These are my speaking notes from the Comprehensive European Trade Agreement (CETA) forum held in Nelson on Feb 11. To learn more about CETA, visit the Council of Canadians.
We face two enormous challenges that have global causes: Peak energy & climate change. As we have seen, the effects of these two drivers of change are unpredictable, and they vary according to location. Therefore, we need to work locally, nationally, and globally to reduce the harm and address the very complex situation that will arise. West Kootenay Ecosociety is on the forefront of developing a local response to these challenges, working with partners such as Nelson Cares and Transition Nelson. Building capacity for local production of needed goods and services can protect us somewhat from price shocks and supply shortages on the global scale.
A trade agreement, depending on its substance, could make it more difficult for communities and regions like ours to prioritize local production of needed goods and services. At the same time, a trade agreement could make it harder for us to accomplish some of the policy changes that are needed to protect our natural environment.
On the other hand, a trade agreement could help us if it sets a higher standard for analysis of environmental, social, and economic analysis of proposed projects like the Jumbo Glacier Resort. Unfortunately, the proposed Comprehensive European Trade Agreement (CETA) now being negotiated is not very promising in this regard.
In addition, because a trade agreement has such far-reaching implications for the environment, it’s critical that it be developed and implemented in a completely transparent way. Again, this transparency is lacking in the CETA process. As a result, we must employ the precautionary principle and assume that if harm can come from it, we should forebear.
Trade agreements affect environment in the following ways:
1) potentially increase production, with attendant increase in resource use and pollution
2) potentially reduce barriers to relocation of businesses/industries to jurisdictions with lower environmental standards
- so called race to the bottom with jurisdictions competing for investment by reducing standards.
3) potentially expose environmental regulations to accusations that they are non-tariff barriers
- Examples U.S. weakens the Clean Air Act to comply with Venezuela Gas WTO ruling. U.S. dolphin protection laws undermined. U.S. weakens sea turtle protections in the U.S. Endangered Species Act. – Public citizen
4) establish new standards for environmental quality – could be higher or lower
- Example: The EU’s Sustainability Impact Assessments cover economic, social, and environmental impacts as the three dimensions of sustainable development
5) create international cooperation on environmental issues
- Commission on Environmental Cooperation is an independent trilateral organization developed to ensure environmental protection under NAFTA rules
6) provide an external mechanism for enforcement of regulation
- The Commission on Environmental Cooperation also provides an extra-national mechanism for citizens and others to seek enforcement of environmental regulations