The Public Services International has released a significant report that links the issues of Governments and Citizens being able to make decisions on energy, climate change and just transition, against an aggressive trade agreement know as the TISA (Trade In Services Agreement) . The agreement covers wide range of energy related matters, including fracking, energy choice of fuels, and much more -
If you have an interest in Citizens and Governments making decisions, climate change and the move on just transition,.you have to read this report and pass it on to Colleagues, your Local Government , State Government and National Politicians - the report is an excellent lobbying tool to highlight the links between trade,citizens choices, energy including (electricity) and climate change actions
Some of the points in the PSI report include -
" At the very time that Member States were negotiating the Paris
Climate Agreement1, their trade negotiators were meeting in Geneva to
secretly forge a new Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) covering Energy
Related Services (ERS).
The climate crisis is recognized as the free market’s single largest failure, and
there are few who think that markets have the tools needed to solve the
deepening climate crisis. Yet, TiSA’s ERS aims to strengthen the market and
limit the space for government policy and regulation in the energy sector."
" Among the most inappropriate ideas included in TiSA’s ERS proposal are to:
▪▪establish as Article 1 a principle of “technological neutrality” whereby
commitments would extend across all energy sectors regardless of the
fuel source or technology, denying regulators the right to distinguish solar
from nuclear, wind from coal, or geothermal from fracking;
▪▪reduce states’ sovereignty over energy resources (regardless of Article
V’s declaring otherwise) by requiring states to establish free markets for
foreign suppliers of energy related services thereby removing the right
to nurture infant industries and ensure domestic economic benefits from
exploiting energy resources.
▪▪shift political power over energy and climate policies from people using
their governments for shaping fair and sustainable economies to global
corporations using TiSA for restricting governments from regulating energy
sources, markets, companies, and industry infrastructure."
" WTO’s existing General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) does not
allow measures to conserve natural resources in its Article XIV on General
Exceptions, as does the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT), making the current, trade-in-services paradigm inherently insensitive
to ecological sustainability issues."
Article II – Definitions
“For the purpose of this Chapter:
1. a) «energy related services» means services incidental to exploration,
exploitation, development,productions or distribution of energy or energy resources
to the extent such services are supplied to energy companies, directly
or indirectly through their contractors or sub- contractors;
2. b) ˮenergy companiesˮ means persons holding the right to undertake exploration, exploitation, development, productions or distribution of energy or energy
sources.
" FREE FRACKING FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE
Article III – Cross-border trade
“1. Each Party shall undertake commitments without limitations to
permit cross-border supply as described in Article I-1, 2 (a) and (b) of
energy related services to the extent they belong under the following
CPC categories:
▪▪- architectural services [CPC 8671],
▪▪- engineering services [CPC 8672],
▪▪- integrated engineering services [CPC 8673],
▪▪- management consulting services [CPC 865],
▪▪- services related to management consulting services [CPC 866],
▪▪- site formation and clearance services [CPC 5113] (including geothermal
drilling services),
▪▪- maintenance and repair of equipment [CPC 633 + 8861 - 8866] and
▪▪- construction and related engineering services [CPC 51]
▪▪2. Subject to any terms, limitations, conditions, and qualifications set
out in its Schedule, each Party shall permit cross-border supply of energy
related services to the extent they belong under the following CPC
categories:
▪▪- rental/leasing services without operator related to ships [CPC
83103],
▪▪- rental/leasing services without operator related to other transport
equipment [CPC 83101+83102],
▪▪- rental/leasing services without operator related to other machinery
and equipment [CPC 83106+83109], - technical testing and analysis
services [CPC 8676],
▪▪- services incidental to mining [CPC 883, 5115],
▪▪- related scientific and technical consulting services [CPC 8675],
▪▪- environmental services [CPC 94],
▪▪- other lodging services n.e.c [CPC 64199] (lodging offshore),
▪▪- maritime domestic transport services [CPC 7212],
▪▪- maritime towing and pushing services [CPC 7214] and
▪▪- bulk storage services of liquids or gases [CPC 7422].”
TiSA participants’ commitments are either “without limitations” (Article
III.1) or “set out in its Schedule” where terms, limitations and conditions
(Article III.2) are eventually targeted for elimination."
The report is downloadable in
