WTO and UNEP Launch Report Explaining Connections between Trade and Climate Change

Press Release from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

Trade and Environment: WTO and UNEP Launch a Report Explaining for the First Time the Connections between Trade and Climate Change

The world cannot continue
with “business as usual” and there is a profound need for a successful
conclusion to the current negotiations on both climate change and trade
opening.

26 June 2009 – The WTO/UNEP report
on “Trade and Climate Change” published today examines the
intersections between trade and climate change from four perspectives:
the science of climate change; economics; multilateral efforts to
tackle climate change; and national climate change policies and their
effect on trade.

The WTO and UNEP are partners in the pursuit
of sustainable development and this report is the outcome of
collaborative research between the WTO and UNEP.

“With a challenge of this magnitude,
multilateral cooperation is crucial and a successful conclusion to the
ongoing climate change negotiations is the first step to achieving
sustainable development for future generations,” said WTO Director
General Pascal Lamy and UNEP’s Executive Director Achim Steiner.

Both Steiner and Lamy urge the international
community to seal an equitable and decisive deal at the crucial UN
climate convention meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.
They also urge nations to conclude the Doha trade round which includes
opening trade in environmental goods and services, a complementary
track towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions to
scientifically-defensible levels.

The scientific evidence is now clear that
the Earth’s climate system is warming as a result of greenhouse gas
emissions which are still increasing worldwide, and will continue to
increase over the coming decades unless there are significant changes
to current laws, policies and actions. Although freer trade could lead
to increased CO2 emissions as a result of raising economic activity, it
can also help alleviate climate change, for instance by increasing the
diffusion of adaptation and mitigation technologies.

The global economy is expected to be
affected by climate change. Sectors such as agriculture, forestry,
fisheries, tourism and transport infrastructure which are critical for
developing countries are more specifically affected. These impacts will
often have implications for trade.

Opening up trade and combating climate
change can be mutually supportive towards realizing a low carbon
economy, the new report says. Contrary to some claims, trade and trade
opening can have a positive impact on emissions of greenhouse gases in
a variety of ways including accelerating the transfer of clean
technology and the opportunity for developing economies to adapt those
technologies to local circumstances. Rising incomes, linked with trade
opening can also change social dynamics and aspirations with wealthier
societies having the opportunity to demand higher environmental
standards including ones on greenhouse gas emissions. In addition there
is evidence that more open trade together with actions to combat
climate change can catalyze global innovation including new products
and processes that can stimulate new clean tech businesses.

National policies, from traditional
regulatory instruments to economic incentives and financial measures,
have been used in a number of countries to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and to increase energy efficiency. The report highlights the
effects that this complex web of measures might have on international
trade and the multilateral trading system. In recent years, there has
been a proliferation of technical requirements (voluntary standards and
labeling) related to climate-friendly goods and energy efficiency.
Likewise, financial support programmes for the use of renewable
energies have also increased recently.

The report also reviews extensively two
particular types of pricing mechanisms that have been used to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions: taxes and emissions trading systems.
Incidentally, the report reflects the debate that is taking place on
policies aimed at preventing carbon leakage and protecting
competitiveness, including on border measures.

Overall, the report highlights that there is
scope under WTO rules for addressing climate change at the national
level. However, the relevance of WTO rules to climate change mitigation
policies, as well as the implications for trade and the environmental
effectiveness of these measures, will very much depend on how these
policies are designed and the specific conditions for implementing
them.

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Read the original press release here:
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=589&ArticleID=6235&l=en&t=long

Download the UNEP-WTO Trade and Climate Report:
http://www.unep.org/pdf/pressreleases/Trade_Climate_Publication_2289_09_E%20Final.pdf

For further information please contact:

WTO
Anoush der Boghossian, WTO Press officer
Information and External Relations Division
Tel: +41 22 739 50 75
Mobile: +41 78 785 67 50
Fax +41 22 739 54 58
E-mail: anoush.derboghossian@wto.org

UNEP
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
Office of the Executive Director
Tel: +254 20 762 3084
Mobile: +254 733 632 755 or when traveling +41 795 965 737
E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org 

or,

Jay Dowle, Communications Officer
UNEP Green Economy Initiative & UNEP Finance Initiative
Tel: +41 22 917 8691
Mobile: +41 76 586 3628

E-mail: jay.dowle@unep.ch