JOB/TE/60  
 
29 November 2019  
(19-8214) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade and Environment  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT OF NEW ZEA LAND ON BEHALF OF TH E SIGNATORIES TO THE  STATEMENT ON 
FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDY REFORM AT MC11  
Regular Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) of 26 and 27 November 2019  
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This document is circulated at the request  of New Zealand.  
 
1. As explained at previous meetings of  this Committee, a group of 12 developing and developed 
Members from many regions launched a Joint Statement on Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform  (FFSR)  at 
the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference.  
2. In this statement the signatories confirmed their intention to seek the rationalisation and 
phase out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognising 
that reform needs to take into account the specific needs and condi tions of developing countries and 
to minimize the possible adverse impacts on their development in a way that protects poor and 
affected communities.  
3. We also recognized the importance of the WTO as a forum to advance discussions to achieve 
ambitious and e ffective disciplines, including through enhanced transparency and reporting to enable 
the evaluation of the trade and resource effects of fossil fuel subsidies programmes.  
4. Since December 2017, we have organised information sharing events to  raise awarenes s of 
the scale and  impacts of fossil fuel subsidies , advances in methodology such as for national reporting 
on SDG 12(c)  and the opportunities that reform presents.  
5. The most recent  example of this was  at the Public Forum  on 10 October . The FFSR session 
included panellists from the OECD, International Chamber of Commerce and UN Environment to 
discuss reform from an economic and business perspective, while also placing the issue in  the 
context of global concerns on climate change and the implementation of the  sustainable development 
goals. A summary, and video recording, is available on the WTO Public Forum website.  
6. As noted  in this session,  as leaders oversee their domestic implementation of SDG 12, we 
would suggest there could be common interest in a collect ive approach to FFSR at the WTO - to 
provide a supportive international context for domestic efforts, in a coordinated and coherent way . 
7. Therefore, a s explained by  New Zealand Ambassador Walker at the Public Forum, New 
Zealand and other Members are working  to renew the MC11 statement at the twelfth WTO Ministerial 
Conference, with the aim of attracting broader support for the statement, with greater regional 
representation.  We look forward to engaging with Members who might be interested to join as 
signator ies. 
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  ANNEX: WTO PUBLIC FO RUM 2019 SESSION 84  
FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIE S REFORM: INTERNATIO NAL COLLABORATION AN D THE LINK 
BETWEEN SUSTAINABILI TY OBJECTIVES AND GL OBAL TRADE  
Report from the Organizer:  
1. New Zealand Permanent Representative to the WTO Ambassador David Walker set the scene 
by noting that, globally, countries are subsidising fossil fuel production and consumption to the tune 
of over U S$ 500 billion annually.  
2. Dr Walker explained how New Zealand and eleven other WTO Members delivered a  statement 
at the 2017 Ministerial Conference encouraging the rationalization and phase out of inefficient fossil 
fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption. The statement recognizes that reform needs to 
take into account the specific needs and con ditions of developing countries and minimize the possible 
adverse impacts on their development. The statement also recognized the importance of the WTO 
as a forum to advance discussions to achieve ambitious and effective disciplines on fossil fuel 
subsidie s, including through enhanced transparency and reporting to enable the evaluation of the 
trade and resource effects of fossil fuel subsidies programmes. Dr Walker explained that  
New Zealand and other Members are working to renew this statement at the twel fth WTO Ministerial 
Conference next June, with the aim of attracting broader support for the statement, with greater 
regional representation.  
3. Rachel Bae, Senior Counsellor at the OECD, explained how the momentum to reform fossil 
fuel subsidies has increase d over the past decade.  Ms Bae noted that while fossil fuel subsidies can 
be useful economic instruments, many have been identified as economically inefficient and trade -
distorting while also provoking environmental harm. Fossil fuel subsidies can hinder i nnovation in 
and the deployment of clean energy and investment in low -emission infrastructure. Ms Bae noted 
that the fiscal burden of subsidies means that fewer resources can potentially be devoted to other 
public funding, for instance, for clean -energy re search and innovation. Ms Bae further discussed the 
OECD’s contributions in supporting reform efforts by collecting and analysing data on support for 
the production and consumption of fossil fuels for 44 countries, housed in its Inventory, as well as 
by playing a central role in the G20 peer reviews of fossil fuel subsidies.  
4. Crispin Conroy, Representative Director at the International Chamber of Commerce noted that 
“business must be part of the solution” and that a Ministerial Declaration on Fossil Fuel Subsidy 
Reform could be “part of new ways of working” at the WTO. Mr Conroy stressed that “in order to 
catalyse progress there is a need to align trade and climate change policies”.  
5. Steven Stone, Chief of the Resources and Markets Branch at UN Environment,  put the issue 
of fossil fuel subsidies in the context of global concerns on climate change and the implementation 
of the sustainable development goals, particularly goal 12.C: Rationalize inefficient fossil -fuel 
subsidies that encourage wasteful consumpti on by removing market distortions. Dr Stone explained 
how UN Environment had collaborated with other international organizations in order to develop a 
methodology recognized by the UN statistical system for national reporting on fossil fuel subsidies. 
Dr Stone noted that every country is unique, and there was “no blanket reform prescription”; as 
such we needed to support a just transition, bearing in mind the “huge upside” from fossil fuel 
subsidy reform.  
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