environment


Chevron lobbies White House to pressure Ecuador to stop $12bin Amazon pollution lawsuit
Chevron is being accused of promoting geopolitical blackmail in its efforts to stave off a lawsuit accusing it of contaminating the Ecuadorian rain forest. Nearly 30,000 Amazon residents are seeking $12 billion from Chevron for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste. According to Newsweek, the oil giant is urging the Bush administration to yank special trade preferences for Ecuador if the country's government doesn't force the Amazon residents to drop the case.
Colombia deal side agreements under microscope
With the Canada-Colombia deal done, but the text still kept secret, some say that the provisions on labour and the environment at least establish a record of commitment, while others say that without enforceable complaint mechanisms the side agreements amount to little more than lip service.
Official: Mexico open to new NAFTA talks
The Mexican government dismisses talk of disbanding NAFTA as politics, the country's economy minister said Friday, but it would back the idea of a new round of North American trade talks, with the aim of including issues such as the environment and labor.
A call for the Senate to reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)
The undersigned ask the Philippine Senate to fulfill its role as check and balance to the Executive branch of government, to do right by the Filipino people and reject this infirm, lopsided, unlawful and unconstitutional treaty.
US, China sign energy, environment accord
The US and China have signed a framework for an agreement to define cooperation on energy and environmental issues and will soon launch negotiations to reach a comprehensive investment and financial services treaty.
RI warned of toxic waste from Japan
Environmental groups have warned that Japan could "dispose waste" in Indonesia under an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) the countries signed last year.
Ranbaxy deal may help India's entry into Japan
The Daiichi Sankyo-Ranbaxy Laboratories deal has come as a shot in the arm for India's Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) negotiations with Japan. Indian pharma companies have been unable to break into Japan, the world's second largest drug market, due to the country's stringent sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and environmental norms.
Canada concludes Colombia free trade talks
Canada said on Saturday it had wrapped up free trade negotiations with Colombia and reached agreement on related labor and environmental issues, but the deal could raise criticism from opposition lawmakers concerned about the Andean country's human rights record.
Is water becoming ‘the new oil'?
The prospect of losing control of water under free-trade or other agreements is something Canadians seem to worry about constantly.
International investment agreements: A survey of environmental, labour and anti-corruption issues
This paper surveys the societal dimension of 296 international investment agreements (IIAs) signed by the 30 member countries and of by the 9 non-member countries that participate formally in OECD investment work.