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The document examines the 'twin transition' of digital and green transformations, highlighting how digital technologies can both enable climate action and contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. It identifies critical gaps in infrastructure and financing for developing countries and proposes five priority decarbonization levers: green infrastructure, energy-efficient operations, sustainable supply chains, circular economy models, and climate-compatible infrastructure. The authors argue for coordinated international cooperation, targeted financial incentives, and the integration of environmental provisions into digital trade agreements to ensure an inclusive transition to net zero.

The document analyzes the shift in international trade from a focus on liberalization toward 'multipurpose' approaches driven by geopolitics and national security. It argues that this complexity provides opportunities to embed nature and climate goals into trade agendas. The author proposes a new paradigm that reframes trade as a strategic tool for sustainability, emphasizing a 'nature-positive' narrative and the integration of climate mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. Key recommendations include reorienting trade rules to reward sustainable production, scaling the diffusion of green technologies, and ensuring that developing countries are not unfairly burdened by environmental requirements. The paper identifies multiple entry points for action, including WTO reform, regional agreements like AfCFTA, and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The document provides a comprehensive analysis of how the transition to net-zero emissions affects nine global sectors: agriculture, carbon markets, critical minerals, digital transformation, energy transition, fisheries, heavy industries, shipping, and textiles and garments. It examines the intersection of trade policies and climate action, highlighting the risks of 'green protectionism' and the potential for developing countries to capture new economic opportunities through value addition and green industrialization. The reports emphasize the need for international cooperation to ensure a just transition, particularly for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).

The statement contends that current global trade frameworks often undermine the climate ambitions of developing nations through protectionist policies and geopolitical self-interest. It highlights the negative potential of the EU's Carbon-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the limitations of the International Maritime Organization's shipping emissions tax. The author advocates for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and regional coalitions as viable alternatives to a 'broken' World Trade Organization (WTO) to foster green industrialization, technology transfer, and climate adaptation, specifically citing Mozambique's vulnerability as a case for adaptation-focused trade policy.

The document analyzes how the global plastics economy, valued at $1.1 trillion in 2023, necessitates international trade cooperation to end plastic pollution. It explores four key areas: proposed treaty obligations (such as restrictions on chemicals of concern and waste trade), safeguards against disguised protectionism, the socio-economic costs of implementation for governments and MSMEs, and the treaty's relationship with other international instruments like the WTO and various Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).

The document examines how the proposed international treaty on plastic pollution intersects with global trade, focusing on the transformation of supply chains, the risk of disguised protectionism, and the implementation costs for developing nations. It highlights that the global plastics trade was valued at $1.1 trillion in 2023, with over 78% of plastics traded internationally. The briefing analyzes four key areas: proposed treaty obligations (such as restrictions on chemicals of concern and waste trade), the use of non-discrimination language to prevent arbitrary trade barriers, the fiscal and technical challenges for parties—particularly MSMEs in developing countries—to meet new standards, and the treaty's relationship with other international agreements like the WTO and various Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). It concludes that trade-related measures under MEAs have historically been compatible with WTO rules.

The document argues that plastic pollution constitutes a public health crisis, with adverse effects occurring across the entire life cycle of plastics. It proposes three options for the treaty's structure: an integrated approach, a standalone article on health, or a combination of both. The briefing details how specific articles of the treaty could be used to eliminate harmful chemicals, improve product design, and support vulnerable populations, such as informal waste workers and fence-line communities.

The document analyzes the surging demand for critical minerals driven by the energy transition, the environmental impacts of mining, and the strategic trade policies developing countries can employ to add value to their mineral resources while ensuring climate resilience.

The document argues for the inclusion of human health protection as a primary objective of the future international treaty on plastic pollution. It proposes an integrated approach covering the full life cycle of plastics and suggests the use of a dedicated article on human health to facilitate international cooperation and complement other treaty provisions.

The paper examines how trade policy can accelerate the clean energy transition by expanding access to renewable technologies. It highlights the role of the APEC List of Environmental Goods and the need to address non-tariff measures and global value chain complexities. The author advocates for a comprehensive approach that includes preferential treatment for components and services to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of renewable energy deployment.

The document examines the intersection of trade and the bioeconomy, arguing that while international trade can exacerbate biodiversity loss, it can also be leveraged through price-based, support, and regulatory measures to promote sustainability. It highlights the economic significance of biodiversity-based trade and calls for enhanced international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to align policies, remove harmful subsidies, and support low- and middle-income countries in their transition.

The report, produced by an international expert group convened by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS), examines the environmental impacts of agricultural subsidies and proposes pathways for defining and addressing those that are environmentally harmful. It aims to facilitate cooperative international action through mechanisms such as new disciplines, soft law guidance, voluntary commitments, or transparency tools, targeting influence on international production and consumption patterns.

The document analyzes global agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, noting that the sector accounted for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic emissions in 2022. It identifies ruminant livestock and deforestation as the primary drivers of these emissions and highlights significant regional variations in emission intensities. The author argues that coupled subsidies and market price supports incentivize environmentally harmful practices and recommends repurposing these funds toward sustainable management, innovation, and uncoupled payments to reduce the sector's carbon footprint while balancing food security and livelihoods.

The report examines the environmental impacts of agricultural subsidies, noting that total global support ranges from $610 to $842 billion per year. It argues that while production-linked supports—such as market price support and input subsidies—are often the most harmful, impacts are highly context-specific. The authors propose several frameworks for identifying harmful subsidies, including the use of meta-analyses of farming practices and the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model. To address these issues internationally, the report suggests options such as enhanced transparency, the use of 'rebuttable presumptions' to shift the burden of proof to subsidizing countries, and special and differential treatment for developing nations to balance environmental goals with food security and livelihoods.

The document analyzes how climate change disrupts agricultural yields and trade flows, particularly in developing regions, while contributing significantly to global GHG emissions. It highlights the risks of food insecurity and the potential for trade-related climate measures to marginalize vulnerable economies. The author argues for a comprehensive international cooperation agenda focused on reducing trade tensions, reforming harmful subsidies, facilitating technology transfer, and securing global food stocks to ensure a fair transition to sustainable agriculture.

The document analyzes how interoperability—the bridging of differing standards and policies—can reduce trade barriers and administrative costs in climate mitigation. It details existing frameworks for emission equivalency, carbon price parity, and the convergence of international standards in sectors such as aviation, shipping, carbon removals, and climate finance. The author highlights the role of the OECD, WTO, and ISSB in creating comparable metrics and suggests that the WTO could further enhance carbon measure equivalency through a special notification system and standardized embedded carbon methodologies.

The author argues that the OACPS should move beyond traditional tariff liberalization to a 'muscular' trade and sustainability agenda at the WTO. This proposed plan includes negotiating a plurilateral agreement on green industrialization, creating a dedicated technical facility for sustainable development, and establishing a coherence platform to align trade with global sustainability initiatives like the UNFCCC and UN SDGs. To support this, the document suggests replicating EU models of strategic partnerships on critical raw materials and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs), which combine private investment with public guarantees and technology transfer. The author emphasizes that such an integrated approach is essential for OACPS members—particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and commodity-dependent nations—to mitigate climate vulnerability and transition toward green industrialization.

The document argues that while the energy transition is accelerating, current efforts are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C, and the shift in energy demand will fundamentally reshape global trade and geopolitics. It highlights a significant investment gap, noting that emerging markets and developing economies outside China account for only about 15% of global clean energy spending. The report identifies several trade-related barriers, including protectionist tariffs on electric vehicles, divergent technical standards, and the persistence of fossil fuel subsidies, which reached $7 trillion globally in 2023. It specifically warns that Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanisms (BCAs) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in investment treaties may disproportionately burden developing nations. To achieve an equitable transition, the authors recommend reforming WTO subsidy rules, increasing financial support for local value addition in critical minerals, and coordinating the phase-out of fossil fuel production.

The document analyzes the pathway to net-zero shipping by 2050, highlighting the role of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in implementing technical and economic measures. It emphasizes the disproportionate economic risks for shipping-reliant developing nations, such as increased logistics costs and inflationary pressures, while identifying opportunities for these countries to become producers of scalable zero-emission fuels (SZEF) like green ammonia and hydrogen.

Analysis of data from the Global Trade Alert database indicates that climate-related industrial policies in major trading economies often trigger 'echo' effects, where subsidy awards and import restrictions by one nation lead to similar responses from others within 6 to 24 months. The study finds that the EU-27 reacts almost every time to Chinese and US moves in net-zero sectors, while Chinese industrial policy support most frequently elicits import curb reactions from both the EU-27 and the USA. These patterns raise concerns regarding tit-for-tat trade conflicts and market access risks, suggesting a need for greater international alignment and transparency in supply-side interventions for the low-carbon transition.