Trade and Environment Research: Building a New Research Agenda

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the state of research on the interface between trade and the environment. Based on a survey of 315 publications from 2002 to 2003 and consultations with an expert group, the document identifies significant gaps in current research—particularly regarding developing countries and specific WTO negotiating options—and proposes a new research agenda to better support sustainable development.

• A survey of 315 research items reveals that research effort is unevenly distributed, with the heaviest focus on institution building (32%) and environmental regulatory impacts of liberalization (just over 20%). Research on regional trade agreements accounted for 8.3%, while broad legal research stood at 6.6%.
• There is a notable lack of research specifically focused on negotiating options within the Doha mandate, which accounted for only 6.9% of the surveyed research. Within this small subset, the relationship between the WTO and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) received only 0.8% of total research.
• Research produced by and focused on the Global South is underrepresented and lacks robustness. While 29% of works were authored by Southern researchers and 30% focused on the South, these figures drop to 21% and 18% respectively if major commissioned projects by IISD and the UNEP/UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force are excluded.
• The proposed research agenda emphasizes the need for expanded developing country research, specifically regarding the impacts of liberalization on the ability to regulate, the effectiveness of capacity building, and the operationalization of special and differential treatment (SDT).
• The report identifies a shift in trade negotiations away from the WTO toward regional and bilateral agreements, which are subject to less public scrutiny and research. It specifically highlights the need for more research on bilateral investment treaties (BITs), which may have more significant environmental consequences than expected.
• The document calls for a new paradigm in agricultural negotiations that moves beyond lowering trade barriers to encompass goals such as food security, traditional knowledge, and environmental protection.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2003). Trade and Environment Research: Building a New Research Agenda. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_state_of_trade_env_research.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Trade and Environment Research: Building a New Research Agenda. 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_state_of_trade_env_research.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Trade and Environment Research: Building a New Research Agenda |date=December 2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_state_of_trade_env_research.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2003trade, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Trade and Environment Research: Building a New Research Agenda}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_state_of_trade_env_research.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }