A Nordic Research Agenda On Environment and Trade

The document outlines a proposed Nordic research agenda on environment and trade, based on a survey of 315 publications from 2002 to 2003. It identifies a significant lack of research on specific Doha Round negotiating options, southern perspectives, and the environmental impacts of bilateral trade agreements. The proposed agenda emphasizes six key areas: Doha negotiations, developing country research, regional and bilateral developments, regulatory reform, WTO policy research, and 'bigger picture' issues like international investment agreements and commodity markets.

• A literature survey of 315 items reveals that research on trade and environment is unevenly distributed, with the heaviest focus on institution building (32%) and environmental regulatory impacts of liberalization (just over 20%).
• There is a notable deficiency in research specifically targeting negotiating options for the Doha mandate, with only 6.9% of surveyed research focusing on this area, and a mere 0.8% addressing the relationship between the WTO and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
• Research from and about the Global South is underrepresented; only 29% of works were authored by southern researchers and 30% focused on the South, with a significant lack of broad legal analyses by southern authors (5%).
• The document identifies a critical research gap regarding the environmental impacts of bilateral trade and investment agreements, noting that bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are often concluded with little public debate and their arbitral disputes are usually closed to scrutiny.
• The proposed Nordic research agenda highlights the need for a 'new paradigm' for agricultural negotiations that defines goals beyond lowering trade barriers to include food security, technology transfer, and environmental protection.
• The document argues for 'bigger picture' research into a balanced international agreement on investment that moves beyond WTO confines to include corporate codes of conduct, disclosure requirements, and the right of the state to regulate.
• Nordic countries face specific challenges in implementing this research agenda, including a limited research base and the tension between publishing in Nordic languages for domestic policy and English for international impact.

APA

Halle, M. (2004). A Nordic Research Agenda On Environment and Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_nordic_research_agenda.pdf

Chicago

Halle, Mark. A Nordic Research Agenda On Environment and Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2004. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_nordic_research_agenda.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Halle |first1=Mark |title=A Nordic Research Agenda On Environment and Trade |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2004 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_nordic_research_agenda.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{halle2004nordic, author = {Halle, Mark}, title = {{A Nordic Research Agenda On Environment and Trade}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2004}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_nordic_research_agenda.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }