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The document examines the transition of energy-intensive heavy industries toward net-zero emissions, highlighting how global trade dynamics and national policies in developed economies impact emerging markets. It identifies four primary technological levers for decarbonization: energy efficiency, alternative fuel use/electrification, material efficiency, and carbon capture and storage. The author argues that while developing countries with abundant renewables can become new green industrial hubs, they face significant risks from carbon border measures, green protectionism, and reduced access to secondary materials. The briefing emphasizes the need for international coordination on standards, technology transfer, and finance to ensure a just transition for emerging and developing economies.

The policy brief argues that CARICOM lacks a cohesive trade strategy aligned with the global 'Sustainability and Inclusiveness' (S&I) agenda. It analyzes the region's economic vulnerabilities—including small market size, dependence on fossil fuels, and climate risk—and evaluates existing trade agreements like the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the CARIFORUM-EU EPA. The authors recommend a regional approach that integrates trade with policies on energy, climate change, the blue economy, and food security, while increasing the participation of non-traditional stakeholders such as MSMEs and civil society.

The document examines how the climate crisis and overfishing mutually exacerbate marine ecosystem degradation and how these factors disrupt global fisheries trade. It highlights that tropical developing regions are projected to suffer the most severe reductions in fish catches, while the Global North is better positioned to capture new economic opportunities. The author argues for a transition toward low-emission technologies, the removal of harmful subsidies, and the adoption of value-added processing and digital traceability to support developing countries in maintaining food security and economic stability.

The textile and garment sector is a major global emitter, with estimates ranging from 2% to 10% of annual global GHG emissions. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to both the physical impacts of climate change—risking millions of jobs in hubs like Bangladesh and Vietnam—and the transition risks posed by new sustainability regulations in consumer markets. The document highlights the potential for border carbon adjustments (BCAs) and the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to create non-tariff trade barriers. It also addresses the environmental crisis of textile waste dumping in Africa and South America. To ensure a just transition, the author argues for the inclusion of the sector in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), increased international financial and technical support, and a coordinated approach via the WTO to prevent protectionism.

The document provides an overview of three types of carbon markets: compliance-based, voluntary, and multilateral-based (Article 6 of the Paris Agreement). It highlights the growth of government-led markets, which generated $104 billion in 2023, while noting the severe integrity crisis and subsequent investment decline in voluntary carbon markets. The author discusses how countries manage competitiveness through tools like free allowances and output-based pricing, and details the emerging landscape of Article 6 bilateral agreements. For developing countries, the report identifies a tension between the need for climate finance and the risks of 'greenwashing' and fiscal instability.

TESS proposes the creation of a global online repository for trade-related policy measures (TrPMs) and the establishment of domestic inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms to address plastic pollution. The organization is developing a guide for World Bank client countries on trade policies for plastic reduction (due December 2024) and a policy paper with QUNO on environmentally sound plastic waste management technologies. TESS also encourages the DPP to support HS code amendments to improve transparency in the trade flows of single-use plastics and unnecessary packaging.

The document examines how preferential trade agreements (PTAs) can be designed to accelerate the green transition and influence WTO policy. It identifies three key areas for climate-focused provisions—fossil fuel subsidies, environmental goods and services, and investment protections—while noting that many current PTA provisions remain vague. The authors recommend focusing on win-win solutions, increasing non-state actor participation, boosting capacity building for low- and middle-income countries, improving impact assessments, and strengthening enforcement mechanisms. Finally, it suggests that PTAs can act as testing grounds for innovative rules that can later be multilateralized through WTO initiatives like the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD).

The document highlights the tension between global trade and agricultural sustainability, noting that while trade is essential for food security, it can exacerbate deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. It argues that while individual governments can implement sustainable trade tools, collective action through the WTO would increase effectiveness. The author suggests several avenues for this cooperation, including reinvigorating existing committees, utilizing the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), or adopting a dedicated dialogue proposed by Brazil.

In a speech delivered on 4 July 2024, WTO Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam outlines the evolving relationship between the WTO and environmental protection. He notes a paradigm shift where climate change is now actively disrupting trade, citing examples like the Panama Canal drought. While the WTO has made progress through the 2022 Ministerial Declaration and the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, Paugam warns that uncoordinated national actions—such as the nearly 70 carbon tax schemes in development and varying green steel standards—risk fragmenting world trade. He advocates for a "reglobalization" approach that combines green industrialization with trade cooperation, suggesting the WTO may need to adopt new rule-making models, including plurilateral commitments or non-binding frameworks similar to the Paris Agreement, to remain relevant.

The report outlines ten considerations for the design of trade-related circular economy policies and measures (TrCEMs), emphasizing the need for international cooperation to avoid regulatory fragmentation. It highlights the role of the WTO, ISO, and multilateral environmental agreements in aligning definitions and standards. The document specifically addresses the challenges faced by developing countries, such as the need for technical assistance and the risk of a 'circular divide,' and suggests mechanisms like extended producer responsibility (EPR) fee transfers to manage end-of-life products in importing nations.

The document argues that while the WTO has historically neglected the environment, there is a current paradigm shift toward recognizing trade's role in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. It assesses the outcomes of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13), highlighting failures in fisheries subsidies and the absence of explicit climate commitments in the Ministerial Declaration, while noting progress in plurilateral initiatives like the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution. Experts propose reforming subsidy rules for fossil fuels and agriculture, leveraging 'Aid for Trade' for just transitions, and adopting the legal principle of 'Common Concern of Humankind' to guide trade law. The report emphasizes the need for regulatory alignment on circular economy principles and the ability of the WTO to coordinate trade-related climate measures, such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, to avoid global trade fragmentation.

The policy brief examines the systemic failure of global financial systems to value nature, noting that nature-related risks worth $5 trillion are not priced into investment decisions. It advocates for a multi-pronged approach to bridge the nature finance gap, including meeting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets of $20 billion annually by 2025 and $200 billion by 2030. The author argues that while carbon markets are a necessary short-term tool, they are flawed for long-term nature finance due to issues with permanence and additionality. Instead, the brief promotes the scaling of the $4 trillion global bioeconomy, the use of debt-for-nature swaps, and the implementation of payments for ecosystem services (PES), such as levies on digital sequence information and Brazil's Tropical Forests Forever Facility. It emphasizes that these transitions must be led by global south governments and indigenous peoples to ensure equitable governance and avoid 'sub-prime' transactions.

The document synthesises INC member inputs regarding the protection of human health within the framework of a proposed global plastics treaty. It highlights a broad consensus that the treaty's objectives should encompass both environmental and human health protections, noting that plastic pollution causes wide-ranging health issues, including neurotoxic and endocrine-disrupting impacts. The briefing details the work of two expert groups: Expert Group 1, focusing on financial mechanisms and means of implementation to mitigate health costs, and Expert Group 2, focusing on science-based criteria for identifying chemicals of concern, problematic products, and safe product design. Key priorities identified include the prevention of 'regrettable substitution' of chemicals, the necessity of material transparency, and the importance of protecting vulnerable populations, such as waste workers and indigenous peoples.

The document examines the current state of circular economy trade measures notified to the WTO, noting a heavy bias toward end-of-life waste management over upstream resource efficiency. It proposes that the WTO facilitate a 'dynamic alignment system' using mutual recognition agreements, ISO 59000 standards, and cross-border extended producer responsibility schemes to support a global transition to a circular economy, particularly for developing nations.

On 26 June 2024, Minister Kerrie D. Symmonds of Barbados delivered a statement supported by 35 WTO members calling for the operationalization of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and the finalization of additional provisions regarding overcapacity and overfishing by July 2024.

Minister Kerrie D. Symmonds of Barbados argues that the 18-year-old Aid for Trade initiative is based on outdated assumptions and must be modernized to address the climate crisis and systemic vulnerabilities of small island developing states. He calls for a shift from traditional aid to an 'investment ambition' incorporating blended finance and private sector contributions, specifically citing the Bridgetown Initiative. Symmonds emphasizes that GDP-based eligibility for concessional financing is inadequate because a single climatic event can cause massive GDP losses, necessitating a reclassification of eligibility that accounts for vulnerability.

The authors call for a coordinated effort by the WTO, OECD, IMF, and World Bank to create a robust analytical base to identify and eliminate 'bad subsidies'—those that distort trade and harm the environment—while promoting 'good subsidies' that address market failures. The text highlights the high costs of fossil fuel and agricultural subsidies and the carbon footprint of state support in the aluminium sector, advocating for a socially responsible, progressive transition to sustainable government support.

TESS argues that the success of a global plastic pollution treaty depends on a holistic financing pillar that secures resources from all domestic and international sources, ensures fair burden-sharing across the plastic value chain, and provides predictable support for developing countries. The statement notes that the draft revised treaty text already includes elements of this approach, such as the polluter pays principle, options for a dedicated multilateral fund, and mechanisms to align fiscal incentives and catalyze private sector investment.

TESS expresses support for the WTO Dialogue on Plastic Pollution (DPP) Ministerial Statement and its associated work plan. The organization emphasizes that the DPP should complement the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) process for a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. TESS advocates for the design of workstreams to ensure pragmatic outcomes by MC14 and encourages members to engage with the World Customs Organization (WCO) regarding Harmonized System (HS) amendments for the 2028 cycle to facilitate trade-related measures against plastic pollution.

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.