Medio ambiente
Filter :
Idioma
Fecha de publicación
Tipo de contenido
Serie
Autores
National policies to mitigate, and adapt to, climate change, and their trade implications
Climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and policies intersect with international trade in a number of ways. Th is part reviews the range of policies to mitigate and adapt to the eff ects of climate change. It provides examples of national eff orts on climate change mitigation and adaptation whether voluntary or mandatory public or private. It is based mainly on national experiences and key literature on the topic. In broad terms it provides an overview of the rationale behind these mitigation and adaptation policies and their potential implications for the environment and trade. Th e key aspects in the design of climate change related measures are presented in order to draw a clearer picture of their overall potential and eff ects on environmental protection development and trade.
Climate change: The current state of knowledge
Th e scientifi c evidence on climate change and its impacts is compelling and continues to evolve. Th e Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007a) states that our planet’s climate is indisputably warming and the Stern Review (2006) on the economics of climate change concludes that climate change presents very serious global risks and demands an urgent global response.
Trade and Climate Change
What do we know about climate change? What is the relationship between trade and climate change? How does trade affect greenhouse gas emissions and can more open trade help to address climate change? What is the range of national measures that can contribute to global mitigation efforts? These are just some of the questions discussed by this report by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Impact of Disasters on International Trade
In this paper we examine the impact of major disasters on international trade flows using a gravity model. Our panel data consists of more than 170 countries for the years 1962-2004 yielding approximately 300000 observations. We find that the driving forces determining the impact of such events are the democracy level and to a lesser extent the area of the affected country. The less democratic and the smaller a country the more are its trade flows reduced in case it is struck by a disaster. We are also able to distinguish between the effect of a disaster on an importing and an exporting country.
Environmental Quality Provision and Eco-Labelling
This paper is a literature survey of some relevant issues arising from environmental quality provision and eco-labelling schemes. First of all it is shown how the two topics are strictly related. Firms adopting a production process (or producing a good) more environmentally friendly than others (environmental quality provision aspect) may want to make it public (eco-labelling aspect). The survey addresses the question of optimal environmental quality provision (also as a policy tool) and firms compliance. With regard to eco-labelling its impacts on market structure are analysed. It hasn’t been possible to consider all issues like for example that of moral hazard in providing non truthful information. Different issues related to trade are also analysed even if the literature is not abundant on this yet. In the literature both aspects of environmental quality provision and eco-labelling are analysed using product differentiation models. The usual result is that multiple equilibria arise depending also on the parameters. Models are also not robust to different assumptions. Environmental quality provision and eco-labelling are also compared to more traditional policy instruments like taxes (or subsidies) and standards. From the empirical evidence it can be concluded that information plays a crucial role both for consumers’ and producers’ decisions. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price to be informed about the greenness of a good and a label can really be a determinant in their choice of which brand to purchase. On the supply side disclosing information about the environmental performance of a firm can affect investment decisions and its stock value.
The effects of trade liberalization on the environment
In the 1996 Singapore Report of the CTE Members expressed an interest in undertaking further work to broaden the analysis of the potential environmental benefits of removing trade restrictions and distortions in specific sectors. It is considered that trade liberalization in certain sectors has the potential to yield benefits for both the multilateral trading system and the environment.
Market access and environmental requirements
This item is particularly important to the work of the CTE in that it holds the key to the complementarities that exist between sound trade and environmental policy-making. Improved market access for developing countries' products is key to the goal of achieving sustainable development. According to Principle 11 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development environmental standards objectives and priorities need to reflect the particular environmental and developmental context to which they apply. This means that environmental standards applied by some countries could be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to others particularly developing countries. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are especially vulnerable in this regard.
The Doha mandate on trade and environment
At the Doha Ministerial Conference WTO Members reaffirmed their commitment to health and environmental protection and agreed to embark on a new round of trade negotiations including negotiations on certain aspects of the linkage between trade and environment. In addition to launching new negotiations the Doha Ministerial Declaration requested the CTE in pursuing work on all items in its terms of reference to focus on three of those items and together with the Commitee on Trade and Development to act as a forum in which the environmental and developmental aspects of the negotiations can be debated.
Brief history of the trade and environment debate
The trade and environment debate is not new. The link between trade and environmental protection consisting of both the impact of environmental policies on trade as well as the impact of trade on the environment was recognized as early as 1970. In the early 1970s there was growing international concern regarding the impact of economic growth on social development and the environment. This led to the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
Transparency and relations with other organizations
The provisions of the multilateral trading system with respect to the transparency of trade measures used for environmental purposes.
Relevant GATT/WTO provisions
The principle of non-discrimination has two components: the Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) clause contained in GATT Article I and the National Treatment principle contained in Article III. According to Article I WTO Members are bound to grant to the products of other Members treatment no less favourable than that accorded to the products of any other country. Thus no country is to give special trading advantages to another or to discriminate against it. Therefore all Members are on an equal footing and all share the benefits of any moves towards lower trade barriers. The MFN principle ensures that developing countries and others with little economic leverage are able to benefit freely from the best trading conditions whenever and wherever they are negotiated. A second component of non-discrimination is National Treatment. Article III stipulates that once goods have entered a market they must be treated no less favourably than equivalent domestically-produced goods.
Annexes
Ministers meeting on the occasion of signing the Final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.
Environment-Related disputes: An overview
Under the GATT six panel proceedings involving an examination of environmental measures or human health-related measures under Article XX were completed. Of the six reports three have not been adopted by GATT Contracting Parties. Under the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding three such proceedings have been completed. The following provides a factual overview of these disputes.
The relationship between MEAs and the WTO
The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and trade measures for environmental purposes including those pursuant to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
Trade and Environment at the WTO
Developed to assist public understanding of the trade and environment debate in the WTO this document briefly presents its history and focuses on trade and environment related issues within the Doha mandate the effects of trade liberalization on the environment the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and the WTO and a review of trade disputes involving environmental issues.
National Environmental Policies and Multilateral Trade Rules
This paper provides an overview of institutional economic and legal aspects of the relationship between national environmental policies and the multilateral trading system. In particular it analyses some of the difficulties the WTO Dispute Settlement System faces when having to evaluate disputes on national environmental policies that have an impact on trade. From an economist's point of view it would be desirable that optimal environmental policies i.e. policies that correct existing market failures be ruled consistent with multilateral trade law. This paper argues that WTO law in theory provides appropriate tools to ensure rulings that are consistent with economic thinking. Yet the paper also argues that economists have a rather imperfect knowledge of the precise welfare effects of different types of environmental policies. In practice therefore it is questionable whether economists are able to give adequate guidance to legal experts when it comes to the evaluation of national environmental policies. This is one of the reasons why there continues to be some degree of uncertainty as to the possible interpretations of certain WTO rules in the context of environmental disputes.