Environment

The clean energy transition is critical to achieve net zero goals and is a key element of most economies’ nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, to keep global warming under a 1.5° Celsius threshold. The clean energy transition also has trade integration potential, as it helps to advance industrial development and addresses capacity constraints in energy generation capacity.

Nearly 40 per cent of anthropogenic GHG emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels to produce electricity (IEA, 2022b). Decarbonizing electricity generation is a critical step toward achieving net zero goals. Target 7.2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for a substantial increase in the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030 (UN General Assembly, 2015).

Expanded grid interconnection can advance the transition to low-carbon energy and unlock trade opportunities in renewable electricity, including for developing economies and LDCs.

This co-publication of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) focuses on a core aspect of international trade: ensuring security of supply. This role is increasingly important in the context of the transition to renewable energy, which is central to mitigating the effects of climate change.

The sun shines, the wind blows, and water flows, but not in the same places or at same times across the globe.

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.

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 pr Read More

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).

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 b Read More

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 Read More

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 s Read More