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Does pollution grow or shrink as economies become interlinked through trade agreements? Do environmental regulations become weaker or stronger because of trade rules? What is the role of the public in examining these issues?
Fourteen original research papers, examining such issues as the impacts of NAFTA on freshwater, fisheries, forests, hazardous wastes and domestic environmental laws will help answer these questions at the first North American Symposium on Understanding the Linkages Between Trade and Environment.
Created in 1994, NACEC is the only environmental organization created by an international trade agreement specifically to examine the relationship between free trade and the environment. In 1999, NACEC released a far-reaching, rigorous methodology designed to examine the environmental effects of NAFTA—the Final Analytic Framework for Assessing the Environmental Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The symposium will put that methodology to work as some 300 people gather to present and discuss the findings of the 14 research papers. The participants hail from across civil society—environmental groups, industry, research and development organizations, and the governments of the three NAFTA Parties—reflecting NACEC's commitment to ensuring work on trade and environment is open, transparent and enriched by ongoing public participation.
The 14 papers to be presented at the symposium have been selected from among 50 responses to a public Call for Papers that was issued by NACEC in 1999. Papers dealing with related subjects will be presented and discussed together through a series of thematic sessions over the course of the two-day symposium. The sessions will be chaired by prominent experts and will feature audience question and answer periods. The Symposium will be chaired by Pierre Marc Johnson, former Premier of Quebec, a member of the World Conservation Union Council, and author on environment and trade.
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No session in progress
