Biodiversity and international trade policy primer

The document examines how international trade drives biodiversity loss through agricultural commodity expansion and resource extraction, while analyzing the potential for trade policies, multilateral rules, and supply chain initiatives to support nature conservation.

• Biodiversity loss is a systemic crisis that threatens the achievement of 80 percent (35 out of 44) of the Sustainable Development Goals, impacting poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, oceans, and land.
• International trade is a significant driver of nature loss, with some estimates suggesting that "some 30 percent of global species threats" are attributable to international trade, particularly regarding commodities with large biodiversity footprints like coffee, tea, soy, palm oil, and sugar.
• Tropical deforestation is heavily driven by the expansion of four 'forest risk' commodities: palm oil, soy, cattle products (beef and leather), and timber products, which together account for nearly 70 percent of tropical deforestation.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) provides some policy space for biodiversity-related measures through GATT Article XX exceptions, though jurisprudence from cases like the 'shrimp-turtle' and 'tuna-dolphin' disputes shows that such measures must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner to be consistent with WTO rules.
• Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are increasingly incorporating biodiversity provisions; the EU and US have the highest number of such provisions, with the EU-Central America (2012) agreement containing the most biodiversity-related clauses.
• There is a growing trend toward national due diligence laws to mitigate environmental risks in supply chains, exemplified by France's 2017 law and proposed EU legislation to ensure deforestation-free imports.
• Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and eco-labels are widely used but face challenges including a lack of performance requirements, consumer fatigue, and the risk of 'problem shifting' where unsustainable products are diverted to less discerning markets.
• Technological tools such as satellite monitoring, blockchain, and AI are being deployed to improve supply chain transparency and traceability, though their effectiveness varies by product.
• The global governance of biodiversity is centered on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), but governments have consistently failed to meet targets, such as the Aichi biodiversity targets of 2010.

APA

Birkbeck, C. D., Antoni, E., Kettunen, M., & Wang, J. (2021). Biodiversity and international trade policy primer. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Biodiversity-and-International-Trade-Policy-Primer.pdf?dm=1678352025

Chicago

Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere, Elena Antoni, Marianne Kettunen, and Jamie Wang. Biodiversity and international trade policy primer. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2021. https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Biodiversity-and-International-Trade-Policy-Primer.pdf?dm=1678352025.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Birkbeck |first1=Carolyn Deere |last2=Antoni |first2=Elena |last3=Kettunen |first3=Marianne |last4=Wang |first4=Jamie |title=Biodiversity and international trade policy primer |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=2021 |url=https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Biodiversity-and-International-Trade-Policy-Primer.pdf?dm=1678352025 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{birkbeck2021biodiversity, author = {Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere and Antoni, Elena and Kettunen, Marianne and Wang, Jamie}, title = {{Biodiversity and international trade policy primer}}, institution = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2021}, url = {https://lyrical-cormorant.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/images/Publications/TESS-Policy-Brief-Biodiversity-and-International-Trade-Policy-Primer.pdf?dm=1678352025}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }