Not in my NAMA

FoE activists Tony Juniper and Ronnie Hall on environmental threats posed by the latest world trade talks

In a conference room on the shores of Lake Geneva, trade negotiators are drawing up plans that could eventually have a devastating impact on the global environment. The World Trade Organisation's member states are negotiating what they call 'non-agricultural market access' or Nama, and have started compiling a wish list of national laws they would very much like to bury.

Analysis by Friends of the Earth has revealed nearly 200 challenges so far. They range from measures to fight climate change to protection of forests and fish stocks. Those labels that manufacturers have to put on freezers and fridges that state how energy efficient they are? South Korea wants them to go. American laws promoting fuel efficiency? They, too, are 'excessive and unreasonable', says South Korea. Meanwhile, the US wants to stop other countries promoting fuel efficiency, arguing that countries should not be giving tax breaks to people with smaller cars