Analysis of recent factory fires - Pakistan and Bangladesh

IATP has always argued that trade agreements need to respect and promote human rights, not drive a process of globalization that privileges commercial interests and tramples on public interests. In a new paper on land grabs, we reaffirm that position. “Land grabs” are large-scale purchases or leases of agricultural or forested land on terms that violate the rights of the people who live on or near that land. The problem has commanded enormous public policy and media attention for the last few years. In our paper, IATP sets some context for the land grabs phenomenon. We focus on two forces that have contributed significantly to the problem:

Our new report, Secret Scents: How Hidden Fragrance Allergens Harm Public Health, finds that millions of people are affected by skin allergies caused by chemicals in fragrance. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible for consumers to avoid specific fragrance allergens because companies keep fragrance ingredients a secret. The solution is simple: Companies should disclose fragrance ingredients in products so that people have the choice to avoid harmful chemicals.

As the world's most powerful corporate leaders and richest individuals gather at the exclusive World Economic Forum in Davos, TNI offers a visual insight into who is dominating the planet at a time of systemic economic and ecological crisis.

Your daily dose of what's trending in money and politics: TECH LOBBYING: Google marked its place in the upper echelons of Washington's influence world this week when it filed its fourth quarter 2012 lobbying report. The filing brings its total spent on lobbying to $18.2 million for the year -- nearly double its $9.6 million spent in 2011, which in turn was nearly twice as much as the $5 million it laid out in 2010.

The first presidential election since Citizens United lived up to its hype, with unprecedented outside spending from new sources making headlines. Demos and U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis of reports from campaigns, parties, and outside spenders to the Federal Election Commission found that our big money system distorts democracy and creates clear winners and losers.

Subsidizing Bad Behavior: How Corporate Legal Settlements for Harming the Public Become Lucrative Tax Write Offs, with Recommendations for Reform

Mystery donors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2012 elections via nonprofits and shell corporations, despite widespread public support for disclosure and decades of legal precedent supporting the public’s right to know the sources of election-related spending. A new report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Center for Media and Democracy found that contributions from phony for-profit corporations accounted for nearly 17 percent of all business donations to Super PACs.

Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have begun to disrupt the global climate, triggering extreme weather events around the globe in recent years. To address this growing climate crisis, the global economy must rapidly transition to low-carbon energy sources. This transition poses major challenges for the banking sector, which will need to shift its financing from fossil fuel-based power sources to low-carbon energy infrastructure.