INF/TE /SSD/R/13  
21 October  2022 
(22-7924) Page: 1/7 
Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured 
Discussions  Original : English  
 
  
WTO TRADE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRUCTURED DISCUSSIONS  
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP  MEETINGS  
HELD ON 4-5 OCTOBER  2022 
Aide-Mémoire1 
1  Remarks by the TESSD Coordinators  
1.1.  At the beginning and the end of the meeting, the TESSD co-convenors2 outlined the way 
forward towards the high -level stocktaking event planned for early December, which will serve as 
an important milestone towards MC13. They recalled that, in the TESSD Mi nisterial Statement of 
December 2021, co -sponsors had agreed to identify concrete actions that Members could take 
individually or collectively to expand opportunities for environmentally sustainable trade, as well as 
to identify and compile best practices to achieve, among others, a more resource -efficient circular 
economy, sustainable supply chains, and promoting and facilitating access to environmental goods 
and services  (EGS) . Based on these elements and the work carried out in the Working Groups, the 
co-convenors and the facilitators would hold consultations to discuss priorities and outcomes for 
2023 as well as possible results that Members could strive to achieve by MC13, and that could be 
signalled at the high -level event in December.  
2  Working Group on  Environmental Goods and Services – 4 October (a.m.)  
Climate change action: non -tariff measures  
2.1.  A presentation by the WTO Secretariat provided an overview of non -tariff measures (NTMs), 
linkages to climate change and relevant work in the WTO. The presenta tion illustrated that NTMs 
vary according to products and markets, the value of stakeholder engagement in identifying possible 
positive and negative impacts of NTMs, and the relevance of work in the TBT Committee, including 
through strengthening transparen cy and regulatory dialogue, easing the burden of conformity 
assessment procedures, and experience sharing. Uruguay shared its experience in the promotion of 
renewable energy, noting the historical development of hydroelectric power and recent efforts to 
promote alternative renewable sources including, biomass, wind, and solar power.  
2.2.  A good number of Members3 participated and welcomed the discussion on non -tariff barriers, 
highlighting, inter alia , that regulatory obstacles played more significant roles in hindering trade 
than tariffs  and that solutions to overcoming such barriers could be found by strengtheni ng 
transparency efforts and cooperation particularly through the TBT Committee and the CTE, including 
on technical regulations , standards,  and labelling, or through eco -labelling schemes.  It was 
suggested that discussions on i dentification and definitional  challenges  regarding environmental 
goods could benefit from contributions by  the W orld Customs Organization (W CO) or customs 
 
1 This Aide -Mémoire provides a non -exhaustive, illustrative summary of the issues addressed by 
Members, prepared and circulated under the responsibility of the facilitators chairing the meetings: Carlos 
Guevara (Ecuador) and Helga Helland (Norway) for the Working Group on Environmental Good s and Services; 
Jean-Marie Meraldi (Switzerland) and Göksu Tülümen (Türkiye) for the Working Group on Trade -related 
Climate Measures; Olivia Cook (Chile) and Kazunari Morii (Japan) for the Working Group on Circular Economy – 
Circularity; and Sveinn K. Eina rsson (Iceland) for the Working Group on Subsidies.  
2 Nicola Waterfield (Canada) and Ana Lizano (Costa Rica) on behalf of the co -convenors.  
3 Eighteen Members took the floor during the meeting: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, 
Costa  Rica, Europea n Union, Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, 
Kingdom  of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.  INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  experts , as well as from experiences from previous efforts such as the Information Technology 
Agreement . 
Services  
2.3.  The WTO Secretariat provided a briefing of the work carried out in the Special Session of the 
Council for Trade in Services (CTS -SS), including an update on discussions and proposals by 
Members to broaden the scope of environmental services to those with p ositive environmental 
outcomes. A presentation by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation  (APEC) Secretariat highlighted 
the advancement of discussions in the Asia -Pacific region through a non -binding reference list of 
environmental and environmentally relat ed services and ongoing efforts to develop a model schedule 
for environmental and environmentally related services.  
2.4.  Members highlighted the importance of identifying relevant services to maximize 
environmental benefits as well as the need to provide techni cal assistance to developing countries. 
Several Members spoke to the complementarity of TESSD with the CTS -SS, in particular how 
discussions in TESSD could aim to map services that could contribute to environmental objectives. 
The representative of the European Union presented the list of environmental services included in 
the recent EU -NZ FTA, which included  services supplied in conjunction with environmental goods to 
avoid dual -use challenges. The representative of China shared its e xperience in promoting 
environmental services  through international fairs to reinforce efforts in reducing carbon emissions.  
2.5.  It was also suggested that Members should reflect on broader challenges related to 
environmental services, notably why they only r epresented a small share of trade in services and 
why demand appeared limited , and how environmental services could contribute to broader 
objectives, such as supporting economic growth including for MSMEs and for LDCs . In addition, a 
Member encouraged furt her discussion on how to address definitional issues to overcome dual -use 
and future -proof the development of new environmental services.  
Priorities  
2.6.  In this meeting and past discussions , Members welcomed the idea of a staged approach  in 
which  they would discuss objectives and sectors sequentially . Climate change action, including both 
mitigation and adaptation, was indicated  as a priority objective by many  Members. Other 
environmental objectives mentioned by Members included the transition to a circular e conomy, clean 
air and clean water, sustainable management and protection of water and marine resources, and 
protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.  It was also suggested to identify priority sectors , and 
possibly important goods and services,  based on t heir contribution to internationally agreed 
environmental objectives.  
2.7.  Regarding possible priorities or outcomes going forward, Members had  expressed interest in 
further building a common understanding  of the challenges hindering the dissemination of EGS ; 
designing a framework for negotiations in view of a  specific  environmental objective or challenge; 
cataloguing where and how NTMs  impact trade in EGS; identify ing an indicative list of trade -related 
bottlenec ks and trade -facilitating measures on critical products for climate action; enhancing 
transparency and experience sharing on NTMs  and their design;  discussing approaches to improve 
regulatory coherence and cooperation , as well as transfer of technology and capacity building, 
among others. Further related elements of interest to Members include d sustainability standards 
and eco-labelling , green infrastructure, sustainable supply chains, customs procedures, innovation , 
as well as the role of investment and government procurement in promoting the uptake of EGS.  
2.8.  Regarding services, Members further underlined th e need to ensure that discussions in TESSD 
build on those in the CTS -SS. Members expressed interest in identifying areas  where environmental 
and related services could  play a meaningful role for climate change mitigation and adaptation, 
mapping services that could contribute to  environmental objectives , as well as discuss ing the 
identification and classification of environme ntal services  based on their contribution to  
environmental objectives or their complementarities with environmental goods.   
2.9.  Facilitators suggested that the high -level event provided an opportunity to  identify priority 
areas for discussions in 2023 , which could be a first step towards tangible outcomes by MC13 and 
allow for more targeted and in -depth discussions of the different elements connect ed to EGS . INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  3  Working Group on Trade -related Climate Measures (TRCMs) – 4 October (p.m.)  
Carbon standards and o ther trade -related climate measures  
3.1.  An expert speaker representing the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 
presented its package of carbon accounting standards related to the monitoring, reporting, 
verification, and accreditation of greenh ouse gas (GHG) emissions. Standards specified principles 
and requirements for GHG inventories for organizations, for projects aimed at GHG emission 
reductions, and the quantification of carbon footprint (CFP) of a product considering its entire 
lifecycle. Different product category rules reflected the need for product -specific approaches to 
quantify CFP, while a common approach was followed regarding verification and accreditation where 
a standard would be verified by an accredited verification body.  
3.2.  The representative of the United States provided a briefing on a trade and climate roundtable 
it had organized at the WTO on 3 October, which had discussed non -pricing measures to address 
climate change. Elements raised in the discussion were the need to recogn ize diversity of country 
priorities, the need for strategies to engage across income levels and MSMEs, and to ensure that 
global standards were relevant for countries at different stages of development. In addition, 
Members had noted the importance of non -pricing measures to complement other technical and 
financial support, including the role of carbon pricing to reach net zero. There was recognition that 
a sectoral approach, starting with the highest  emitting sectors, could help focus attention on the 
question of carbon measurement and how best to consider divergences across standards. Members 
expressed interest in considering how the CTE and TBT Committees could contribute to more 
transparency and to build a common understanding and encourage convergence.  
Climate clubs  
3.3.  The representative of Germany, which currently holds the G7 presidency, provided a briefing 
on the G7 initiative to establish a climate club, consisting of efforts to create a high -level 
intergovernmental forum to accelerate climate action an d ambition in the industrial sector, with the 
objective of launching a climate club by the end of 2022. It was noted that sector -specific roadmaps 
would be launched to support the phase out of high emission technologies and work to expand green 
markets. He  also clarified that the forum or "climate club" would be open to interested countries, 
and discussions were ongoing regarding possible criteria for participation.  
Carbon pricing  
3.4.  Presentations were provided by the WTO Secretariat, the International Moneta ry Fund (IMF), 
and the Organisation for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD). The Secretariat 
presented on the trade -related implications of different carbon pricing approaches based on findings 
from the forthcoming World Trade Report. A global car bon price would be most efficient, while carbon 
prices varying by regions would be more reflective of equity considerations relating to the common 
but differentiated responsibilities ( CBDR ) principle. The presentation furthermore covered the 
economic advan tages and disadvantages of border carbon adjustments and the importance of 
international trade cooperation. The presentation by the IMF covered possible design and 
implications of international carbon price floors and related transfer mechanisms, as well a s potential 
macroeconomic effects, including significant global CO 2 emissions reductions and limited impact on 
growth. The OECD presentation covered its proposition to launch an Inclusive Forum on Carbon 
Mitigation Approaches, which would create inventorie s of climate policies and how these compared 
and met commitments, as well as its analysis of effective carbon rates, which took into account 
carbon taxes, specific taxes on fuel use, and emission s trading schemes.  
3.5.  A large number  of Members4  engaged in a substantive discussion  on the role of the WTO  
related to carbon pricing and  the importance of taking into account also non -pricing measures . 
Several developing Members highligh ted challenges regarding explicit carbon pricing, as well as the 
need to consider national conditions and the principle of CBDR . Members also  underlined the need 
to ensur e that measures be designed in a manner consistent with WTO rules and multilateral 
 
4 Eighteen Members took the floor during the meeting: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Col ombia, 
Costa Rica, Ecuador, European Union, Japan, New  Zealand, Paraguay, Kingdom of Saudi  Arabia, Singapore, 
Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States.  INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  environmental agreements. It was also noted that raising global clima te ambitions  needed to ensure 
that emissions did not move elsewhere to avoid carbon costs, but also respected CBDR . 
3.6.  A Member  noted that principles related to TRCMs already existed in the WTO framework and 
other fora, and pointed to the role of the WTO and the CTE in providing space for transparency and 
dialogue on how TRCMs could be designed to achieve climate goals while preventing conflicts or lack 
of coherence, as well as on means to support developing country compliance. Another  Member 
suggested  that the WTO could also play a role in facilitating cooperation with other organizations so 
as to reduce barriers to trade from different labelling and recognition systems, which increase d costs 
for companies  and which w ere particularly challenging for MSMEs.  The representative of Japan 
shared an example of a national initiative to set up consultation windows for experts to provide 
assistance to introduce IT systems to facilitate the measurement of MSMEs emissions. It was al so 
suggested that industry -driven approaches could contribute to reducing emissions and that, while 
carbon pricing did not fall within the purview of the WTO, exploring the impacts of carbon pricing on 
trade flows was of interest.  
Priorities  
3.7.  During the me eting and in previous discussions, Members broadly highlighted the importance 
of international cooperation  on TRCMs . Members expressed interest in discussing explicit and implicit 
carbon pricing , including their comparability, approaches to address carbon leakage, including 
principles that would minimize discrimination against imported products, improvement of 
monitoring, reporting and verification systems, measurement of embedded emissions of traded 
goods , how Members were using policies to incentivize decarbonization , as well as  technical 
assistance and capacity building. Members further pointed to a number of areas they were interested 
to address in future discussions , including trade facilitation concerning technology an d innovation, 
the importance  of consider ing different national circumstances  relating to carbon pricing, difficulties 
of developing countries and MSMEs to comply with  carbon standards and other regulatory measures,  
or sector -specific analysis of  the impact s of TRCMs .  
3.8.  Going forward, s everal Members encouraged the Working Group to strengthen cooperative 
approaches, including with regard to discussing the compatibility of carbon pricing and non -pricing  
measures , strengthening cooperation on carbon standards in the TBT Committee, or early 
notification of TRCMs  to facilitate discussion and exchanges and enhance cooperation in their design. 
Members also highlighted the importance of discussions regarding carbon lea kage and mitigation 
mechanisms such as carbon pricing, and their impacts on trade flows. The possibility of 
sector -specific discussion s was also mentioned , as well as a possible compilation of best practi ces 
regarding the design and implementation of TRCMs . To increase transparency, it was proposed that 
Members could include voluntary information sharing in the CTE or through Members' trade policy 
reviews , regarding their intended TRCMs , their objectives, and broad design feature s. It was 
suggested that TES SD Members could lead by example and work towards a proposal identifying the 
type of information that should be shared and when . To support  discussions, a nother  Member 
suggested that TESSD participants could engage in a questionnaire regarding explicit and  implicit 
carbon pricing approaches . 
4  Working Group on Circular Economy – Circularity – 5 October (a.m.)  
Trade -related policy issues  
4.1.  Presentations by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm 
Conventions (BRS) Secretariat, and the OECD highlighted trade  policy issues related to the circular 
economy. The WCO noted challenges faced by customs authorities and the HS system in determining 
whether goods were recycled, and suggested holistic solutions through HS code updates, and other 
measures such as certifications and permits, in order to facilitate circular trade. The BRS Secretariat 
highlighted opportunities linked to trade in e -waste, including its high recycling value, work on the 
Prior Informed Consent (PIC) pr ocedures to control transboundary movements of waste, and recent 
updates to the Basel Convention whereby trade of e -waste must respect PIC procedures and 
environmentally sound management of waste. The OECD shared findings from a report on reverse 
supply ch ains, pointing to potential trade barriers to waste and end -of-life products such as trade 
restrictions, procedural burdens or definitional challenges. Policy responses to promote reverse 
supply chains towards a resource -efficient circular economy included  trade facilitation mechanisms INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  (authorized economic operators, single window mechanisms , and electronic systems), standards on 
recovery facilities and on end -of-life products, eco -design, tackling illegal waste trade , and 
addressing trade restrictions to t he extent possible.  
4.2.  Members5 underlined that trade could play an important role in supporting the transition 
towards a circular economy. The representative of European Union mentioned that specific measures 
facilitating trade in circular economy -related services were included in its recently concluded FTA 
with New Zealand. Another Member  highlighted the need for more specific data and granularity to 
identify the necessary policies and  noted that import restrictions could inhibit sustainable 
remanufacturin g. A Member pointed to experiences from information sharing in regional efforts on 
circular economy initiatives th at could be used to inform  developing and LDC Members  on working 
with regional partners to develop circular value chains.  The representative of China shared its 
experience in promoting the  circular economy, noting that its recycling and reuse of waste steel, 
non-ferrous metals, plastics, and paper had reached 385 million tons . 
Mapping of trade and trade policy issues  
4.3.  The WTO Secretariat presented an overview of trade -related policy issues that could serve as 
a basis for a mapping exercise, noting the trade flows in goods and services related to the circular 
economy, trade -related measures relating to circular economy activitie s notified by Members, and 
examples of circular economy policies shared by Members in previous discussions. Several Members 
reacted positively to the idea of a mapping of trade policy issues in the circular economy, while some 
expressed caution indicating the discussions where still at a very preliminary stage and that, while 
procedures to facilitate trade could be considered, if such an exercise were to be carried out it would 
require necessarily a whole of lifecycle approach.  
Priorities  
4.4.  During the meetin g, it was suggested tha t more discussions could take place regarding trade 
facilitation to promote circular goods and related services.  A suggestion made in past discussions 
was to focus on the interplay between trade and waste rules, for instance to explore the possibility 
of fast-track processes with reduced procedures for high -quality waste recycling . It had also been 
suggested to focus on the trade -related aspects of a climate -aligned circular economy . Electronics 
was noted by a number of Members as a specific sector that could be a priority in future discussions , 
particularly regarding standards. Members also suggested continuing work on value -retention 
processes such as remanufacturing, refurbishment , repair , and reuse. A number of Members also 
emphasized the importance of considering the entire lifecycle, including a more dedicated focus on 
upstream processes, a s well as  interests and capacity building for developing countries and LDCs.  
4.5.  Regarding the way forward,  Members broadly welcomed the facilitators ' suggestion of a 
mapping  of the trade aspects of the circular economy. This exercise could serve to build a broader 
understanding of the trade aspects of the circular economy  and identify potential challenges and 
opportunities to align and strengthen a resource -efficient circular economy, including national 
measures that had been taken to advance domestic resource efficiency and circular economy targets. 
The mapping could also help Members to further identify priority areas or sectors for  future work , 
and support developing countries and LDCs to identify and incorporate circular economy practi ces 
into macroeconomic planning. Complementary suggestion s included to undertake a targete d 
questionnaire to catalogue measures to advance circular economy targets , or to consider best 
practi ces to achieve a more resource -efficient circular economy.  The facilitators suggested that 
consultations could serve to further clarify scope, content , and process of such a  mapping  exercise, 
as well as other suggestions that Members may have regarding priorities for the way forward.  
5  Working Group on Subsidies – 5 October (p.m.)  
Transparency  
5.1.  The WTO Secretariat provided an overview of environment -related subsidies included in the 
WTO Environmental Database (EDB). In 2021, Members had submitted 125 subsidy notifications 
 
5 Nine Members took the floor during the meeting: Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecua dor, 
European  Union, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United States.  INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  covering 1,141 subsidy measures. Environment -related subsidies were mainly notified under the 
SCM Agreement and the Agr eement on Agriculture, with the most frequent objectives being 
alternative and renewable energy, sustainable agriculture management, and water management 
and conservation.  It was also noted that an increasing number of EDB entries for subsidies were 
coming  from TPR reports.  
5.2.  Members highlighted challenges regarding the interlinkages between subsidies, trade and the 
environment. It was noted that trade -distorting domestic support had negative impacts on the 
environment leading to increased emissions  and addre ssing environmentally harmful agricultural 
subsidies was necessary to achieve net -zero carbon emissions.  A Member  pointed to the challenge 
of assessing potential environmental impacts of subsidies due to a lack of subsidy notifications at 
the WTO, noting t hat only around one third of Members had submitted their required subsidy 
notifications in 2021. Another  Member noted that more complete information re garding domestic 
inventories of fossil fuel  subsidies was needed , citing the example of voluntary peer re views 
organized in fora such as the G20 or APEC.  Some Members suggested creat ing a matrix of 
environmentally harmful and beneficial subsides, or to improve transparency, for example by 
including environmentally harmful subsidies in trade policy reviews.  
Methodologies to identify environmental impacts: industrial subsidies and fisheries subsidies  
5.3.  A presentation by the International Institute for Sustainable Development  (IISD ) illustrated 
how case studies and modelling provided differentiated insights regarding the environmental 
harmfulness of subsidies and how these informed policy choices in fisheries subsidies negotiations. 
A presentation by the OECD presented two complemen tary ways of assessing industrial subsidies by 
looking at governments as providers or firms as beneficiaries. Findings from a forthcoming report 
on government support in aluminium smelting and steelmaking indicated that such support 
increased emissions: (i ) mainly because increased production dr ove emissions (scale effect); but 
also due to (ii) higher emission intensity of major recipients (composition effect); and (iii) a limited 
contribution to lowering emission (technique effect).  
5.4.  Members6 highlighted the importance of data in identifying the impact of subsidies on 
emissions, with several Members pointing to the need for more transparency. Some Members noted 
that subsidies could have positive environmental effects  or serve to improve technology.  It was 
noted that the correlation between emissions intensity and government support should encourage 
an intensification of work to address environmentally harmful subsidies. In addition, a Member 
suggested that more information sharing on domestic initiatives co uld support the identification of 
environmentally harmful subsidies , and that discussions on policy implications of these could also 
be shared in the CTE and S CM Committee to adopt more horizontal approaches.  
Priorities  
5.5.  During the meeting and in previous discussions, Members expressed interest in discussing 
different types of subsidies , including agricultural subsidies, fossil fuel subsidies, industrial subsidies , 
and green subsidies . A number of Members expressed interest in continuing to discuss  the 
environmental effects of agricultural subsidies. In particular, it was noted that efforts to reduce 
agricultural subsidies could lead to reduced carbon emissions. A number of Members also suggested 
that fossil fuel subsidies could be further discussed in the group, in particular to address transparency 
and information gaps. Other Members cautioned that discussions on agricultural subsidies should be 
complementary to those  in the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA -SS). A Member 
noted that fossil fuel subsidy discussions should take place within the dedicated group that had been 
launched for that purpose.   
5.6.  Going forward, s everal Members underlined the importance of transparency and availability of  
relevant data as a priority for future work.  Several Members welcomed efforts to disclose information 
and planned measures, including through obtaining data from relevant international organi zations, 
to build a common evidence -based understanding.  It was suggested that having a broad  scope in 
terms of subsidy discussions could also provide opportunities to enhance transparency and share 
experiences to explore effective means to rationalize or abolish subsidies, where relevant, based on 
 
6 Fourteen Members took the floor during the meeting: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, 
Costa  Rica, European Union, Japan, Paraguay, New  Zealand, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Switz erland, United 
Kingdom and United States.  INF/TE/SSD/R/13  
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  national circumstances. A number of Members suggested th at a possible outcome for the group 
could be to compile a matrix of different forms of subsidies and their environmental impacts . It was 
suggested that such a matrix could provide guidance to Members in designing or implementing 
national measures , and possibly be a first step towards  guidelines on how to provide less distorting 
and environmentally harmful subsidies .  
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