Edge Lecture 12 on Trade and Environment

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Edge Lecture 12 on Trade and Environment

• Update on London
• Latest on Korean Agreement
• Update on Iran Confrontation
• Presentations on Morocco, Africa, India

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London Mayor Signs Oil Deal With Chavez

• (AP) London's socialist mayor signed an agreement
  Tuesday with Venezuela's state-owned oil company
  to provide discounted oil for the city's iconic
  red buses, praising the idea as the brainstorm of
  the country's leftist leader, Hugo Chavez.Ken
  Livingstone _ a committed socialist known locally
  as "Red Ken" _ met with Chavez last year at City
  Hall to discuss the deal to provide cheap oil to
  London in exchange for advice on urban planning
  in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.Venezuela
  has signed similar agreements with cities in
  several other countries, including the United
  States. Critics call it "oil diplomacy" _ and say
  it is designed to embarrass President Bush, whom
  Chavez has repeatedly mocked."This arose out of
  the suggestion of President Hugo Chavez, and
  builds on the work he is doing around the world
  to tackle the problem of poverty," Livingstone
  said.The savings _ which would cut fuel costs
  by 20 percent for the city and could amount to
  about 32 million _ are to be directed toward
  cheaper bus travel for up to 250,000 Londoners
  living on income support. Those who qualify will
  get a half-price discount on bus fares.

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The Mayor of London is Ken Livingstone , who is
in his second term of office. He was elected in
2000 as an independent candidate and again in
2004 as a Labour candidate. Ken Livingstone was
also the leader of the GLC when it was abolished
in 1986.

• An important settlement for around two millennia,
  London is today one of the world's most important
  business, financial and cultural centres,1 and
  its influence in politics, education,
  entertainment, media, fashion and the arts all
  contribute to its status as one of the major
  global cities.2345
• London is the most populous city in the European
  Union 6 with a population of 7.5 million. It
  has a metropolitan area population of between 12
  and 14 million. Its population is very
  cosmopolitan, drawing from a wide range of
  peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over
  300 different languages. London is an
  international transport hub, with five
  international airports and a large port. It
  serves as the largest aviation hub in the
  world,7 and its main airport, the multi
  terminal Heathrow, carries more international
  passengers than any other airport in the world.
  8

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The Election of Ken Livingston
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FinanceNewsOnline

• Cheap oil to help poor in London (21 February
  2007)
• London Mayor Ken Livingstone has signed a deal
  with a Venezuelan state-owned oil firm to cut
  fuel prices for the capital's bus fleet.
• Mr Livingstone said the deal with Petroleos de
  Venezuela would provide half price bus and tram
  travel for people on income support, with an
  estimated 250,000 London residents eligible for
  the discount from July.
• The discount is to be administered via Oyster
  swipe cards.
• The 20 per cent discount will limit London bus
  fuel costs to under 16 million a year.
• As a quid pro quo, UK officials will assist Hugo
  Chavez's Latin American government in traffic
  management and urban planning.
• Greater London Authority officials will work in
  Venezuela, advising on recycling, waste
  management, traffic and reducing CO2 emissions.
• "That country has started on the road of using
  its oil riches not solely for a wealthy elite but
  for the benefit of the majority of its
  population, which lives in cities, prioritising
  areas such as improving healthcare and the
  environment, public transport, better housing and
  town planning," Mr Livingstone said.

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EVENING STANDARDDMayor's staff fly to 16 green
conferences

City Hall spent more than 80,000 on trips to
attend 16 conferences on tackling climate change
and improving the environment. Politicians and
officials have flown to destinations including
New York, Nairobi, San Francisco and Toronto in
the past two and a half years. The figures,
obtained by the London Assembly Conservatives,
show that deputy mayor Nicky Gavron has made 13
trips, while the Mayor's climate change adviser
Mark Watts has made six. It has led critics to
dub Ms Gavron "the member for Heathrow Central"
and question how the amount of foreign travel
fits in with Mayor Ken Livingstone's commitment
to tackle climate change. Brian Coleman, Tory
chairman of the London Assembly, said "I think
there are a lot of questions to be asked.
High flier deputy mayor Nicky Gavron
Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, will
deliver the keynote speech on the first day of
the CIBSE National Conference 2007. Raising the
issue of how cities can help tackle climate
change, and how London itself is rising to the
challenge, the Deputy Mayor will discuss how
integrated and holistic approaches can achieve
high standards of sustainable building design.
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U.S. considers moving London embassy after
neighbors express terror attack fears The
Associated PressPublished February 22, 2007

• The embassy has been housed at its current
  location since 1960. The building, whose
  architect also designed the Gateway Arch in St.
  Louis, has 600 rooms and nine floors with working
  space for about 750 employees

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Rice says U.S. has no desire for confrontation
with Iran

• WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States
  has no desire to have a conflict with Iran,
  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an
  interview with CNN on Thursday.
•     "Let me just say here publicly, the United
  States has no desire for confrontation with Iran.
  None," Rice said.
•     "The option that we have is to continue to
  try to convince those who are reasonable in Iran,
  that the course they are on is destructive," she
  said.
•     The U.S. top diplomat also reiterated
  Washington's willingness to talk to Iran if
  Tehran gives up its uranium-enrichment program.
•     Rice made the remarks when Iran on Wednesday
  defied a UN deadline for the Islamic Republic to
  suspend its uranium enrichment and vowed to
  continue its controversial nuclear program.
•     Although the White House and State Department
  have for days kept denying reports that the
  United States is to resort to military means
  against Iran for its defying of the UN
  resolution, American military presence in the
  gulf region has been remarkably beefed up as two
  U.S. aircraft carrier groups were deployed in the
  region.

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Putin attacks 'very dangerous' USBBC News
Saturday, 10 February 2007, 1936 GMT

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticised
  the United States for what he said was its
  "almost uncontained" use of force around the
  world.
• Washington's "very dangerous" approach to global
  relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race, he
  told a security summit in Munich.
• Correspondents say the strident speech may signal
  a more assertive Russia.
• Mr Putin told senior security officials from
  around the world that nations were "witnessing an
  almost uncontained hyper use of force in
  international relations".
• One state, the United States, has overstepped its
  national borders in every way," he said, speaking
  through a translator.
• "This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure
  anymore because nobody can hide behind
  international law.
• "This is nourishing an arms race with the desire
  of countries to get nuclear weapons."
• BBC defence and security correspondent Rob
  Watson, in Munich, said Mr Putin's speech was a
  strident performance which may well be remembered
  as a turning point in international relations.

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Amid Tensions With Iran, U.S. Carriers Arrive in
GulfBy ANDY CRITCHLOW Bloomberg News
February 21, 2007

• An American aircraft carrier battle group led by
  the USS John C. Stennis arrived in the Persian
  Gulf region as part of a buildup of forces amid
  heightened tension with Iran.
• The nuclear-powered Stennis, sent by President
  Bush last month, arrived in the region February
  15 to join the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as the
  second aircraft carrier battle group in the
  region, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said
  yesterday in a statement sent by e-mail. The
  fleet's area of operations includes the Gulf of
  Oman and the Persian Gulf, to the east of the
  Arabian Peninsula.
• The deployment of additional naval forces "is
  here to help foster stability and security in the
  region," the commander of the naval force, Rear
  Admiral Kevin Quinn, said in the statement.
• The U.S. and Iran are engaged in an increasingly
  tense standoff. The Bush administration, along
  with European allies and the U.N. Security
  Council are threatening sanctions unless Iran
  gives up trying to enrich uranium, which can be
  used in building a nuclear weapon. Last week, Mr.
  Bush said the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary
  Guard Corps is supplying explosives to militants
  in neighboring Iraq who are attacking American
  troops.

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Are leaders of India, China and Russia ready for
a radical breakthrough?Rajiv Sikri February 22,
2007

• The long-awaited meeting of the foreign ministers
  of India, China and Russia in New Delhi on
  February 14, was, at one level, merely the latest
  in a series of trilateral meetings at this level
  held annually since 2002, generally on the
  margins of multilateral gatherings
• From a strategic perspective, Russia realises
  that on its own it is not strong enough to
  challenge the West, specifically the US. China
  and India are the only countries that are large
  enough players and sufficiently
  independent-minded to be potential partners in
  this strategic balancing act.
• The Joint Statement issued after the New Delhi
  meeting contains many interesting nuances in this
  direction. It is noteworthy that its overwhelming
  emphasis is on the convergence of views on broad
  strategic issues, rather than on specific areas
  of trilateral cooperation.
• In a thinly veiled critique of US global policies
  and behaviour, the foreign ministers, we are
  told, emphasised the 'strong commitment' of the
  three countries to multilateral diplomacy, and
  exchanged views on 'how international relations
  are being presently conducted.'

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KOREAN AGREEMENT MAY HELP IRANIANSaturday,
February 17, 2007 - FreeMarketNews.comThe
six-nation agreement designed to end North
Korea's nuclear weapons program can serve as a
model and incentive for a similar deal with Iran,
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political
Affairs Nicholas Burns said. -Bloomberg

• In a signal to the U.S. and its European allies
  that the country wants to avoid escalating the
  dispute over its nuclear program, Iran is
  limiting uranium enrichment, two Western
  diplomats who requested anonymity said. The
  diplomats have direct knowledge of the
• International Atomic Energy Agency's Iran
  dossier.

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Germany and Britain welcome North Korean
agreement dpa German Press Agency Published
Tuesday February 13, 2007

• Berlin- The leaders of Germany and Britain
  welcomedTuesday's breakthrough with North Korea
  as a step towards ending thecountry's
  controversial nuclear programme.The agreement
  was a good example of what can be achieved by
  taking"a strong negotiating position based on
  principle," Chancellor AngelaMerkel and Prime
  Minister Tony Blair said in Berlin.Merkel said
  she was sure that the agreement would "not be
  lost onIran," which is threatened with UN
  sanctions over its refusal to haltits own
  nuclear enrichment programme.
• Jerusalem Post (Feb 14,2007) US President George
  W. Bush said Wednesday the roles of China, Japan,
  South Korea and Russia were all critically
  important to the "breakthrough" achieved this
  week in the North Korea nuclear disarmament
  talks.
• Bush said he "strongly disagreed" with former UN
  ambassador John Bolton and others who insist that
  the agreement was a bad deal.
• He also pointed out that North Korea has agreed
  to allow international inspectors to verify
  Pyongyang's compliance and pledged to disclose
  all of its nuclear programs as an initial step
  toward abandoning these programs.
• In return, North Korea will receive economic,
  humanitarian and energy assistance from the other
  parties to the discussions.

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Sept 20 2005Less than 24 hours after diplomats
announced a breakthrough pact to eliminate
nuclear arms in North Korea, the isolated
communist state threw cold water on the deal
today, saying it would not abandon its weapons
program until the United States gave it a
light-water nuclear reactor.

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N-Korea agrees to return to nuclear talks
Beijing, Oct 31, 2006 North Korea agreed on
Tuesday to return to six-party talks on
dismantling its atomic weapons just weeks after
staging its first nuclear test, drawing cautious
welcome from President George W. Bush and Asian
powers. Envoys from North Korea, the United
States and China met in Beijing and agreed to
restart the stalled talks in the near future, the
Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site,
promising an end to a year-long hiatus in the
negotiations. Bush welcomed North Korea's
agreement to return to the nuclear talks, but
added he would send teams to Asia to ensure UN
Security Council sanctions on the budding nuclear
power were enforced.

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Student Presentations

• Emerging Arab Mid East European Trade
• African Economic and Political Development
• India Development in Punjab and Maharashtra