WT/MIN(24)/28  
 
29 February 2024  
(24-1930) Page: 1/3 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original: English  
 
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE MULTILATERAL  
TRADING SYSTEM TO TACKLE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES  
COMMUNICATION FROM ARGENTINA, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, PLURINATIONAL STATE OF 
BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, CABO VERDE, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, EGYPT, HONDURAS, INDONESIA,  
KAZAKHSTAN, PANAMA, PARAGUAY, PERU, SOUTH AFRICA, URUGUAY,  
BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA, AND THE AFRICAN GROUP  
The following communication, dated 29 February  2024, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegati ons of Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, 
Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, 
Uruguay, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the African Group . 
 
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We, developing members , meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the Thirteenth Ministerial 
Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO):  
1. Affirm the importance of sustainable development as a core objective of the multilateral 
trading system, as stated in the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the 
WTO, where Members recognise the need to seek "both to protect and preserve the 
environment and to enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with their 
respec tive needs and concerns at different levels of economic development. " 
2. Recall  the mandate of the CTE, established by the Ministerial Decision on Trade and 
Environment, adopted in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 and subsequent Ministerial Decisions 
and Declaratio ns. 
3. Reaffirm our commitments to Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs), including those 
expressed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris 
Agreement, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification , the Convent ion on 
Biological Diversity,  and its Global Biodiversity Framework , among others and the UN 2030 
Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals affirming the economic, social, and 
environmental dimensions of sustainable development.  
4. Acknowledge the nexus of trade and sustainable development and that international trade 
can make a positive contribution in achieving the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs and 
responding to global environmental crisis in so far as it concerns WTO mandates and, in a 
manner, consistent  with the Members' responsibilities as well as their respective needs and 
concerns at different levels of economic development.  
5. Reaffirm  our support for a rules -based, open, transparent, fair, and non -discriminatory 
multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core and for effective collective action rather 
than unilateral measures.  
6. Reiterate  that the multilateral trading system shoul d contribute to the achievement of the 
sustainable development goals and promote export -led growth in the developing countries 
through, inter alia , preferential trade access for developing countries, special and differential WT/MIN(24)/28  
 
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  treatment that responds to the development needs of developing countries, in particular 
least developed countries, and the elimination of unnecessary obstacles to trade  that are 
inconsistent with WTO agreements.  
7. Note that WTO rules do not prevent countries from the adoption of environme ntal measures 
provided they are not applied in a manner that would constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable 
discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.  
8. Believe that, in line with the spirit of the WTO Agreements, trade -related environmen tal 
measures can best contribute to sustainable development, including environmental 
sustainability, by improving market access conditions and facilitating trade and investment, 
thus providing new market opportunities and incentives for sustainably produce d products 
through trade policies, rather than by imposing barriers to trade.  
9. Express deep concern  about the increase in unilateral and protectionist measures, which 
run counter to the spirit and rules of the WTO and the purposes and principles of the Unit ed 
Nations, undermine the multilateral trading system and impact negatively on the access of 
developing countries' exports to global markets. We emphasize the importance of promoting 
an open world economy and generating greater positive effects of globaliz ation.  
10. Note that WTO law is not to be read in clinical isolation from public international law. Trade -
related environmental measures and policies, due to their hybrid nature, must 
simultaneously respond to a multiple set of principles and parameters recogn ized by 
international environmental law and international trade law, including equity and  Common 
but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities.  
11. Emphasize  that it is only through mutual supportiveness and harmonized application of 
internat ional instruments such as MEAs and WTO Agreements that sustainable development 
can be meaningfully achieved.  
12. Stress that capacity building,  climate finance and technology transfer , including  
environmentally sound technologies , to address climate change are central for the 
adaptation and mitigation strategies of developing countries and a key element to facilitate 
growth and sustainable development.  
13. Recall that climate finance and transfer of technologies from developed countries to support 
national action by developing countries on climate change and the development of 
endogenous technologies and capacities in developing countries has been an essential 
element since the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 
(UNFCCC). We reaffirm as stated in Article 4.7 of the UNFCCC that the extent to which 
developing country Parties effectively implement their commitments will depend on the 
effective implementation by developed  country Parties of their commitments under the 
Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology. Subsequently, Article 
10 of the Paris Agreement calls for that cooperative action on technology development and 
transfer shall be strength ened.  
Do Hereby Agree to:  
14. Call on all Members to refrain from imposing of unilateral trade -related environmental 
measures that create unnecessary obstacles to trade or arbitrary or unjustifiable 
discrimination between countries.  
15. Encourage enhanced transpar ency of trade -related environmental measures applied by 
Members.  
16. Intensify our collective work in the Committee on Trade and Environment to analyse the key 
principles of international environmental law that are relevant to the design and 
implementation of trade -related environmental measures, with the aim of enhancing 
coherence and mutual supportiveness between international environmental regimes and 
trade regimes in the design and implementation of trade -related environmental measures.  WT/MIN(24)/28  
 
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  17. Intensify efforts to  work on all items of the Committee on Trade and Environment, 
particularly the agreed items of focus.  
18. Work together to foster a dialogue on how  to promote trade that supports sustainable 
development and just transitions, including by considering how positi ve trade incentives , 
designed,  and implemented cooperatively , as well as WTO Agreements could facilitate trade 
of sustainably produced products , and provid e developing countries with necessary means 
of implementation in this regard . 
19. Promote a coherent, ope n, member -driven, consensus -based,  and inclusive approach in the 
discussion of trade and environment issues that arise across WTO bodies.  
20. Strengthen discussions in the CTE and other relevant bodies of the WTO on how the 
multilateral trading system can bes t contribute within its mandate to global responses to the 
environmental crisis, taking into account the principles and provisions of relevant 
international environmental treaties and norms of international environmental law.  
21. Reinvigorate the discussions o n trade and technology transfer , including  of environmentally 
sound technology across multiple WTO bodies, including the Committee on Trade and 
Environment and the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology.  
22. Work together to promote, within the WTO mandate, cooperation on trade, innovation, and 
climate finance.  
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