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Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

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Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

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There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Trade Justice Advocates Call for Climate Peace Clause in U.S.-E.U. Trade Talks

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Thursday, May 25, 2023   

Next week, trade negotiations resume in Sweden between the U.S. and the European Union, and advocates are urging all parties to sign a "Climate Peace Clause."

In recent years, multiple nations, including the U.S., have used outdated trade agreements to try to stop other countries from favoring their own renewable energy sector.

Ilana Solomon, spokesperson for the nonprofit Trade Justice Education Fund, said the trade challenges are a major obstacle to ambitious climate policy and a livable future.

"In the context of a climate emergency where countries must be putting in place ambitious climate policies, it's madness to have governments using trade rules to threaten action on climate change," Solomon asserted.

Right now, several countries are threatening to challenge the electric vehicle tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S., and other climate policies in the carbon border adjustment mechanism in the EU So far, no countries have committed to signing a climate peace clause. Thus far, courts have proclaimed climate policies from eight states to be in violation of trade agreements.

Solomon argued governments need to form a pact to refrain from using dispute resolution mechanisms and trade and investment agreements to challenge other countries' climate policies.

"We will be delivering thousands of petitions from concerned members of the public who want to see the U.S. and the EU agree to a climate peace clause in the upcoming trade talks," Solomon added.

The office of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai did not respond to a request for comment.

Disclosure: The Trade Justice Education Fund contributes to our fund for reporting on Livable Wages/Working Families, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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