Medio ambiente
Filter :
Idioma
Fecha de publicación
Tipo de contenido
Serie
Autores
Annex
This annex provides a comprehensive but non-exhaustive list of quality infrastructure elements for green hydrogen (GH2) that should be implemented according to an Expert Survey for IRENA’s ongoing project “Quality Infrastructure for Green Hydrogen: technical standards and quality control for the production and trade of renewable hydrogen”.
Acknowledgements/Abbreviations
This publication has been prepared under the overall guidance of Aik Hoe Lim of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Roland Roesch of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
International Trade and Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable power – known as green hydrogen – is widely recognised as a key pillar in replacing fossil fuels and decarbonizing sectors that cannot easily be electrified such as some industrial processes shipping and aviation. This publication – jointly produced by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) – explores how trade policies can support the development of green hydrogen markets. The publication highlights in particular how lowering tariffs on key products building reliable infrastructure realigning domestic support programmes and developing green government procurement can foster the development of green hydrogen supply chains and the transition to a low-carbon economy. International trade could also play a significant role in matching supply and demand for green hydrogen as the potential for domestic production in some economies might not be enough to satisfy domestic demand. The publication also addresses the challenges and opportunities for developing economies offered by green hydrogen and its derivatives such as green methanol and green ammonia. It underscores the importance of international cooperation and the need to align regulatory frameworks to encourage technology development enhanced transparency and market growth.
Mapping supply chain issues from a trade perspective
Green hydrogen has a number of uses. It can be used directly as an energy carrier and chemical input in multiple end-use applications. It can also be combined with a sustainable carbon source or with nitrogen to produce derivative compounds such as methanol or ammonia which can be used as feedstock for chemical production (e.g. plastics and fertilizers) or as sustainable fuels.
Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement
Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement aims to ensure that regulations standards testing and certification procedures followed by WTO members do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Annual Review of TBT Agreement The WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade collects data on an annual basis on the implementation of the TBT Agreement. The information in this brochure is based on the 2022 review.
The role of trade in adapting to climate change
While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to limit the consequences of climate change climate change is already having a major impact on the environment people and as a result the global economy. This chapter explores the impacts of climate change on international trade and discusses the role that trade trade policy and international cooperation can play in supporting climate change adaptation strategies. Climate change increases trade costs and disrupts production and supply chains. However trade and trade policies in conjunction with relevant policies and international cooperation can help to alleviate some of the impacts of climate change including on food security by contributing to enhancing economic resilience.
Foreword by the WTO Director-General
Climate change is an existential threat to people’s lives and is dramatically reshaping economic activity and trade. This year alone from the Horn of Africa to China from Europe to the Americas we have seen increasing heat and prolonged drought damage crops and reduce electricity production while low water levels in major rivers have made it difficult to transport industrial and agricultural goods. Severe flooding left a third of Pakistan under water devastating key export crops and putting the country’s food and economic security at risk.
Conclusion
Climate change is having a damaging effect on people the environment and the economy globally. Major economic investment and ambitious policy actions will be required to steer the economy towards a sustainable low-carbon growth trajectory which is necessary to mitigate climate change and adapt to its disruptive and costly consequences. Thus both climate change and climate policies will have significant consequences for international trade and trade policies.
Carbon pricing and international trade
Although different instruments can be used to mitigate climate change carbon pricing has attracted increasing attention. This chapter explores the role of carbon pricing in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its implication on international trade and trade policies. Carbon pricing puts a price on carbon emissions which can motivate firms and individuals to make more climate-friendly investing and purchasing decisions. While the proliferation of carbon pricing schemes highlights the urgency to tackle climate change they may lead to an unnecessary complex patchwork of domestic and regional schemes. Greater international cooperation is essential to find common solutions to carbon pricing and the WTO remains an appropriate forum to contribute to these efforts.
World Trade Report 2022
Climate change is having a profound impact on people’s lives across the world. Mitigating and adapting to climate change will require major economic investment and coordinated action to transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy. The World Trade Report 2022 explores the complex interlinkages between climate change international trade and climate and trade policies. Although international trade generates greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate-related natural disasters it can also play an essential role in helping countries reduce emissions by increasing the availability and affordability of environmental goods services and technologies. International trade can also play a key role in helping countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and build future resilience. The World Trade Report 2022 shows how international trade and trade rules can contribute to addressing climate change. Ensuring trade and climate change policies are mutually supportive requires global coordination and transparency about government measures. The WTO already plays an important role in helping countries tackle climate change by maintaining a predictable trading environment underpinned by WTO rules that allow for international trade in critical goods and services needed to cope with the consequences of climate change and to reduce emissions. Further international cooperation at the WTO could strengthen the mutual supportiveness of trade and climate change policies so that the world is better equipped to transition to a low-carbon economy.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2022 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Anabel González and Jean-Marie Paugam WTO Deputy Directors-General and was coordinated by José-Antonio Monteiro and Ankai Xu.
The decarbonization of international trade
The transition to a low-carbon economy will require the transformation of many economic activities including international trade. This chapter looks at the extent to which trade contributes to greenhouse gas emissions but also assesses its importance for the diffusion of the technology and know-how needed to make production transportation and consumption cleaner. Although carbon emissions associated with international trade have tended to decrease in recent years bold steps are needed to further reduce trade-related emissions. Greater international cooperation is needed to support efforts to decarbonize supply chains and modes of international transport.
Executive summary
Climate change represents a severe pervasive and potentially irreversible threat to people ecosystems public health infrastructure and the global economy. Left unabated it could undo much of the progress made over recent decades in development poverty reduction and prosperity creation. Developing countries – in particular small-island developing states and least-developed countries (LDCs) – are likely to suffer the most due to their greater exposure and vulnerability to climate risks and natural disasters and their more limited capacity to adapt to climate change. Leveraging trade to tackle climate change presents several development and growth opportunities and will require significant policy actions to advance a just transition towards a low-carbon inclusive and resilient future.
The trade implications of a low-carbon economy
The global economy needs to effect wide-ranging and immediate changes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to limit climate change. This chapter explores how the transition to a low-carbon economy could impact international trade patterns and outlines the role that trade trade policy and international cooperation can play in supporting a just low-carbon transition. Although a low-carbon transition entails short-term investment and adjustment costs it can also provide important economic benefits and opportunities. The WTO has an important role to play in increasing the ambition and viability of climate change mitigation actions.
The contribution of trade in environmental goods and services
The transition to a low-carbon economy depends among other things on the development adoption and diffusion of environmental goods services and technologies. This chapter looks at the extent to which trade in environmental goods and services can contribute to the low-carbon transition. Although international trade in environmental goods is uneven across regions the sector is very dynamic. While the WTO agreements ensure that trade in environmental goods and services flows as smoothly predictably and freely as possible the WTO could make an even greater contribution to the development and deployment of environmental technologies by addressing relevant trade barriers and improving data quality on trade and trade policy of environmental goods and services.
Introduction
Tackling climate change requires a transformation of the global economy. While limiting consumption and changing lifestyles would help reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero will be impossible without technological and structural change on a global scale. This transformation will involve costs but also opportunities – not just to head off an environmental catastrophe but to reinvent the way the world generates energy manufactures products and grows food. Just as trade helped to drive economic progress in the past – by incentivizing innovation leveraging comparative advantages and expanding access to resources and technologies – trade can play a central role in driving progress towards a low-carbon global economy. But harnessing the potential of trade will demand new policies and more cooperation.
The trade implications of a low-carbon economy
The global economy needs to effect wide-ranging and immediate changes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to limit climate change. This chapter explores how the transition to a low-carbon economy could impact international trade patterns and outlines the role that trade trade policy and international cooperation can play in supporting a just low-carbon transition. Although a low-carbon transition entails short-term investment and adjustment costs it can also provide important economic benefits and opportunities. The WTO has an important role to play in increasing the ambition and viability of climate change mitigation actions.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2022 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Anabel González and Jean-Marie Paugam WTO Deputy Directors-General and was coordinated by José-Antonio Monteiro and Ankai Xu.
Carbon pricing and international trade
Although different instruments can be used to mitigate climate change carbon pricing has attracted increasing attention. This chapter explores the role of carbon pricing in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its implication on international trade and trade policies. Carbon pricing puts a price on carbon emissions which can motivate firms and individuals to make more climate-friendly investing and purchasing decisions. While the proliferation of carbon pricing schemes highlights the urgency to tackle climate change they may lead to an unnecessary complex patchwork of domestic and regional schemes. Greater international cooperation is essential to find common solutions to carbon pricing and the WTO remains an appropriate forum to contribute to these efforts.
Introduction
Tackling climate change requires a transformation of the global economy. While limiting consumption and changing lifestyles would help reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero will be impossible without technological and structural change on a global scale. This transformation will involve costs but also opportunities – not just to head off an environmental catastrophe but to reinvent the way the world generates energy manufactures products and grows food. Just as trade helped to drive economic progress in the past – by incentivizing innovation leveraging comparative advantages and expanding access to resources and technologies – trade can play a central role in driving progress towards a low-carbon global economy. But harnessing the potential of trade will demand new policies and more cooperation.
The contribution of trade in environmental goods and services
The transition to a low-carbon economy depends among other things on the development adoption and diffusion of environmental goods services and technologies. This chapter looks at the extent to which trade in environmental goods and services can contribute to the low-carbon transition. Although international trade in environmental goods is uneven across regions the sector is very dynamic. While the WTO agreements ensure that trade in environmental goods and services flows as smoothly predictably and freely as possible the WTO could make an even greater contribution to the development and deployment of environmental technologies by addressing relevant trade barriers and improving data quality on trade and trade policy of environmental goods and services.
Executive summary
Climate change represents a severe pervasive and potentially irreversible threat to people ecosystems public health infrastructure and the global economy. Left unabated it could undo much of the progress made over recent decades in development poverty reduction and prosperity creation. Developing countries – in particular small-island developing states and least-developed countries (LDCs) – are likely to suffer the most due to their greater exposure and vulnerability to climate risks and natural disasters and their more limited capacity to adapt to climate change. Leveraging trade to tackle climate change presents several development and growth opportunities and will require significant policy actions to advance a just transition towards a low-carbon inclusive and resilient future.
Disclaimer
The World Trade Report and its contents are the sole responsibility of the WTO Secretariat except for the opinion pieces written by the external contributors which are the sole responsibility of their respective authors. The Report does not reflect the opinions or views of members of the WTO. The authors of the Report also wish to exonerate those who have commented upon it from responsibility for any outstanding errors or omissions.
The decarbonization of international trade
The transition to a low-carbon economy will require the transformation of many economic activities including international trade. This chapter looks at the extent to which trade contributes to greenhouse gas emissions but also assesses its importance for the diffusion of the technology and know-how needed to make production transportation and consumption cleaner. Although carbon emissions associated with international trade have tended to decrease in recent years bold steps are needed to further reduce trade-related emissions. Greater international cooperation is needed to support efforts to decarbonize supply chains and modes of international transport.
The role of trade in adapting to climate change
While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to limit the consequences of climate change climate change is already having a major impact on the environment people and as a result the global economy. This chapter explores the impacts of climate change on international trade and discusses the role that trade trade policy and international cooperation can play in supporting climate change adaptation strategies. Climate change increases trade costs and disrupts production and supply chains. However trade and trade policies in conjunction with relevant policies and international cooperation can help to alleviate some of the impacts of climate change including on food security by contributing to enhancing economic resilience.
Foreword by the WTO Director-General
Climate change is an existential threat to people’s lives and is dramatically reshaping economic activity and trade. This year alone from the Horn of Africa to China from Europe to the Americas we have seen increasing heat and prolonged drought damage crops and reduce electricity production while low water levels in major rivers have made it difficult to transport industrial and agricultural goods. Severe flooding left a third of Pakistan under water devastating key export crops and putting the country’s food and economic security at risk.
Conclusion
Climate change is having a damaging effect on people the environment and the economy globally. Major economic investment and ambitious policy actions will be required to steer the economy towards a sustainable low-carbon growth trajectory which is necessary to mitigate climate change and adapt to its disruptive and costly consequences. Thus both climate change and climate policies will have significant consequences for international trade and trade policies.
Trade policies for a renewable-powered future
Open and transparent trade policies implemented over several decades have resulted in lower barriers to goods and services trade including goods and services related to renewable energies in general and solar PV in particular. More open and transparent trade regimes have enabled the emergence of a globally integrated solar PV market where silicon wafers cells modules inverters mounting systems combiner boxes and other solar PV components along with the machines to manufacture PV cells modules and panels are routinely traded back and forth among countries along tightly integrated value chains. Additional policy efforts to reduce remaining trade barriers and facilitate trade could further enhance solar PV supply chains reduce costs and accelerate the dissemination of solar PV and other renewable energies to where they are needed.
International cooperation for better quality and better trade
In today's globalized world economy QI systems cannot operate in isolation. Cross-border cooperation on QI can help governments achieve sustainable energy systems while helping companies along the solar PV value chain seize market opportunities and avoid unnecessary costs. International cooperation on QI takes different forms from mutual recognition and regulatory provisions in trade agreements to formal cooperation partnerships and regulatory harmonization. The most appropriate approaches in any given situation differ depending on the compatibility of regulatory environments and systems the sector type and degree of regulation already in place and the level of technical and institutional capacity of the countries involved among several other factors.
The solar photovoltaic industry and the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the most acute health crisis in generations and has sent shockwaves across economies worldwide. Renewable energies can play a dual role in helping the world to recover. First they can strengthen healthcare and other critical public infrastructures. Second when integrated into response plans and strategies to “build back better” (i.e. rebuild economies in light of the numerous problems which arose as a result of the pandemic) renewable energies can help mitigate the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting economic recovery boosting job creation fostering access to electricity and economic diversification and putting the world on a climate-safe path.
Global value chains in the solar PV sector
Value creation along the solar PV supply chain involves a broad range of goods and services (Box 1). Some of these goods and services are supplied domestically but many others are traded across borders. This section provides an overview of global trade flows in selected goods along the solar PV value chain. Included in the analysis are machines to manufacture solar PV wafers cells modules and panels along with selected solar PV components such as PV generators inverters PV cells and where relevant the parts needed to produce some of these goods (see Appendix).
Trade and quality infrastructure
Trade in solar PV goods and services can only help to build a competitive solar energy sector if the goods and services in question meet customer requirements and are otherwise fit for the purpose for which they are intended. Underperforming unreliable and failing products create barriers to the development and enhancement of solar PV and hamper the role of trade in promoting the technology's rapid diffusion across borders. A wellfunctioning QI system is a key tool to keep deficient sub-standard quality products from entering the supply chain and to build a competitive solar PV sector that delivers economic social and environmental benefits (IRENA 2017a).
Trading into a Bright Energy Future
Open global trade supported by a well-functioning “quality infrastructure” has been an important factor in the rapid deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies around the world. Keeping markets open is critically important to ensure that all countries can benefit from solar PV a pillar of the low-carbon sustainable energy system needed to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and fulfil the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) looks at how open transparent and inclusive trade policies can support cost reductions deployment of components and job creation in the solar PV sector strengthening the critical infrastructure needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting efforts to rebuild the world economy. The report examines the need for countries to develop a robust quality infrastructure to promote safe trade in solar PV goods and services. This would reduce the risks of unreliable products entering the value chain and ensure stability for investors and other participants in the value chain. The report also looks at the need to strengthen international cooperation and demonstrates how IRENA and the WTO can support efforts to promote a secure and inclusive global solar PV market through the effective use of quality infrastructure.
Buena Vista Social Corporate Responsibility Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of many companies' business strategy. A detailed analysis of 579 RTAs including 305 agreements currently in force and notified to the WTO (as of December 2020) reveals that a limited but increasing number of RTAs namely 65 agreements refer explicitly to CSR. These CSR-related provisions are particularly heterogeneous in terms of location in the RTA language scope and commitments.
Introduction
This booklet by the Trade and Environment Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO) aims at improving understanding of the role of trade and trade rules with regards to environmental issues. It seeks to answer in easyto- understand terms some of the key questions of the trade and environment debate as they relate to the multilateral trading system. In this sense it is not an exhaustive analysis of the issues covered but rather an attempt to provide basic information and examples to answer some common questions raised about trade and the environment.
What is the role of the WTO in furthering members’ environmental policies?
The WTO advocates for rules-based trade not free-for-all trade. WTO rules by providing predictability and ensuring that protectionism is not introduced through the back door contribute to more effective and coherent environment-related trade policies.
Since WTO rules do not prevent environmental action, what do they say?
When it comes to the environment the basic thrust of WTO rules is that environmental objectives should not be used as an excuse to protect domestic producers.
What are the links between trade and the environment?
The world economy has changed profoundly over the past decades as there has been a sharp increase in population and a near tripling of average income since 1960. During this period our economies have become ever more integrated due to advances in communication and information technologies along with lower barriers to global trade and investment.
Can governments provide green support?
Since 2009 more than 5000 support measures for a host of environmental objectives have been notified to the WTO.
Do WTO commitments prevent governments from protecting the environment?
The first paragraph of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement) states that sustainable development and the protection of the environment are central objectives of the multilateral trading system.
Short Answers to Big Questions on the WTO and the Environment
This booklet by the Trade and Environment Division aims at improving understanding of the role of trade and trade rules with regards to environmental issues. It seeks to answer in easy-to-understand terms some of the key questions of the trade and environment debate as they relate to the multilateral trading system.
Trade Policies for a Circular Economy
From its initial focus on minimizing waste generation the circular economy has evolved into a broad-based approach to make resource use more sustainable. A big part of the appeal of a circular economy is the opportunities it creates not only for resource savings and better human health and environmental outcomes but also for trade and economic diversification.
Trade and Environment
In order to ensure transparency and to keep abreast of trade policies in support of sustainability the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) mandated the WTO Secretariat to compile and collate all environment-related measures notified to WTO. The database also includes environment-related entries found in Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs).
How do natural disasters affect services trade?
This paper is the first in the literature to examine the impact of natural disasters on trade in services. We measure the magnitude of natural disasters using two distinct sets of variables and quantify the effect of natural disasters on trade in services using a structural gravity model.
The economic dimension of trade in the SDGs
Trade can play an important role in boosting economic growth and supporting poverty reduction. The increased market access opportunities it offers can help countries create jobs improve incomes and attract investments. The SDGs put significant emphasis on the role that trade plays in promoting sustainable development and recognize the contribution that the WTO can make to the 2030 Agenda.
Mainstreaming trade to expand economic opportunities for poverty reduction
The United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a summit held in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015 which was attended by some 150 heads of state and government.
Executive summary
The WTO is central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which set targets to be achieved by 2030 in areas such as poverty reduction health education and the environment. The SDGs put significant emphasis on the role that trade plays in promoting sustainable development and recognize the contribution that the WTO can make to the 2030 Agenda.
The environmental dimension of trade in the SDGs
Achieving better economic growth and better environmental outcomes is an indispensable condition for achieving the SDGs. If economic growth continues along its current environmentally unsustainable trajectory the world risks compromising the prospects for future growth and human well-being and even undoing much of the progress made on both fronts during the past 50 years according to an OECD study. Forests wetlands and other forms of “natural capital” which make up almost 40% of the total wealth in developing and least-developed countries are under increased pressure due to air water and soil pollution along with rising greenhouse gas emissions says a recent World Bank report.
Emerging issues requiring the attention of the international community
Over the past 20 years international trade has undergone major changes. One main factor leading to these changes has been the unprecedented pace of technological innovation which is transforming the traditional way of conducting trade. Supported by increasingly fast and efficient technology e-commerce has been growing at significant rates. While global trade growth continues to be slow e-commerce was valued at US$ 22.1 trillion in 2015 a 38% increase from 2013.
Mainstreaming Trade to Attain the Sustainable Development Goals
The WTO is central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which set targets to be achieved by 2030 in areas such as poverty reduction health education and the environment. The SDGs put significant emphasis on the role that trade plays in promoting sustainable development and recognize the contribution that the WTO can make to the 2030 Agenda. By delivering and implementing trade reforms which are pro-growth and pro-development and by continuing to foster stable predictable and equitable trading relations across the world the WTO will play an important role in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals just as it did with the Millennium Development Goals before them. This report identifies steps which would help to ensure that international trade contributes to accelerating progress in achieving the SDGs
The social dimension of trade in the SDGs
Trade plays a critical role in addressing hunger food security nutrition and sustainable agriculture contributing to healthy lives and wellbeing employment and growth.
Connecting the dots: Environmental sustainability, economic prosperity and resilience
Samba Lahy vividly recalls the time when as a young man he used to go fishing with his parents off the coast of Tampolove one of the fishing villages dotting the southwest coast of Madagascar. Every time his family returned from the sea their long and narrow canoe would be filled to the brim with fish. But things have changed. Samba now with a family of his own has seen his catches dwindle. As a result like others in Tampolove he can no longer rely on fishing as his main source of income.
Building partnerships for trade, environment and prosperity
The world today is more interconnected than ever before. The sheer scale and scope of global value chains have created a new landscape for business and trade influencing how and where goods and services are produced and consumed. Countries are much more linked to one another and developing countries are playing an increasing role in international trade. In parallel the frequency and intensity of climate change and climate-related natural disasters has intensified at times causing disruptions to production networks.
Executive summary
The world is much more interconnected than ever before. The rise of production networks across countries has transformed the trade and business landscape influencing how and where goods and services are produced and consumed. Many developing countries are playing an increasing role in international trade but others remain excluded due to lack of financial resources knowledge and infrastructure.
Maximizing opportunities for cooperation on trade and environment
When a group of countries set about rebuilding the global trading system after World War II they were guided by the principle of multilateral trade cooperation as an effective way to avoid mutually defeating trade policies and to help build lasting peace. A key outcome was the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) — the WTO’s predecessor.
Foreword
During the past few decades trade has powered huge advances in economic development around the world. As the world economy has grown however so too have environmental challenges which in turn risk undermining wellbeing development health and economic growth itself.
Expanding the contribution of trade to global prosperity and a healthy environment
The world economy has changed profoundly over the past 60 years. The world’s population has more than doubled to 7.6 billion today from around 3 billion in 1960 while average income has almost tripled. During this period the world economy has become ever more integrated due to advances in communication and information technologies along with lower barriers to global trade and investment. These developments have made it possible for companies to co-ordinate complex activities at a distance cheaply and safely.
Making Trade Work for the Environment, Prosperity and Resilience
International trade offers unique opportunities to help tackle mounting environmental challenges while fostering economic and social prosperity. This new co-publication by the World Trade Organization and UN Environment illustrates how trade can support action by governments companies innovators and consumers to improve economies and protect the environment at the same time.
Typology of Environment-Related Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements
The last 25 years have witnessed a rapid increase in regional trade agreements (RTAs). Although RTAs generally aim at lowering tariff and non-tariff trade barriers an increasing number of trade agreements extend their scope to cover specific policy areas such as environmental protection and sustainable development. This paper establishes a comprehensive typology and quantitative analysis of environment-related provisions included in RTAs. The analysis covers all the RTAs currently into force that have been notified to the WTO between 1957 and May 2016 namely 270 trade agreements. While environmental exceptions along with environmental cooperation continue to be the most common types of environment-related provisions many other different types of provisions are incorporated in an increasing number of RTAs. The common feature of all environment-related provisions including environmental exceptions is their heterogeneity in terms of structure language and scope.
CITES and the WTO
This publication illustrates how the relationship between CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and the WTO has evolved into a leading example of how global trade and environmental regimes can support each other to achieve shared objectives.
Trade and Environment
The creation of the WTO in 1995 marked a crucial step in the history of multilateral trade helping to open up fresh avenues of dialogue on how trade interacts with the environment and how to ensure that trade and environmental policies work hand in hand. This brochure produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary looks into the interplay between trade and environment.
The Interface between the Trade and Climate Change Regimes
As governments increasingly adopt policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions concern has grown on two fronts. First carbon leakage can occur when mitigation policies are not the same across countries and producers seek to locate in jurisdictions where production costs are least affected by emission constraints. The risk of carbon leakage raises questions about the efficacy of climate change policies in a global sense. Secondly it is precisely the cost-related consequences of differential mitigation policies that feed industry concerns about competitiveness. We thus have a link between environmental and competitiveness perspectives that fuses climate change and trade regimes in potentially problematic ways as governments contemplate trade actions to manage the environmental and/or competitiveness consequences of differential climate change policies. On the trade side of this relationship we have the reality that the GATT/WTO rules were not originally drafted to accommodate climate change policies and concerns. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relevance of certain WTO rules to the interface between climate change and trade focusing in particular on border measures technical regulations on trade standards and labelling and subsidies and countervailing duties. It concludes that in the absence of clear international understandings on how to manage the climate change and trade interface we run the risk of a clash that compromises the effectiveness of climate change policies as well as the potential gains from specialization through trade.
Trade and Deforestation
Forest plays a significant role in the overall balance of carbon in the atmosphere. Forest carbon sequestration can potentially reduce the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However when deforestation takes place carbon is released to the atmosphere again. Globally it has been estimated that about 11% to 39% of all carbon emissions from human origin come from the forest sector (Hao et al. 1990). Regarding global warming the balance between forest conservation and deforestation can change forest sector activities from a solution to a problem and vice versa.
The Relation between International Trade and Freshwater Scarcity
It is becoming increasingly important to put freshwater issues in a global context. Local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy. With increasing trade between nations and continents water is more frequently used to produce exported goods. International trade in commodities implies long-distance transfers of water in virtual form where virtual water is understood as the volume of water that has been used to produce a commodity and that is thus virtually embedded in it. Knowledge about the virtual-water flows entering and leaving a country can cast a completely new light on the actual water scarcity of a country. For example Jordan imports about 5 to 7 billion m3 of virtual water per year which is in sharp contrast with the 1 billion m3 of water withdrawn annually from domestic water sources. This means that people in Jordan apparently survive owing to the import of water-intensive commodities from elsewhere for example the USA.
Trade and Fisheries
In this report we first give a brief overview of trade in seafood and seafood production. We then review the basic bioeconomic theory of the fishery and pinpoint why fisheries are different from most other industries. We next review the theoretical literature on trade and renewable resources that shows how unconventional outcomes from trade liberalization can emerge. Given this background we discuss the most important policy issues in relation to seafood and trade including sections on managing the global commons and domestic trends in management. In the final section we discuss specific issues that are germane to the WTO and its rules.
Conclusions
Th e main purpose of this Report has been to provide the reader with an understanding of the debate on the linkages between trade and climate change. Th e material reviewed shows that trade intersects with climate change in a multitude of ways. In part this is due to the innumerable implications that climate change may have in terms of its potential impacts and the profound regulatory and economic changes that will be required to mitigate and adapt to these impacts.
Trade and climate change: Theory and evidence
Th is part reviews the available economic literature on trade and climate change. It deals with questions such as: “To what extent do trade activities change greenhouse gas emissions?” or “Will trade opening lead to more emissions?”
Foreword
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the international community. Mitigating global warming and adapting to its consequences will require major economic investment and above all unequivocal determination on the part of policy-makers. With a challenge of this magnitude multilateral cooperation is crucial and a successful conclusion to the ongoing global negotiations on climate change would be the fi rst step towards achieving sustainable development for future generations. As we march towards Copenhagen we all have a responsibility to make a success of these negotiations. Climate change is not a problem that can aff ord to wait. It is a threat to future development peace and prosperity that must be tackled with the greatest sense of urgency by the entire community of nations.
Executive summary
Th is Report provides an overview of the key linkages between trade and climate change based on a review of available literature and a survey of relevant national policies.
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.