2022 part2

90/ WTO members highlight importance of integrating trade and environment in MC12 outcomes

2 JUNE 2022

At a meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) on 2 June 2022, members briefed the CTE on current issues on trade and environment, including circular economy, plastics pollution, climate change, biodiversity, transfer of technology and capacity building. Members also underlined the need to advance environmental issues in the multilateral trading agenda and highlighted the importance of including environmental considerations in the outcome document for the 12th Ministerial Conference.

Updates from members

New Zealand updated members on recent developments on fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR), noting that a high-level work plan will be circulated at MC12. Notably, the work plan is expected to cover development issues associated with FFSR and lessons learned from reform efforts in order to advance discussions, it said. Samoa is the latest co-sponsor of the joint ministerial statement on FFSR issued in December last year, bringing the number of signatories to 47.

Costa Rica provided an update on the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD). Based on the priorities included in the Ministerial Statement of December 2021, and to advance discussions in a more efficient and targeted way between plenary meetings, co-sponsors established four thematic working groups on i) trade-related climate measures; ii) environmental goods and services; iii) circular economy — circularity; and iv) subsidies. The first set of working group meetings were held on 17-18 May. Welcoming Tajikistan as the newest member of the initiative’s 72 co-sponsors, Costa Rica highlighted that TESSD was an inclusive, forward-looking, and open platform, where all perspectives are welcome.

Ecuador updated members on the ongoing work of the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP). Since the last CTE meeting, two plenary meetings have been held where participating members discussed new data and evidence on the relationship between plastic pollution and trade and how to effectively tackle this complex, multifaceted issue from the perspective of trade policy. Ecuador said coordinators wish to deepen their engagement with the UN Environment Assembly negotiation process towards a global plastic pollution instrument and with the World Customs Organization to enhance cooperation on plastics flow and customs identification.

Waste regulations and the circular economy

As part of its European Green Deal to make the European Union (EU) climate neutral by 2050, the EU presented its legislative proposal on ecodesign for sustainable products (ESPR). ESPR aims to address environmental challenges to help the EU achieve its environmental goals, while also improving consumer protection and facilitating work for supply chain actors..

The EU also presented revisions to its waste shipment regulation. These changes ensure that the EU’s waste challenges are not exported to third countries and facilitate the shipment of waste destined for re-use and recycling. Some members noted that sustainability initiatives implemented by the EU should take account of developing countries’ capacities, while others stressed the need for dialogue since environmental policies should not create unnecessary barriers to trade.

The United States presented its discussion paper on climate change and circular economy, highlighting that addressing climate change is not a siloed endeavour. It also said that the topics of circular economy, preventing carbon leakage and promoting trade in certain environmental goods and services all have a significant connection to each other. Several members supported an idea from the discussion paper of setting up a roundtable with stakeholders and experts to consider trade measures that can positively contribute to addressing climate change.

Capacity building and technology transfer

The CTE received several briefings by the WTO Secretariat and other international institutions on activities undertaken to facilitate capacity building and transfer of technology related to the environment.

The WTO Secretariat provided a report on members’ responses to the Aid for Trade monitoring and evaluation (M&E) self-assessment exercise. The results highlighted members’ increased effort to integrate climate and environment objectives in domestic frameworks and highlighted circular economy as an emerging area of focus. Members were also briefed on the joint webinar series co-organized by the WTO and the World Bank titled “How to unleash trade and scale wide adoption of environmental goods and services”. This is the second webinar in the series focussing on the developmental dimension of trade and climate change.

The WTO Secretariat also reported to members on recent activities related to the review of the implementation of Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and incentives for technology transfer to least-developed countries (LDCs) in the area of environment and climate change. The WTO Secretariat noted that Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States reported 449 technology transfer incentive programmes, which are benefiting 43 LDC members and observers.

Briefings included a presentation by the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) on its contribution to the transfer of climate technologies. CTNC’s mandate covers both climate mitigation and adaptation technologies. Its work so far has enabled the transfer of over 360 technology solutions to over 107 countries across various regions of the world, including small island developing states (SIDS) and LDCs.

Finally, a presentation by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) also highlighted the importance of technology transfer, especially for providing a strong means of implementation. To facilitate interactions with relevant stakeholders and to give visibility to technologies that tackle specific bio-diversity challenges, CBD is organizing a Technology and Innovation Expo.

Biodiversity

The CBD Secretariat provided an update on recent meetings and activities on biodiversity. Parties to the CBD agreed to establish a dedicated working group to develop the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The Secretariat also noted that the “Kunming Declaration”, which aimed to promote the integration and mainstreaming of biodiversity into decision-making and to strengthen cross-sectoral coordinating mechanisms on biodiversity, had been adopted by more than 100 countries. Furthermore, while considerable work still needs to be done by the CBD COP, the Secretariat noted that many countries have pledged financial support for the implementation of the CBD.

The United Kingdom highlighted that trade could play an important role in delivering targets to reduce biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change. It made reference to the “Declaration on Forests and Land-use” agreed in COP 26 in 2021. Furthermore, the United Kingdom emphasized that CBD COP 15 presented an opportunity to agree on a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. It stated its intention to work with WTO members to explore opportunities to pursue a nature-positive economy.

Other items

The United Kingdom, Egypt and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) briefed members on the outcome of COP26 and preparations towards COP27 to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Portugal also presented an update on the UN Ocean Conference, which will be held from 27 June to 1 July in Lisbon.

New Zealand provided an update on the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) negotiations. ACCTS partners have held two rounds of negotiations since February, with the objective of creating an open plurilateral agreement available for all WTO members to join. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also provided reports on their recent activities.

Discussions on environment in MC12 outcome document

A number of members said that MC12 should give a strong indication that sustainability considerations are part of the WTO agenda and that the organization is committed to tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Several members indicated their support for adding a paragraph on environment in the outcome document at MC12, with the aim of highlighting the role of the CTE as a forum dedicated to dialogue on the relationship between trade and environmental measures.

Source: wto.org