The environmental NGO Greenpeace put around 20 documents online on Tuesday 20 September, which it says show that the international Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), negotiated on the sidelines of the WTO by 50 WTO member countries (including the 28 EU countries), will limit states' power of action when it comes to fighting climate change, protecting health and education.
"This leak shows that TiSA, like other trade deals, includes measures that tie the hands of the very policy makers who are trying to implement the Paris climate agreement" that was concluded at the end of 2015, Greenpeace warns.
The environmental NGO criticises the 'standstill' clause which will make it more difficult for governments to adopt stricter regulations to restrain the initiatives of companies, as well as the 'ratchet' clause, which will prevent the renationalisation of vital services such as energy, water and education, once they have been liberalised.
Greenpeace also criticises the restrictions on democratic control and the capacity of governments to regulate, given that companies would have their say in the development of new regulations that would challenge their interests.
The NGO warns that TiSA will prevent states from establishing a distinction between the cleanest fossil fuels and the most dangerous ones, by making the progressive elimination of the most harmful of these impossible (like oil sands and oil and shale gas).
In addition, TiSA will lead to an increase in the trade of fossil fuels, contrary to the requirements of the international climate agreement, Greenpeace warns.
The Greenpeace report can be consulted at: https://goo.gl/m5JDkR ">https://goo.gl/m5JDkR . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)