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      Climate activists stage a demonstration in front of the E.U. Council building to highlight the threat of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to the planet as they wear huge model heads of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels, Belgium on July 6, 2021.

      The World Needs Just Green Trade, Not 'Free Trade'

      Corporations are using trade and investment treaties to handcuff global and national efforts to save the planet.

      John Feffer
      Mar 19, 2023

      The global economy hit a new milestone in 2022 by surpassing $100 trillion. This expansion, which has experienced only the occasional setback such as the 2020 Covid shutdowns, has been accelerated by trade. The world trade volume experienced 4,300% growth from 1950 to 2021, an average 4% increase every year. This linked growth of the global economy and international trade took off in the 1980s as governments embraced the project of globalization, which prioritized the reduction of barriers to trade such as tariffs.

      The mechanism by which globalization spread throughout the world, the key strand of its DNA, has been the "free trade" treaty.

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      trade justice
      A sign for an electric vehicle charging station is seen in San Jose, California on January 3, 2020.

      US and EU Groups Call for 'Ceasefire' on Trade Challenges to Climate Policies

      "This is simple," said one campaigner. "Climate action has to take precedence over trade rules."

      Kenny Stancil
      Feb 27, 2023

      A coalition of more than three dozen progressive advocacy groups based in the United States and the European Union on Monday implored E.U. policymakers to stop pursuing challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act and urged governments on both sides of the Atlantic to start prioritizing decarbonization over corporate-friendly trade rules.

      "As part of any E.U.-U.S. transatlantic sustainable trade initiative, we urge the E.U. to refrain from challenging the IRA with trade instruments. And we call on the U.S. and E.U. to commit to a Climate Peace Clause to protect climate policies around the world from trade disputes, as well as to make good on climate financing and green technology transfer to countries in the Global South," says a letter sent to the U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council.

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      climate peace clause
      During a rally outside the White House on December 1, 2022, demonstrators urge French President Emmanuel Macron to stop using trade rules to block climate action.

      Climate Activists Tell Macron to Stop Using Trade Rules to Thwart Clean Energy

      "Governments should be empowered to fight climate change and support the clean energy transition without fear of being undermined by antiquated trade rules," said one advocate.

      Kenny Stancil
      Dec 02, 2022

      Environmental campaigners implored French President Emmanuel Macron to stop inhibiting sorely needed climate action by weaponizing global trade rules during a Thursday night protest outside the White House, where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Macron for the first state visit of his tenure.

      "We simply do not have time for governments to continue using outdated trade agreements to attack and undermine climate action."

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