03.10.2018
“The changing landscape on global trade and the environment adds a new dimension to historical challenges and requires new thinking on global and national governance mechanisms”, – says the joint publication “Making trade work for the environment, prosperity and resilience”, prepared by WTO and UN Environment issued yesterday. It details how governments can work together to ensure that trade and a healthy environment reinforce each other.
“The 2030 Agenda calls on all countries to put trade at the service of a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient world”, – says the Report. Meanwhile trade linkages run through nearly all the SDGs, in direct and indirect ways. If properly supported, trade can serve as a lever to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Trade can help green business expand and flourish. It can promote environmental conservation and economic efficiency, and improve access to clean technologies at a lower cost.
To make sure trade delivers these benefits and works for people and the environment, countries around the world will have to better align trade, environment and sustainable development policies.It makes the case that opening up trade in environmental goods and services is a triple win for the economy, the environment and development.
“By working together, we hope to provide a useful resource to explore practical ways to expand trade opportunities that are good for the economy and for the environment,” – says Director-General Azevêdo. Examples of this could include agreeing deep cuts in fish-depleting subsidies and the scaling back of trade barriers on environmental goods and services. The WTO is the place to deliver progress on these issues.”
The Report emphasizes that to maximise the contribution of trade to a better and more resilient environment, action would be needed in the following areas: (i) collaborative work focusing on strengthening multilateral cooperation and governance, (ii) fostering private-public partnerships to facilitate market-oriented approaches that allow trade and environment to be mutually supportive, (iii) encouraging national policy makers to work together across environment and trade domain; (iv) fostering “win-win” opportunities which provide economic and environmental benefits, (v) supporting decision-makers from the world’s poorest countries, along with vulnerable groups and under-represented communities, in preserving natural assets, (vi) delivering inclusive, gender-sensitive outcomes for environmental and trade policy to support broader goals within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, (vii) raising awareness among stakeholders on the role of trade in environmental sustainability and resilience to climate change.
In 2018, WTO-UNEP jointly launched an initiative to build the dialogue among governments, the private sector and civil society on practical ways to deploy trade to strengthen the global economy and the environment, and to ensure a future for people whose livelihoods depend directly on natural resources.
