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15 December 2006
Following three years of negotiations, the European Parliament adopted a comprehensive law on the manufacturing, marketing, import and use of chemical substances on 13 December. Entitled REACH — Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals — the legislation aims to protect...
15 December 2006
A team of experts have called for a programme of systematic risk research into the potential dangers of nanotechnology in consumer products. The team stated that while fears over nanotechnology’s risks may be exaggerated, they are not necessarily unfounded, and they merit further research...
15 December 2006
BASEL PARTIES DEBATE E-WASTE, PATCHWORK OF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS RULES Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal recently debated the difference between reusable electronic products and obsolete electronic waste with hazardous...
15 December 2006
WTO FISH SUBSIDIES TALKS FOCUS ON ROLE OF FAO After several months of suspension following the collapse of the trade talks in July, countries on 12 December restarted discussions on how to discipline fisheries subsidies in the WTO, albeit in informal mode. The largely technical debate focused on...
1 December 2006
Washington and Indonesia signed an agreement on 16 November to work together to put an end to illegal logging in the Southeast Asian island nation. The US pledged an initial US$1 million for programmes to help save the threatened forest habitat that is home to, among other, the world’s remaining 50...
1 December 2006
WTO Members have agreed in principle to renew for six years a decision allowing countries to block trade in conflict diamonds. At a meeting on 20 November, the Council for Trade in Goods accepted the text of a draft deal that would allow parties to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for...
1 December 2006
Wrapping up a 10-day meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) announced a reduction of the annual bluefin tuna fishing quota to 25,500 tonnes by 2010; a mark which is roughly 75 percent of the current quota of 32,000 tonnes. The new...
1 December 2006
On 20 November, the European Commission introduced a proposal to ban imports, exports and sales of cat and dog fur. The legislation is being introduced on animal welfare grounds, based on active requests by civil society organisations and Members of the European Parliament. According to European...
1 December 2006
CLIMATE, ENERGY FEATURE IN TRADE DISCUSSIONS Climate change made headlines at a trade meeting between Pacific rim nations in Vietnam, although participants remained divided in their approach to the issue. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum -- held in Hanoi from 18-19 November...
1 December 2006
The European Commission has decided not to appeal the WTO panel ruling against the EU's application of its approval procedures (see Bridges Trade BioRes , 6 October 2006), letting the 28 November deadline for lodging an appeal elapse. Several civil society groups have sharply criticised Brussels'...
1 December 2006
VIETNAM SET TO ENTER THE WTO, IMPLEMENT NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES Vietnam, a resource-rich country and major exporter of textiles, seafood, coffee and furniture, is set to become the 150th member of the WTO. In parallel with efforts to support its rapidly growing economy, the country is also...
17 November 2006
The World Energy Outlook 2006 - the flagship publication of the International Energy Agency (IEA) - was released to International Press in London on 7 November. The Outlook presents two alternative scenarios for the state of world energy markets through 2030. A Reference Scenario predicts how...
17 November 2006
Northern hemisphere fishing nations have blocked efforts to regulate deep sea fishing and bottom trawling in the South Pacific. At a recent meeting intended to establish a South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation in Hobart, Australia, the EU, Russia and South Korea halted a plan on...
17 November 2006
OZONE MEETING CONSIDERS ILLEGAL TRADE, CLIMATE CHANGE LINKAGES Effective monitoring of trade in ozone-depleting substances (ODS) featured among the many issues on the agenda at the latest meeting on the protection of the Earth's ozone layer. Illegal trade in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is a problem...
17 November 2006
The forty-first session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-41) was held from 6-11 November in Yokohama, Japan. Issues discussed included the transition to a new treaty to govern trade in tropical timber and the current financing challenges. Participants also discussed linkages with...
3 November 2006
The European Commission has proposed a regulation to ban all EU mercury exports and to mandate the safe storage of surplus mercury. Pending joint approval by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, the legislation would take effect beginning in July 2011. Both the ban and the storage...
3 November 2006
An international group of ecologists and economists sent a strong warning regarding the impending collapse of the word fisheries if no action is taken to halt the decline. Drawing on the findings of an extensive global study published in the journal Science on 3 November, the researchers concluded...
3 November 2006
In 2003, humanity was using up natural resources 1.25 times faster than Earth could replenish them, while the biodiversity of vertebrate species populations has declined by 30 percent since 1970. These trends are detailed in the "Living Planet Report 2006", a biennial publication that assesses...
3 November 2006
A global mining forum recently called for action against unjustified barriers to market access for mineral and metals. Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 18-20 October, representatives from 36 countries and a number of international organisations gathered for the second meeting of the...
3 November 2006
ENERGY MAKING ITS WAY INTO EU TRADE POLICY In its new trade policy strategy from early October, the EU has included securing energy supply and transit as an important objective. At a summit with India on 13 October, the two trading blocs agreed to work towards a "broad-based" bilateral trade and...