Fostering Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture and Trade at the WTO

This research paper by Christophe Bellmann of the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines strategies for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to integrate sustainability into agricultural trade policies. It argues that while unilateral measures exist, multilateral cooperation is essential to address transboundary environmental challenges, food insecurity, and the impact of agricultural subsidies.

• Agriculture is a major driver of environmental degradation and climate change, contributing nearly a quarter of global emissions when including forestry and other land use, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The sector currently fails to ensure global food security, with the number of people facing hunger rising to 828 million in 2021, an increase of 150 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The author identifies three 'windows of opportunity' for the WTO to advance sustainable agriculture: addressing environmentally harmful subsidies, managing sustainability requirements and standards, and enhancing the resilience of least developed countries and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs) through a new work program on food insecurity.
• To tackle harmful agricultural subsidies, the paper suggests creating a 'negative list' of unequivocally unsustainable practices, such as input subsidies for prohibited chemicals or mechanical tillage. This approach aligns with the Global Biodiversity Framework's goal to reduce subsidies by at least USD 500 billion annually by 2030.
• The document highlights the tension between unilateral sustainability measures—such as the European Union's mandatory due diligence on deforestation-free supply chains—and the compliance costs they impose on developing country exporters. It suggests the WTO explore positive incentives, such as increased market access for sustainably produced goods, and the use of voluntary standards to reduce compliance burdens.

APA

Bellmann, C. (2023). Fostering Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture and Trade at the WTO. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/fostering-cooperation-sustainable-agriculture-trade-wto

Chicago

Bellmann, Christophe. Fostering Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture and Trade at the WTO. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/fostering-cooperation-sustainable-agriculture-trade-wto.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bellmann |first1=Christophe |title=Fostering Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture and Trade at the WTO |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=14 April 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/fostering-cooperation-sustainable-agriculture-trade-wto |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bellmann2023fostering, author = {Bellmann, Christophe}, title = {{Fostering Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture and Trade at the WTO}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/fostering-cooperation-sustainable-agriculture-trade-wto}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }