Trade and Environment

The relationship between trade and environment has been a topic of discussion for many years. The focus has been the implications of environmental policies on international trade. The GATT Secretariat first expressed this concern in 1971, through the document called Industrial Pollution Control and International Trade. At that time, there was fear for environmental policies to become a form of protectionism. In 1992, the importance of trade for sustainable development emerged. Environment and multilateral trade systems were linked in 1994 through the Marrakesh Agreement, placing environment within the objectives of the WTO (established 1995).

The objective of a trading system is the liberalisation of markets through regional (FTAA) or global (WTO) agreements. It is also argued that trade has a potential to be a source for financing development through trade-related income generation and foreign direct investment. This would translate into economic growth and a source...
More >>
Permit for Keystone XL denied by Obama administration
25 Jan, 2012   |   by Alys Granados Last week, the Obama administration announced that TransCanada’s request to build the Keystone XL pipeline would be denied. The pipeline would have carried oil from the Alberta tar sands to Texas oil refineries.  The Keystone XL was met with great opposition from various environmental organizations, due to the associated CO2 emissions, the potential for oil spills, and...
Big Oil and Canada thwarted U.S. carbon standards
20 Dec, 2011   |   Turns out Alberta's environment ministry has joined forces with U.S. corporations to keep feeding the Big Oil machine. Read this well-researched article by Geoff Dembicki on Salon.com Big Oil and Canada thwarted U.S. carbon standards Emails show how a Washington lobbyist enlisted Canadian officials to beat back U.S. carbon standards. When President Barack Obama decided in early November...
Who's behind the EthicalOil campaign?
16 Dec, 2011   |   At the recent Toronto Enviro Alliance comedy fundraiser, the annual EcoBunk Awards, I uncomfortably chuckled at the ludicrous Ethical Oil advertisements. Maybe you've seen them. It is an exceptionally well-funded ad campaign about why Canada NEEDS to keep producing Tar Sands oil for the world. In one they pose the elegantly flying maple leaf flag next to a woman in the process of being stoned...
Wattch This - more energy info for the computer savvy
6 Dec, 2011   |   More ways you can 'monitor' your computer's energy use (part 2 of 2) Wattch This By Jeff Alan Computer power consumption, while receiving increasing attention, is still a confusing beast. One of the biggest potential power drains in a system could be the video card. This is easiest to explain with this fantastic writeup and chart: http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264...
Parkway important test case for Endangered Species Act
13 Sep, 2011   |   In May 2011, the Divisional Court heard arguments from counsel for Sierra Club Canada (Sierra Club) and the Ontario government regarding the Minister of Natural Resources' controversial decision to issue a permit under the Endangered Species Act, 2007, in February 2010. To our knowledge, this is the first judicial review application of an ESA permit since the legislation was overhauled...
More >>

Connect with us ...


            

The Bennett Blog

Read the BLOG of
Sierra Club Canada's
Executive Director
John Bennett
 
Follow John on TWITTER

Sign Up and Get Involved

Enter your email address to receive important news and action alerts!