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

The document maps the governance landscape of the WTO regarding trade and the environment. It details the roles of various committees, the dispute settlement mechanism, and the Trade Policy Review Mechanism in monitoring and negotiating environmental measures. It also highlights three major member-led initiatives—TESSD, DPP, and FFSR—and the role of the WTO Secretariat in facilitating information exchange and technical assistance to support sustainable development and climate goals.

• 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 remains a partial agreement with outstanding issues regarding overcapacity and overfishing.
• The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) serves as the primary mechanism for discussing the trade-environment nexus. Recent activity includes thematic sessions on energy transition and submissions regarding border carbon adjustments, deforestation, and the transfer of technology.
• Between 2009 and 2022, the WTO's Environmental Database (EDB) recorded 8,661 environment-related notifications referring to 18,197 measures. These measures most frequently target the agriculture, manufacturing, and chemicals sectors, with subsidies being the most common instrument.
• WTO dispute settlement jurisprudence generally affirms that non-discriminatory environmental policies are compatible with WTO obligations. Disputes typically center on whether measures are applied as "disguised trade protectionism" or "unjustifiable discrimination" rather than the environmental legitimacy of the measure itself.
• Three major member-led initiatives have emerged to foster cooperation: the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution (DPP), and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR). These initiatives involve a diverse range of members and focus on specific thematic areas like circular economy, plastic waste, and the phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
• The WTO Secretariat supports environmental goals through the Environmental Database, cooperation with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), and technical assistance. It also organizes events like the WTO Trade and Environment Week and participates in international forums such as COP28.
• Aid for Trade is increasingly incorporating sustainability objectives. 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} }