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This report chapter analyzes the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as a pioneering legal instrument that integrates environmental conservation with economic and trade goals. It specifically examines the CBD's regime for the trade of genetic resources, its recognition of the role of local and indigenous communities in sustainable production, and the contrast between the CBD's ecological economics approach and the neoclassical economic views prevalent in traditional trade agreements like GATT and NAFTA.

This report by the Institute for Economic Justice, based on a survey of 920 economics students and graduates across 85 countries, argues that mainstream economics education is failing to prepare students for contemporary crises. It calls for a shift toward a pluralist, interdisciplinary, and critical curriculum that moves beyond the dominance of neoclassical economics to better address the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic bias, and the climate emergency.