Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System for Green Growth and Development: South Africa and Brazil within the WTO

The paper examines the challenges South Africa and Brazil face in transitioning to green economies and their shared vulnerability to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It argues that both nations perceive CBAM as a form of 'green protectionism' that violates WTO non-discrimination principles and the Paris Agreement's principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The authors suggest that South Africa and Brazil can collaborate through BRICS and BASIC to advocate for fairer trade rules, technological support, and the integration of development needs into WTO climate provisions. Domestically, the paper recommends that South Africa accelerate its Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) and reform its carbon tax, while Brazil should formalise a national carbon pricing regime and enforce its Forest Code to maintain export competitiveness.

• South Africa and Brazil both view the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as a protectionist tool disguised as climate policy, arguing it contradicts the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and the Paris Agreement.
• South Africa's economy is highly carbon-intensive due to the 'minerals energy complex,' making its manufacturing exports—particularly iron, steel, and aluminium—highly vulnerable to CBAM. Approximately $2.8 billion of its exports are at short-term risk.
• Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions are primarily driven by agriculture and land-use change, specifically cattle ranching, which accounts for an estimated 80% of deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon.
• There is a significant disparity between South Africa's effective carbon price and the EU's carbon price, which increases the risk that EU importers will favour cleaner sources to avoid CBAM costs.
• Brazil's iron and steel sector faces acute trade exposure under CBAM, with an estimated $2 billion in exports to the EU at risk, exacerbated by the lack of a domestic carbon price.
• South Africa's transition is hindered by the 'triple challenge' of high unemployment, poverty, and inequality, as well as the inefficiency of the state-owned electricity company, Eskom.
• The BRICS and BASIC blocs have formally opposed the CBAM, describing it as the 'politicization of climate change issues' and a violation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• South Africa's Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM), approved in March 2025, aims to roll out 3–5GW of renewable energy annually and generate over 25,000 jobs by 2030.
• The WTO's 'Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action' toolkit may be counterproductive for some African states if it encourages the redirection of fossil fuel subsidies away from sectors that provide essential foreign earnings.

APA

SIDIROPOULOS, E., & GOVENDER, D. (2025). Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System for Green Growth and Development: South Africa and Brazil within the WTO. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CNRP_SABTT-Working-Paper-2_Sidiropoulos-Govender_Trade-for-green-growth-1.pdf

Chicago

SIDIROPOULOS, ELIZABETH, and DANAE GOVENDER. Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System for Green Growth and Development: South Africa and Brazil within the WTO. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CNRP_SABTT-Working-Paper-2_Sidiropoulos-Govender_Trade-for-green-growth-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=SIDIROPOULOS |first1=ELIZABETH |last2=GOVENDER |first2=DANAE |title=Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System for Green Growth and Development: South Africa and Brazil within the WTO |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CNRP_SABTT-Working-Paper-2_Sidiropoulos-Govender_Trade-for-green-growth-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sidiropoulos2025strengthening, author = {SIDIROPOULOS, ELIZABETH and GOVENDER, DANAE}, title = {{Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System for Green Growth and Development: South Africa and Brazil within the WTO}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CNRP_SABTT-Working-Paper-2_Sidiropoulos-Govender_Trade-for-green-growth-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }