Resources

A resource pack on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership for churches.

The pack incorporates prayers, writings and ideas by people from a range of Christian traditions  who share a conviction that trade injustice is a barrier to the fullness of life promised by the kingdom of God, and includes:

Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and USA began in July 2013. If agreed, it would be the world’s biggest trade and investment deal outside of those negotiated within the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The latest TTIP update includes CETA protest and petition at Holyrood, Scotland Against TTIP's latest plans for the upcoming Holyrood elections, new CETA (Canada - EU deal) postcard and Scottish briefing, as well as all the latest on the trade negotiations in Brussels, and news from the Scottish, Wesminster and European parliaments.

Every January, Bill Gates sets out his vision for a better world and the role the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation can play in achieving this in an annual letter to us all. With assets of $43.5 billion, the foundation is the largest charitable foundation in the world. It is arguably the most influential actor on issues of global health and agriculture, and distributes more aid for global health than any government.

Welcome to the December issue of Think Global Extra, the bimonthly supplement to Think Global. Read it in conjunction with the last full Think Global from November.

The agribusiness industry presents itself as part of the solution to climate change. The major firms spend significant sums to promote the message that corporate, industrial agriculture is compatible with fighting climate change. But they are wrong. This report demonstrates that multinational agribusiness companies are part of the problem, not the solution, by revealing the true extent of their overall contribution to dangerous climate change. So far, most agribusiness companies have got away with underestimating their true impact because they only declare their direct emissions. Many emissions are not direct, but arise from the end use of their products or from their supply chains.

Nairobi will be the scene of an important battle between richer and poorer countries in December when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meets for its ministerial. On one side, countries like the US and UK subsidise their agricultural sector to the tune of billions of pounds but don't want to allow other countries to do so. On the other side countries like India are demanding equal treatment and the freedom to buy farmers' crops in order to distribute them to those too poor to buy them at market prices.

We all want action on climate change, but what does that action mean? Will it be effective, will it be fair, and are the Paris climate talks going to deliver that action?

Act locally with Global Justice Now. For other issues, check out our Think Global page.