A letter from COP 24

Sunday was the first day of the UN climate talks (COP 24) being held in the coal region of Poland. While the energy sector will get the headlines, many countries are grappling with how best to deal with climate impacts to agriculture, as agricultural emissions are nearly a third of all global emissions. IATP is in Katowice and will be following how parties deal with agriculture in this COP.

Clean water, not deregulation, will help farmers in the long run

This op-ed originally ran in AgriNews on World Water Day.

Trump’s rollback of Clean Power Plan a major setback for climate and rural communities

An Executive Order issued by President Trump today begins the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan is the first regulation in the U.S. to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants, but the rule has been stalled in the courts since February 2016.

Clean water: One of the first causalities of partisan attacks to roll back regulations

Earlier last week it was reported that President Donald Trump is about to issue the next set of executive orders, this time targeting environmental safeguards for water and climate put in place in 2015.

Trump’s EPA Pick Protects Corporate Backers over the Environment

President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a record of hostility for environmental and public health protection at both state and federal levels.

Mulvaney as Budget Director: destructive for nutrition, agriculture and the environment

Next week, the U.S. Senate will consider President Donald Trump’s nominee to direct the presidential Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-SC).

La producción industrial de aves de corral y las cepas mortales de la gripe aviar H5Nx

Published with the kind permission of Noticias de Abajo. Varios brotes mortales de gripe aviar H5 están diezmando las aves de corral de Europa, Asia y Oriente Medio.

Tillerson’s damaging record of extraction and opposing climate action

Rural communities in the U.S. and around the world are vulnerable to industries, often with headquarters elsewhere, who view local natural resources simply as an asset to be extracted. No global corporation better exemplifies this approach than the oil giant ExxonMobil. Now, President Donald Trump has nominated the company’s CEO, Rex Tillerson, to run the U.S. State Department.

Will the teeth of trade rules swallow the Paris climate deal?

Earlier this week, the European Parliament approved the Paris climate agreement, joining more than 60 other countries in signing the deal and paving the way for this historic global effort to enter into force. While the Paris deal is truly a major step forward, countries will have to overcome a series of hurdles created by trade agreements to reach their climate goals.

Seeds of Corporate Power vs Farmers' Rights: We need to start tilting the field back in favor of farmers and the environment

This piece was originally published by Foreign Policy in Focus on September 27, 2016.