In response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership text released today, Charlie Cray, research specialist at Greenpeace USA, said:
“As should be expected from any secretive negotiating process, the TPP text released by the White House today makes clear that this agreement is a threat to communities and the environment, and should be rejected by Congress when it comes up for a vote.
“The text includes toothless ocean conservation provisions with slippery language that encourages but does not require bans on trade in illegal timber, shark finning, commercial whaling and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. There are better ways to protect the world’s oceans than what’s in the TPP.
“The treaty ultimately fails the laugh test: It doesn’t reference climate change at all, while enshrining new legal means — including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions — that would give corporate polluters the right to directly challenge state and federal regulations. It would also accelerate the climate crisis by facilitating the build-out of new liquid natural gas (LNG) export terminals. More LNG trade means more fracking for natural gas and more emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 85 times more powerful than CO2. By introducing this treaty on the cusp of the Paris climate summit, President Obama has contradicted his own stated commitments to do everything in his power to solve the climate crisis.”
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Media contacts
Rodrigo Estrada, Greenpeace USA, +1 202-344-9292 [email protected]
