuel for years. Emotions run high on both sides of the debate. Animal rights groups - which have campaigned for the ban for more than three…
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Biopiracy Concerns Heat Up over Chilli Pepper
Under the WTO Doha Round of trade talks, there has been increasing pressure, particularly from developing countries, to find mechanisms which will help prevent biopiracy and misappropriations - focused particularly on the patenting of foreign biological resources and traditional knowledge. In July 2008, a coalition of more than 100 developed and developing countries - including…
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Engaging Business in the Conservation and Sustainable use of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is depleting at a faster rate now more than ever before. And with the world’s population dependent on biological resources for food, health, and economic welfare, reversing this worrisome trend is a global challenge. Yet discussions at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - the most comprehensive international agreement on biodiversity - have not…
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In Climate Politics, Follow the Money
Any policy that limits supply of fossil fuels must raise their price. The economic logic binding price to scarcity holds true, regardless of the cause of scarcity. When OPEC wants to increase the price of oil, it cuts production. If, as part of the international climate agreement that emerges from the Copenhagen conference in December,…
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China's Promotion of its Wind Industry: Implications for the World Market
With 70 per cent of its electricity sourced from coal-fired power plants, China has now recognised its urgent need to diversify its current energy portfolio with renewable alternatives. In the past five years, China has doubled its wind power capacity annually, creating substantial business opportunities for international wind turbine manufacturers. Such a windfall for foreign…
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National Bans on GM Maize Highlight EU Fragmentation
Despite the recent re-approval of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) maize by the EU’s food safety agency, broad civil society support for national state bans is making it difficult for the EU to create a uniform policy on GM cultivation across its bloc of 27 countries. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stands by its assessment…
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Swiss IP Office Establishes Unit on Sustainable Development
With climate change, influenza, biodiversity and food security dominating world headlines, Swiss intellectual property (IP) authorities are looking more closely at the relationship between IP protection and sustainable development. To that end, earlier this year the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) established a unit on sustainable development. According to Felix Addor, Deputy…
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Upcoming Events
For a more comprehensive list of events for the trade and environment community visit the BioRes online calendar, http://ictsd.net/news/biores/events/. 28-30 September, Geneva, Switzerland. WTO PUBLIC FORUM 2009. 28 September-2 October, Agadir, Morocco. JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD STANDARDS PROGRAMME CODEX COMMITTEE ON FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS. 1 October, Geneva, Switzerland. DIALOGUE ON CLIMATE CHANGE…
- Resources
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Resources
ICTSD Resources BIOFUELS SUBSIDIES AND THE LAW OF THE WTO. ICTSD Programme on Agricultural Trade and Sustainable Development Issue Paper No.20 (June 2009), http://ictsd.net/i/publications/50724/ INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE: LESSONS FROM THE GLOBAL DEBATE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PUBLIC HEALTH. ICTSD Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade Policies and Sustainable…