Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points

This policy brief by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) provides a comprehensive overview of the institutional entry points and governance processes within the World Trade Organization (WTO) where trade and environmental policies intersect. It details the roles of various WTO bodies, including the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), the dispute settlement mechanism, and the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM), while highlighting recent member-led initiatives on plastic pollution, fossil fuel subsidies, and environmental sustainability.

• The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at MC12, is the first WTO agreement specifically dedicated to environmental concerns. It prohibits subsidies for IUU fishing, overfished stocks, and fishing in the unregulated high seas, though it is considered a partial agreement as some controversial elements were postponed.
• The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) serves as the primary mechanism for discussing the trade-environment nexus. Recent activities include thematic sessions on energy transition and submissions regarding border carbon adjustments, deforestation, and the transfer of technology.
• Between 2009 and 2022, WTO members submitted 8,661 environment-related notifications referring to 18,197 measures. These measures most frequently take the form of subsidies, technical regulations, and standards, primarily targeting the agriculture, manufacturing, and chemicals sectors.
• The Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) is a member-led initiative with 76 co-sponsors as of March 2024. It operates four thematic working groups focusing on subsidies, circular economy, environmental goods and services, and trade-related climate measures.
• The Dialogue on Plastic Pollution (DPP) involves 78 WTO members as of February 2024. It aims to identify collective actions to reduce plastic pollution and transition to a circular plastics economy, including cooperation with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to reform Harmonized System codes.
• The Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative, co-sponsored by 48 members as of March 2024, seeks to increase transparency and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Recent follow-up actions focus on crisis support measures and identifying the most harmful subsidies to environment and trade.
• WTO dispute settlement jurisprudence generally affirms that non-discriminatory environmental policies are consistent with WTO obligations. Panels typically focus on whether measures are applied as 'disguised trade protectionism' or 'unjustifiable discrimination' rather than questioning the environmental legitimacy of the measure.
• The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) provides a peer-review process that enhances transparency. Between 2009 and 2022, the WTO Environmental Database documented 12,274 environment-related trade policy review entries.
• The WTO Secretariat supports trade and environment cooperation through the Environmental Database (EDB), a matrix on trade-related measures pursuant to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), and partnerships with organizations like UNEP.
• Technical assistance and Aid for Trade are increasingly incorporating sustainability. Analysis from 2022 indicated that approximately half of the $48.7 billion disbursed as aid for trade noted climate-related objectives, such as transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

APA

Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (2024). Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Trade-and-Environment-at-the-WTO-Updated-2024_2024-10-16-063336_uwxy.pdf?dm=1729060425

Chicago

Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points. 2024. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Trade-and-Environment-at-the-WTO-Updated-2024_2024-10-16-063336_uwxy.pdf?dm=1729060425.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |title=Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points |date=April 2024 |url=https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Trade-and-Environment-at-the-WTO-Updated-2024_2024-10-16-063336_uwxy.pdf?dm=1729060425 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forumontradeenvironmentthesdgs2024trade, author = {{Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}}, title = {{Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points}}, institution = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Trade-and-Environment-at-the-WTO-Updated-2024_2024-10-16-063336_uwxy.pdf?dm=1729060425}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }