EU politicians protest to Congress over climate exemption in TPP row

European Union politicians have written to US members of Congress pleading for them to remove a last-minute amendment that would bar Barack Obama from making action on climate change a condition of international trade negotiations.

A climate provision included at the eleventh hour in a bill to be voted on by the US House of Representatives on Friday would ban Obama from acting on climate or immigration while engaged in trade negotiations. The manoeuvre has been denounced by Democrats, environmentalists and European allies, including a number of members of the European parliament.

The climate provision was inserted this week into a related trade bill also being voted on today by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a Republican and former vice-presidential candidate who, in an unlikely partnership, has been shoring up votes in the House of Representatives for the president.

Ryan’s provision was intended to appease rightwing members of his party, who claim that Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) plans are a backdoor way of expanding governmental action on immigration and climate without consulting Congress.

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/12/european-politicians-protest-congress-tpp-trade-bill-excludes-climate-deals