PAC 143 – The WTO Stalled by Multilateralism The Tenth Ministerial Conference, Nairobi, December 15-19, 2015

By Valérie Le Brenne. Translation: Lea Sharkey

The WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from December 15 to 19, 2015. On this occasion, the organisation welcomed a new member, Afghanistan, increasing the number of member States to 163. The meeting culminated in the adoption of six measures on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries (LDCs).

PAC 136 – A Political Censorship of Industrial Risks Tianjin Explosions, August 12 to 15, 2015

By Clément Paule. Translation: Lea Sharkey

On the evening of August 12, 2015, a blast shook off Tianjin City, the fourth most populated urban area of the People’s Republic of China. According to Chinese media, the incident had been caused by accidental fire of a storage station containing ethanol and alcohol based products…

Gouverner le climat? Vingt ans de négociations internationales Aykut Stefan A., Dahan Amy.  Paris, Presses de Sciences Po

A few months before the COP 21, the book by S. Aykut and A. Dahan offers readers valuable insights into the issues related to climate change negotiations.
In clear yet dense language, this manual retraces each and every steps of the construction of the climate regime, since the first warning signs until the Copenhagen Summit…

PAC 130 – Energy Transition Controlled by the Majors The 26th World Gas Conference

By Weiting Chao. Translation: Lawrence Myers

Six months before the Climate Conference (COP21), the 26th World Gas Conference (WGC2015) was held June 1-5, 2015, in Paris. Organized by the IGU (International Gas Union), the event brought together more than 4,000 representatives from 83 countries from the biggest global industry players including BP, Total, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ENI, BG Group, Statoil, Qatargass, PetroChina, etc. Climate change, which now takes center stage, incited these actors to discuss themes linked to energy transition…

PAC 127 – Socio-political Asymmetry of Economic Cooperation The Dominate Position of Chinese Firms in Algeria

By Moustafa Benberrah
Translation: Lawrence Myers
On April 16, 2015, the city of Constantine was declared the capital of Arab culture for one calendar year. During this time, Constantine will welcome theatrical plays, festivals, symposiums, exhibitions, etc. A budget of seven billion dinars (700 million dollars) is earmarked for the organization of this event. For the occasion, the Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has initiated several large projects including a cultural hub comprised of a cultural center, an urban library, a museum and galleries, alongside an art and history museum, an exhibition center and a 3,000-seat performance hall…