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Indigenous groups win right to seize Chevron’s Canadian sssets over $18 billion in Amazon pollution
A court in Canada has ruled Ecuadorean farmers and fishermen can try to seize the assets of oil giant Chevron based on a 2011 decision in an Ecuadorean court found it liable for nearly three decades of soil and water pollution near oil wells, and said it had ruined the health and livelihoods of people living in nearby areas of the Amazon rainforest.
Raw deal: How the Trans-Pacific Partnership could threaten our climate
"The broad implications of the TPP are that governments would lose ability to put in place policies to address the climate crisis while corporations would gain the ability to challenge climate and environmental laws and policies," writes the Sierra Club.
How an EU-US free trade agreement will affect the energy sector
Energy has not been making headlines in the context of these talks, but a TTIP will have far-reaching implications for the energy sector, e.g. with regard to oil sands, LNG and shale gas.
Trade-talk protesters push limit, then back off
Will Munger, of Utah Tar Sands Resistance, said his group wasn’t trying to get arrested. Instead they were raising their voices against what they fear will be a trade pact that encourages the export of methane gas from the United States to other nations.
Ecuador high court upholds Chevron verdict, halves fine
Ecuador’s highest court upheld a verdict that US oil company Chevron Corp is responsible for pollution in an Amazon rainforest, but halved the fine imposed in a previous trial to $9.5 billion, a decision the company dismissed as illegitimate.
India says no to labour, environment in FTA with New Zealand
The negotiations for free trade agreement between India and New Zealand has hit a major roadblock during the latest round as New Delhi has declined to include other side’s demand pertaining to labour, environment and government procurement in the pact.
Toxic trade deal: Friends of the Earth decries industry efforts to weaken regulation of chemicals associated with breast cancer, autism, infertility
Statements made at a US government hearing by the American Chemistry Council, the trade association of multinational chemical companies lobbying for the US-EU trade deal, highlight the risks to public health, report Friends of the Earth
Consumer groups worry US-EU trade pact will weaken health, privacy regulations
US consumer groups raised concerns on Wednesday about the proposed free trade agreement between the US and the EU, which they said could weaken government health, environmental and food safety regulations and undermine privacy on the Internet.
Coup d’etat to trade seen in billionaire toxic lead fight
Most of La Oroya’s children suffer elevated lead levels, according to the Peruvian government. Parents say some have symptoms — consistent with lead poisoning — that include anemia, convulsions, stunted growth, mental retardation.
EU seeks stiff rules on free trade deal
The European Union wants Canada to agree to compensate European companies for any losses that stem from changes to health, environment or safety rules in Canada, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.
US firm to launch NAFTA challenge to Quebec fracking ban
A US-incorporated energy firm, Lone Pine Resources Inc., is taking on Quebec’s stand against fracking, saying it violates the North American free-trade agreement and demanding more than $250-million in compensation.
Australia scraps carbon floor price, agrees EU link
Australia and the European Commission on Tuesday agreed to link their carbon trading schemes by 2018, allowing Australian companies to buy cheaper EU carbon credits and providing a much-needed boost for the flagging European market.
Harper, Merkel aren’t playing tit-for-tat on free trade deal, IMF bailout
Angela Merkel gave Stephen Harper what he wanted — strong public support for a Canada-European Union trade deal — but not before she gently but firmly noted "problems" with high carbon emissions from Alberta’s oilsands.
Canadian miner’s complaint can proceed under El Salvador law
Canadian company Pacific Rim can move forward under El Salvador law with a case against that country’s government for blocking a gold mining project, but cannot file suit under a regional trade agreement, a World Bank arbitration panel ruled.
Canadian human rights report on Colombia a ’sick joke’
The Canadian government’s human rights report tabled in Parliament Tuesday regarding implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement might as well have been a comic strip of three monkeys: "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
Oilsands not a sticking point in EU trade talks
Canada’s oilsands aren’t a sticking point in trade talks with the European Union, Denmark’s trade minister said today in Ottawa.
Case note: How Chevron v. Ecuador is pushing the boundaries of arbitral authority
The arbitral tribunal in Chevron v. Ecuador has taken a series of steps in recent months suggesting that it has a broad view of its authority.
Peru exports endangered wood despite US trade pact -NGO
Peru needs to do more to halt exports of endangered cedar and mahogany from the Amazon rain forest as it opens its economy to free trade, a conservation group and exporters said on Tuesday.
Water wars: Indigenous Ecuadorians vs. corporations
Ecuadorian communities learned from the way that Chevron’s operations flouted environmental law in the 1990’s, that once entrusted to foreign businesses their natural resources are usually squandered.