Accelerating Progress on Nature, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in a Shifting International Trading System

This research paper examines the intersection of the evolving international trading system and the urgent need to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development. It argues that while trade has historically contributed to environmental harm, it can be repurposed as a strategic tool for sustainability through new narratives, inclusive international cooperation, and coherent policy frameworks. The author identifies a shift from traditional trade liberalization toward 'multipurpose' approaches that balance security, resilience, and sustainability, and proposes a policy agenda to reorient trade rules, scale up sustainable technologies, and ensure equitable economic transformation for developing countries.

• The international trade landscape is shifting away from a long-standing focus on liberalization and efficiency toward 'multipurpose' approaches that prioritize domestic production, strategic autonomy, and national security.
• Trade relations are becoming increasingly fragmented and multipolar, characterized by a rise in regional alliances, bilateral agreements, and the growing influence of the BRICS+ group, which challenges the traditional dominance of the US and EU.
• Developing countries face a 'climate debt trap,' where high debt burdens limit their ability to invest in climate resilience, forcing a continued reliance on exports to meet debt obligations.
• The author proposes a new global trade narrative that reframes trade as a strategic tool for sustainability rather than just a vehicle for economic growth, emphasizing a 'nature-positive' approach and the integration of all three pillars of the climate agenda: mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.
• A proposed policy agenda for a sustainable trading system includes reorienting trade and investment rules to reward sustainable production, removing environmentally harmful subsidies (such as those for fossil fuels and overfishing), and mainstreaming sustainability impact assessments in trade negotiations.
• The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is identified as the WTO's first 'environmental' agreement, targeting subsidies that contribute to illegal fishing and marine resource depletion.
• Recent 'pathfinder' initiatives, such as the 2025 Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) involving New Zealand, Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, demonstrate how trade cooperation can eliminate tariffs on environmental goods and services.
• The proliferation of voluntary sustainability standards and supply chain initiatives has led to fragmentation and 'greenwashing' concerns; the author suggests intergovernmental guidance or a 'Codex Planetarius' for agriculture to harmonize these requirements.
• To ensure an equitable transition, trade policies must support local value addition in resource-rich developing countries, particularly regarding critical minerals, to avoid repeating historical patterns of resource exploitation.

APA

Birkbeck, C. D. (2025). Accelerating Progress on Nature, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in a Shifting International Trading System. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-WWF-Accelerating-Progress-on-Nature-and-Trade.pdf?dm=1758100122

Chicago

Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere. Accelerating Progress on Nature, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in a Shifting International Trading System. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2025. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-WWF-Accelerating-Progress-on-Nature-and-Trade.pdf?dm=1758100122.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Birkbeck |first1=Carolyn Deere |title=Accelerating Progress on Nature, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in a Shifting International Trading System |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=September 2025 |url=https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-WWF-Accelerating-Progress-on-Nature-and-Trade.pdf?dm=1758100122 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{birkbeck2025accelerating, author = {Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere}, title = {{Accelerating Progress on Nature, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in a Shifting International Trading System}}, institution = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-WWF-Accelerating-Progress-on-Nature-and-Trade.pdf?dm=1758100122}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }