Agriculture and Trade in the Climate Change Negotiations

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the trade-related obstacles preventing the inclusion of agriculture as a sectoral approach to mitigation within international climate change negotiations. It highlights the tension between developed nations' desire for a work program and developing nations' fears that agreed-upon 'good practice' standards could be used as unilateral trade barriers, while also addressing concerns regarding food security and market-based mechanisms.

• Developing countries fear that defining 'good practice' in agriculture for climate mitigation will create internationally agreed standards that importing nations could later use as unilateral trade barriers, such as bans, higher tariffs, or eco-labels, to restrict products that do not meet those standards.
• There is a significant rift in negotiations regarding the agenda for agriculture; Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland proposed treating agriculture as an 'additional matter' rather than under 'sectoral approaches' to avoid extending the principle of common but differentiated responsibility to other sectors, a move blocked by the G-77/China.
• Net-food-importing developing countries are concerned that new low-carbon agricultural production methods may increase costs and lead to higher global food prices, potentially threatening food security.
• A group of developing countries, led by the ALBA group, strongly opposes the use of market-based mechanisms and offsets for agricultural mitigation, citing issues with non-permanence, additionality, and leakage.
• The report suggests that the most viable compromise to resolve trade disputes in the negotiations is to explicitly reference Article 3.5 of the Convention, which prohibits measures that constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or disguised restrictions on international trade.
• The agricultural sector is a significant contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 14 percent of global emissions, while also possessing the capacity to sequester carbon.

APA

Cosbey, A. (2011). Agriculture and Trade in the Climate Change Negotiations. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agriculture_trade.pdf

Chicago

Cosbey, Aaron. Agriculture and Trade in the Climate Change Negotiations. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agriculture_trade.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cosbey |first1=Aaron |title=Agriculture and Trade in the Climate Change Negotiations |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agriculture_trade.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cosbey2011agriculture, author = {Cosbey, Aaron}, title = {{Agriculture and Trade in the Climate Change Negotiations}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agriculture_trade.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }