Trade Justice Advocates Call for Climate Peace

By Desert Star Staff

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

In recent years, multiple nations, including the U.S., have used outdated trade agreements to stop other countries from favoring their renewable energy sector.

Ilana Solomon, the nonprofit Trade Justice Education Fund spokesperson, said the trade challenges are a significant 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.

Several countries threaten 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 violate trade agreements.

Solomon argued that governments must 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.

Disclosure: The Trade Justice Education Fund contributes to our fund for reporting on Livable

Wages/Working Families and Social Justice.