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This document consists of remarks delivered by David Runnalls, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, at the Trade Ministers’ Dialogue on Climate Change Issues in Bali, Indonesia, on December 8-9, 2007. Runnalls argues that climate change and the multilateral trading system are interlinked, asserting that failure to address climate change constitutes a failure of the trade system. He outlines how trade policy can support climate goals through liberalization of low-carbon goods, the reduction of fossil fuel subsidies, and the facilitation of technology transfer to developing countries.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) examines the global state of Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). It analyzes legal frameworks, national and international programs, and the specific challenges faced by emerging and developing economies in integrating environmental, social, and economic criteria into public purchasing.

This report, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), provides a literature review and conceptual foundation for developing sustainability indicators for the urban First Nations community in Winnipeg. It examines the historical context of First Nations in Canada, the challenges of data collection, and the application of culturally relevant frameworks, such as the medicine wheel, to measure well-being and guide policy action.

This case study examines the impact of cotton yarn price volatility on India's handloom weavers and evaluates various government and micro-level interventions designed to stabilize the sector. It highlights the vulnerability of decentralized weavers within a value chain dominated by organized spinning mills and traders, and recommends an integrated approach combining technological innovation, institutional reform, and improved market intelligence.

This 2007 guide for parliamentarians examines how International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) can constrain domestic public policy. It highlights a systemic lack of parliamentary oversight in treaty negotiation and the use of international arbitration by foreign investors to challenge state regulations in countries like the US, Canada, and South Africa. The document details specific legal disputes, Bolivia's withdrawal from ICSID, and calls for greater transparency in UNCITRAL arbitration rules to protect human rights and state sovereignty.

Aaron Cosbey analyzes the May 10th U.S. Bipartisan Compact on Free Trade Agreements, questioning its potential to serve as a template for future trade deals, its impact on trade promotion authority (TPA), and its effectiveness in securing the passage of the two agreements it addresses.

This 2007 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Recursos e Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustenable (RIDES) provides a preliminary assessment of the sustainability of tourism in Chile within the context of trade liberalization. It examines the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the sector, the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the challenges of balancing private investment with local development and environmental conservation.

This 2007 IISD report analyzes the compatibility of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other market mechanisms for sustainable development (MMSD) with various proposed post-2012 climate regimes. It identifies that while the current project-based CDM works in regimes with differentiated targets, it would be incompatible with a system where all countries have binding targets. In such cases, the report suggests a shift toward Joint Implementation (JI)-style mechanisms or 'expanded CDM' models that include sectoral and policy-based crediting. The report emphasizes the need to balance the developed world's demand for low-cost, additional credits with the developing world's need for sustainable development dividends and equitable access to investment.

This report explores market-based price risk management options for coffee farmers, particularly smallholders in developing countries. It analyzes the volatility of Arabica and Robusta coffee prices and the barriers preventing farmers from accessing futures and options markets. The authors argue that while traditional risk mitigation (like diversification) is costly and inefficient, market-based instruments can make earnings more predictable, provided that intermediaries like local banks and cooperatives are leveraged to bridge the gap between small growers and international exchanges.

This research paper, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for Environment Canada, outlines a conceptual framework for developing an Environment Outlook for Canada (EOC). It defines an environment outlook as a forward-looking integrated assessment that analyzes environmental change, causes, impacts, and policy responses to support proactive decision-making. The document details the potential scope, products, and governance structures for an EOC, emphasizing the need for a participatory process to ensure the resulting data is salient, credible, and legitimate.

This research paper, written by Dale S. Rothman of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for Environment Canada, serves as a conceptual document for the development of the Canadian Environmental Outlook (CEO). It defines the CEO as an integrated environmental assessment designed to provide a forward-looking analysis of the interactions between society and the environment to support strategic decision-making and policy formulation in Canada.

This briefing paper examines the legal, economic, and social dimensions of parallel importation, focusing on the 'exhaustion of rights' doctrine in intellectual property (IP) law. It analyzes how different exhaustion policies—national, regional, and international—affect market segmentation, consumer welfare, and the accessibility of pharmaceutical products.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) assesses the environmental impacts of trade liberalization on Thailand's fisheries sector. It highlights the depletion of marine fish stocks, the ecological damage caused by intensive aquaculture, and the challenges of implementing environmental certification standards in the face of strong market demand for shrimp exports.

This report analyzes the rapeseed/mustard oil sector in India, focusing on the challenges of price volatility and the effectiveness of national revenue management strategies. It examines the sector's importance to the Indian economy, the dependence of rural households and the government on its revenues, and provides recommendations for stabilizing incomes through productivity gains, futures market development, and tax rationalization.

This research paper examines commodity income management in Southeast Asian economies, focusing on coffee in Vietnam and palm oil in Malaysia. It analyzes the impacts of price volatility on producers and evaluates various state interventions, including supply management, diversification, and transition schemes, to provide recommendations for stabilizing commodity revenues.

This report documents a regional workshop held in Maputo, Mozambique, on April 24-25, 2007, focused on sharing early lessons from the implementation of climate change adaptation projects in south-eastern Africa. The event brought together practitioners, government officials, and researchers to discuss coping strategies for extreme events, health impacts, and energy and natural resource vulnerabilities, while exploring tools for project design and financing mechanisms.

This report examines how the consolidation and increased market power of global supermarket chains affect global supply chains, specifically focusing on the challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers in the developing world, with a particular emphasis on the fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

A statement by Drexhage to the House of Commons Legislative Committee on Bill C-30 regarding the implications of the Kyoto agreement for Canada.

This research paper by John Drexhage of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that global climate governance must evolve beyond a state-centric, environment-department-led model to better integrate environmental and development policies. The author critiques the top-down target-setting of the Kyoto Protocol and proposes a more flexible, sector-based approach to mitigation that engages industry and major economies more realistically. The paper emphasizes that a successful post-2012 regime requires a strong commitment to a development agenda for the Global South, leveraging official development assistance (ODA), foreign direct investment (FDI), and synergies between adaptation and mitigation to alleviate poverty.

This research paper proposes and applies a quantitative methodology to measure policy coherence among Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Using content analysis of strategy documents, the authors develop a Policy Coherence Matrix (PCM) to evaluate the degree of integration across goals, instruments, and actors.