Linkages Between Trade and Climate Change / Vinculos entre el comercio y el cambio climático
Friday, June 26th, 2009From the World Trade Organization (WTO): WTO and UNEP launch a report explaining for the first time the connections between trade and climate change The world cannot continue with “business as usual” and there is a profound need for a successful conclusion to the current negotiations on both climate change and trade opening. The WTO/UNEP […]
Trade in Used Cars in the Americas: Good for the Environment?
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009A recent working paper by two US economists looks at the environmental consequences of international trade in durable goods through data regarding trade in used cars between the United States and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). [A tip of the hat to Rob over at Globalisation and the Environment for alerting […]
A Unique GEO for MEROSUR
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Last month a GEO for the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR or MERCOSUL) was finally unveiled with much fanfare by representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the meeting of MERCOSUR Environment Ministers. What’s a GEO? It’s probably the best known type of comprehensive environmental diagnosis available. “GEO” was the acronym for “Global […]
Unique Customs Cooperation Pact on Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Monday, December 29th, 2008Earlier this month Ministers from Central America and the Dominican Republic responsible for the environment, agriculture, health, defense and customs signed an Inter-Institutional Cooperation Convention for the Control of Imports, Exports and Transit Related to Multilateral Environment Agreements. The accord is supposedly the first of its kind in the world (I would be interested to […]
Promoting Organic Produce in Developing Countries / Facilitar la agricultura orgánica en los países en desarrollo
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008Temas Note: I have been preparing an upcoming series of posts on organic production in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which is much more complex and multi-layered an issue than you might think. This news is timely and welcome for LAC, since the region has become one of the biggest producers of organic produce […]
Trade and Climate Change
Monday, September 29th, 2008One aspect of the public debate over possible policy responses to global climate change that has been largely missing is the role that international trade measures — and how they are treated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) — will aid or hinder policymaking about climate change. Small wonder, since the possible interactions between trade […]
ECLAC/FAO: Bioenergy Poses Both Risks and Opportunities / CEPAL/FAO: Bioenergía Ofrece Oportunidades y Riesgos
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, known in Spanish as CEPAL) have just released a joint “study” (actually more of a short analysis with recommendations) on the potential impacts of bioenergy production on food security for consideration by the FAO’s Committee […]