RESTRICTED  
  
WT/CTE/M/61  
 
14 October 2016  
(16-5565) Page: 1/38 
Committee on Trade and Environment   
 
 REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 30 JUNE 20 16 
NOTE BY THE SECRETAR IAT1  
The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE Regular) met on 30 June 2016, chaired by the 
Permanent Representative of Chile, Ambassador  Hector Casanueva. The Committee adopted the 
Airgram,  WTO/AIR/CTE/3, issued on 2 June 2016.  The latest list of documents of the 
Committee was circulated on 29 February 2016 in document WT/CTE/INF/ 5/Rev.12 . The 
Report of the last CTE  meeting, held on 6 October  2015, is contained in WT/CTE/M/60 .  
 
Contents  
 
 
1   PARAGRAPH 32(I) OF T HE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  ................................ .. 4 
1.1   Forestry  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  4 
1.1.1    Canada's experience on governance and regulation of forests and forest products  ............  4 
1.1.2    Presentation by ITTO on recent activities  ................................ ................................ ..... 6 
1.2   Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform  ................................ ................................ .........................  8 
1.3   Organic Agricultural Certification  ................................ ................................ .................. 12 
1.4 Presentation by UNCTAD on  Trade, Market Access, and the SDGs ................................ ....14 
1.5 Presentation by the OECD on the stringency of environmental regulations and trade 
in environmental goods  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......16 
2   OTHER ITEMS ON THE C TE'S WORK PROGRAMME (ITEMS 1, 2, 3(A), 4 , 5, 7, 9, 
AND 10)  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  17 
2.1   Item 1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 17 
2.1.1   Presentation by the UNFCCC on CoP21  ................................ ................................ .......17 
2.1.2    Members' presentations on INDCs  ................................ ................................ ............. 19 
2.1.2.1    Singapore's INDC  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..19 
2.1.2.2    Mexico's INDC  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......20 
2.1.2.3    China's INDC  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 21 
2.1.2.4    Brazil's IND C ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 22 
2.1.2.5    Other comments  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...22 
2.1.3    Chinese Taipei's presentation on Renewable Energy Policies and Accomplishments  .......... 23 
2.1.4    Joint proposal on "Deepening the understanding of the relationship between the 
climate change and trade regimes" (Korea, Canada and Costa Rica)  ................................ ......... 24 
3   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 29 
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is wit hout prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  3.1   Environmental provisions in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)  ................................ .......29 
3.1.1    Presen tation by the European Union on environmental provisions in concluded 
RTAs ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 29 
3.1.2    Environmental provisions of New Zealand's Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs)  ........... 31 
3.1.3    Switzerland's experience  ................................ ................................ .......................... 33 
3.1.4    Korea's experience  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...33 
3.1.5    Chile's experi ence ................................ ................................ ................................ ....33 
3.1.6    Other comments  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......34 
3.2   Briefing on the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations  ................................ .......... 34 
3.3   Briefing on recent developments in UNEP  ................................ ................................ ......35 
3.4   Other Matters  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 35 
4   DATE OF NEXT M EETING ................................ ................................ ............................  36 
ANNEX 1: ITEMS OF TH E CTE WORK PROGRAMME  ................................ ..........................  37 
ANNEX 2: PARTS OF TH E DOHA MINISTERIAL D ECLARATION THAT RELA TE  TO 
THE WOR K OF THE CTE  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 38 
 
 
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  ACRONYMS  
 
AOSIS  Alliance of Small Islands States  
APEC  Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation  
BAU  Business as usual  
BIPV  Building -integrated photovoltaics  
CITES   Convention on Internation al Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora  
CoP  Conference of the Parties  
CTE  Committee on Trade and Environment  
EFTA  European Free Trade Association  
EGA  Environmental Goods Agreement  
FAO  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United  Nations  
FFFSR   Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform  
FTA  Free trade agreement  
GDP  Gross domestic product  
GHG  Greenhouse Gases  
INDC   Intended Nationally Determined Contribution  
ITTO  International Tropical Timber Organization  
IUU  Illegal, unrepo rted and unregulated  
LDC  Least developed country  
NDC  Nationally Determined Contribution  
NGO  Non-governmental organization  
NTM  Non-tariff measure  
OECD   Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development  
PTA  Preferential Trade Agreement  
PV  Photovoltaic  
RTA  Region al Trade Agreement  
SDGs  Sustainable Development Goal s 
SFM  Sustainable Forestry Management  
SLCP  Short -lived climate pollutant  
SPS  Sanitary and phytosanitary  
TBT  Technical barriers to trade  
TFLET   Thematic Program me on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade  
UNCTAD  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development  
UNEA   United Nations Environment Assembly  
UNEP   United Nations Environment Programme  
UNFCCC  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  
WAPPRIIT A Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial 
  Trade Act  
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  1  PARAGRAPH 32(I) OF T HE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  
"The effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to 
developing countries , in particular the least -developed among them, and those 
situations in which the elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and distortions 
would benefit trade, the environment and development."  
1.1  Forestry  
1.1.1   Canada's  experience  on governance and regulati on of forests and forest products  
1.1.  The representative of Canada  began his presentation by noting that a large portion of the 
world's forests were found in Canada, covering around 340 million hectares, nearly 91% of its 
original cover and about 9 % of world's  forest cover.2  A large part of such forests remained 
underdeveloped with limited road access and only 0.5 % of Canada's forest areas were harvested 
annually.  
1.2.  He indicated that the vast majority of Canada's forests were publicly owned and thus nearly 
all commercial forestry took place under the jurisdiction of provinces and territories. Provinces and 
territories had the authority to develop and to enforce forest -related legislation, regulations and 
policies. Various forms of tenure agreements were used to assign rights and responsibilities to 
companies for operating in public forests. Before any harvesting operations began, a forest 
management plan had to be approved and a harvest authorit y had to  be granted. The provinces 
and territories collected royaltie s in each of their jurisdictions for the trees harvested.  
1.3.  The representative stressed that Canada's forest policies were founded on Sustainable 
Forestry Management (SFM) principles. The management decisions and activities were based on 
scientific research , rigorous planning processes, as well as broad public consultations. To support  
these decisions and activities, Canada had developed strict laws, regulations and policies to 
enforce sustainable management standards and practices across the country. Polici es also included 
comprehensive assessment and monitoring and detailed reporting tools and mechanisms which 
allowed Canada to adapt practices based on new scientific information.  
1.4.  The representative highlighted that each jurisdiction monitored and enforc ed compliance with 
legal requirements for operating in public forests through various systems of checks and controls 
to account for the timber that was harvested. Formal reporting by companies was required and 
logs from public lands had to be physically marke d and documented prior to transport. Logs had to 
be delivered to government approved scaling sites to assess timber volumes, species and grade 
for the calculation of royalties. He also noted that r outine  compliance and investigations were 
carried out where  reports and evidence of contravention  had been found . Enforcement activities 
could range from f ines to prosecutions through the court system. In addition, Canada had  third-
party forest certification  systems in place which comple mented Canada's  regulatory framework 
and enforcement regime s. Canada had about 166 million hectares  of certified forest s, which  
represented  more than  40% of all certified forest s worldwide . Certifications included i nternationally 
recognized forest certification standards such as the  Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the 
Sustainable Forestry Initiative ( SFI) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest 
Certification (PEFC), which  required annual surveillance and periodic recertification audit s.  
1.5.  In terms of legislation, the represe ntative described Canada's Wild Animal and Plant 
Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA) , which had 
entered into force in 1996 combining various wild animal and plant protection related legislation s 
to enable Ca nada to meet its obligations under the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora  (CITES). The act applied to all foreign species whose 
capture, possession or export were prohibited or regulated by laws in their country  of origin, 
including those on CITES ' control list. Regarding e xports, the representative noted  that due to the 
extensive and rigorous system of forest governance, Canada had a negligible incidence of 
suspicious log supply , allowing consumers of forest pro ducts harvested in Canada to be confident 
in their legality; this also avoided the need for legality -related export documentation. 
Nevertheless, exports were always accompanied by appropriate documentation (e.g. on sanitary 
                                                
2 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/85.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  and phytosanitary issues) as wel l as a certificate of origin from Canada, which ensured such forest 
products had originated in areas covered by third -party certification and had maintained the chain 
of custody.  
1.6.  Canada supported international initiatives to combat illegal logging and rela ted trade, 
including the U nited Nations  Forum on Forest (UNFF), the Food and Agriculture Organization  of the 
United Nations  (FAO) and the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Experts Group on Illegal 
Logging and Associated Trade.  An important part of C anada's efforts to combat illegal logging 
focused on some of its causes, such as immature infrastructure, capacity constraints and lack of 
transparency in forest governance. According to the representative, experience had shown that 
improving forest manage ment often reduced the incidence of illegal logging associated with trade. 
By providing resources and expertise, particularly in the areas of forestry policy and administrative 
management, Canada supported capacity building and governance in a number of de veloping 
countries. In addition, by supporting the International Model Forest Network (IMFN), Canada 
helped to reduce illegal logging in developing countries through the promotion of SFM practices, 
environmental education, good governance and economic deve lopment efforts, among others. For 
example,  an ecotourism initiative in the Philippines supported by Canada  addressed illegal logging 
by offering  another use to  boats previously used to transport illegal timber as tourist ferries along 
nearby rivers.  
1.7.  Canada promoted the use of internationa lly accepted criteria and indicators in green 
procurement processes, as well as international ly recognized forest certification standards. 
Through  its membership in the Montreal  process (also known as the Working Group on  Criteria and 
Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests ) 
and at FAO, Canada was leading efforts to streamline global forest reporting.  As a party to CITES , 
Canada  helped ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animal and plants did not 
threaten their survival. Canada had  proposed and promoted the adoption of a taxonomic 
classification system for international customs authorities  in order  to standardi ze, organize and 
capture  wild life trade data.  Canada continue d to be a world leader  in forestry practises and  
regulatory regimes with a  negligible  risk for illegal logging.  
1.8.  The representative of Argentina  stated that the CTE agenda should continue to be confined to 
its traditional topics , in line wi th the Doha Ministerial Declaration  and following the mandate of the 
CTE. P resentation s by Members or by the secretariats of other international o rganizations should 
be limited  to CTE agenda items and should therefore address  the effects of environmental 
measures on market access , in particular of  developing countries , as well as the  importance of 
technical assistance and capacity building.  Presentations should be purely for information purposes 
and should not seek to amend the mandate of the CTE.  
1.9.  The repre sentative of Pakistan  noted  that one of the challenges faced by his country  was to 
ensure that the rights  of indigenous peoples whose livelihood was attached to the forest would go 
hand-in-hand with sustainable forest management – and not become an avenue for illegalities and 
infringement of relevant sustainability management principles . The representative  asked about 
Canada's experience in this area .  
1.10.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  expressed his delegation's 
support to the state ment made by Argentina.  
1.11.   The representative of t he European Union  (EU) expressed  her delegation's view that the 
presentation made by Canada fit into previous discussions held in the CTE regarding illegal 
logging. She asked Canada to  elaborate on the requir ements put in place to  ensure that no illegal 
timber enter ed Canada . Finally, she asked  the WTO Secretariat  to develop a summary paper  of the 
CTE's past exchanges of experiences on illegal logging . 
1.12.   The representative of Guatemala  requested further informat ion on Canada's  technical 
assistance programmes related to forest sustainability, in particular regarding the type of activities 
and countries involved.  
1.13.   The representative of the Plurinational  State of Bolivia  expressed her delegation's support 
for the int ervention made by Argentina and asked Canada whether any study had been done on 
the impact of such regulatory measures on imports, in particular from developing countries. With WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  regards to the suggestion made by the European Union, she stressed the need to frame 
discussions within  the mandate of the CTE and considered that it was unnecessary for the 
WTO Secretariat  to prepare a report on an issue or topic that was not specifically mentioned in the 
mandate.   
1.14.   The representative of Egypt  expressed his delegatio n's support for the interventions made 
by Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia and stressed that discussions in the CTE should clearly reflect 
items under the Committee's work program me, taking into consideration the emphasis established 
by the Doha Ministeria l Declaration. The representative pointed out that the presentation made by 
Canada would fit best under paragraph 32(iii)  on labelling requirements for environmental 
purposes. The representative also asked for further information on the technical assistanc e 
programmes provided by Canada.  
1.15.   The representative of Nigeria  expressed his delegation's support for the interventions made 
by Guatemala, Bolivia and Egypt, particularly in relation to the mandate of paragraph 32(i). The 
representative asked Canada for m ore information on the challenges faced by developing 
countries, particularly the least developed countries ( LDCs), in relation to illegal logging and 
associated trade issues. In particular, the representative was interested in technical assistance and 
support provided to LDCs to overcome such challenges and noted  his delegation's interest in 
hearing from other Members ' experiences on the matter and how assistance could be provided to 
achieve  the same objectives of SFM. Expressing support for the comment ma de by Pakistan, the 
representative noted that while the rural community depended on the forest for their livelihood, 
the government likely depended on it for revenue. Balancing those values while fulfilling the 
criteria of SFM required worki ng closely with  the communities .  
1.16.   Regarding the question from Pakistan on the rights of indigenous peoples, the 
representative of Canada  noted that his delegation sympathised with such challenges as the vast 
majority of Canada's forests were publicly owned and two per ce nt of those were possessed by 
indigenous communities. He noted that those communities had the jurisdiction, the authority or 
right to manage those lands in the same way as provinces and territories. The representative took 
note of the question and would fo llow up with Pakistan.  
1.17.   Concerning the question raised by the European Union, the representative noted that, as 
part of CITES and as required by WAPPRIITA , which covered both trade into and within Canada, 
any illegal or suspicious shipment could be intercep ted by customs officials if there were 
indications of  contravention of any foreign laws. Additionally, whenever an importer was suspected 
of contravening WAPPRI ITA, Canadian environmental and climate change authorities would contact 
the enforcement agency of the country of origin and request official copies of the country's laws, 
regulations or affidavits or any additional information concerning the prohibition of harvesting or 
trade in wood products. Such information would be presented as evidence to Canad ian courts, 
which would make a final determinatio n of legality. Essentially, WAPPRIITA provided for 
collaboration and communication with Canada's trade partners.  
1.18.   With regards to technical assistance programmes from Canada in the area of SFM, the 
represent ative was not able to provide further details, but took note of the question and would 
follow up at a later stage with interested delegations. Concerning the  questions by Bolivia and 
Nigeria, t he representative noted that he was not in a position to commen t on developing 
countries ' perspective regarding measures adopted to address illegal logging  and the impact on 
their market access. Canada's regime was based on broad public consultations, including with 
trading partners who had the opportunity to provide inputs to th e process. The representative also 
indicated that t he regime was being contin uously  reassessed based on evidence  and stated that 
Canada would appreciate information  on how the Canadian regime had impact ed the market 
access of developing countri es so it could be improved if needed .   
1.1.2   Presentation by ITTO on recent activities  
1.19.   The representative of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO ) briefed the 
CTE on the recent activities of the organization related to  the issue of forest law en forcement as 
well as its cooperation with CITES.3 ITTO had been established under the auspices  of the United 
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  in 1983 and was currently composed of 
                                                
3 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/83.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  72 members (34 producers and 38 consumers) covering thre e producing regions: Latin America, 
Africa and Asia/Pacific. ITTO's objective was to facilitate discussions, consultations and 
international cooperation on issues relating to international trade and consumption of tropical 
timber as well as the sustainable  management of tropical timber species. ITTO worked to develop 
internationally agreed policy documents to promote SFM practices  and forest conservation . Such 
policies were then  adapt ed to local circumstances and ITTO worked in the field to help  implement 
them. ITTO also  collected, analysed and disseminated data on production and trade of tropical 
timber and promoted human resource s development by  strengthen ing professional  expertise in 
tropical forestry through its fellowship programmes.  
1.20.   ITTO operated thro ugh regular project cycles (i.e. forest management, forest industry and 
market data) , thematic programmes , biennial work program mes, fellowships and specific 
collaborative programmes , including  with CITES.  ITTO also developed different guidelines and 
tools, for example : the voluntary guidelines for su stainable  management of natural tropical forest; 
ITTO/ International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines for conservation and 
sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forest s; and the r evised ITTO criteria 
and indicators for the sustainable management of tropical forest s. Regarding trade data, 
ITTO provided information about its  specific market studies on public procurement policies for 
tropical timber, timber certifications a nd other specific studies on several  tropical timber  markets.   
1.21.   ITTO worked  to ensure that sustainability requirements were complied with in all relevant 
legal frameworks by improving forest governance in its member countries through four 
approaches: i) rat ionalizing policy and the legal environment ; ii) increasing capacity to enforce 
rules and regulations ; iii) improving information and knowledge ; and iv) promoting stakeholder 
participation. Regarding the first approach, ITTO assisted its members in identif ying underlying 
causes of illegality and drafting coherent, consistent, enforceable forest legislation. ITTO also sent 
"diagnostic missions" to specific countries to establish program mes to improve implementation of 
CITES requirements for listed tropical t imber species. On capacity building, ITTO held trainings on 
the use of auditing and certification schemes as well as workshops on forest law enforcement 
organized in conjunction with FAO. ITTO also promoted the participation of non-governmental 
organizatio ns (NGOs)  and civil society in such activities. Reg arding the third approach, 
ITTO maintained a  log tracking project that used geographical information system  technology  to 
track legal international timber trade and to spot illegal forest clearings.  
1.22.   ITTO briefed the CTE on two specific programmes:  the Thematic Program me on Forest Law 
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (TFLET ); and the ITTO-CITES Program me. TFLET had been  
launched in 2008 to strengthen forest law compliance and governance by improving transp arency 
and supporting effective management  practice s in trade  of legally produced tropical timber.  
TFLET  activities , which were mostly implemented by ITTO member countries  themselves, focused 
on strengthening forest governance, support ing international tr ade in legal and sustainable timber, 
and strengthen ing community and small  and medium sized enterprise capacity . 
1.23.   The ITTO-CITES Program me was a multiyear collaborative project started in the e arly 1990s 
and focused on significant exporters of the main trop ical timber species  listed in  
CITES  Appendix  II. The programme aimed to: i)  ensure that international trade in CITES -listed 
timber species  was consistent with their sustainable management and conservation; ii) assist 
national authorities to improve forest management and meet the scientific, administrative and 
legal requirements for managing and regulating trade; iii) develop guidance to ensure that 
utilization  was not detrimental to the survival of CITES -listed tropical timber speci es; and 
iv) promote inter national and regional cooperation.  The main activities of the program me were 
focused on: i)  design ing targeted resource inventories ; ii) develop ing/implement ing improved 
management plans ; iii) undertaking case studies to  develop guidelines (including estab lishing 
export quotas); iv) develop ing cost-effective regulatory systems for endangered/threatened tree 
species ( e.g. tracking); and v) CITES training workshops . 
1.24.   Another function of the ITTO -CITES Program me was to implement decisions of the 
CITES  Conferenc e of the Parties (C oP). As an example , following  CoP 16, several activities were 
organized, including a workshop in India for the plantation of agarwood , an action plan for tropical 
forest species in Madagascar, a review of the electro nic and semi -electron ic timber tracking 
technologies  available  in Cambodia and a timber trade study co -financed by CITES and ITTO to 
review trade in timber species listed in CITES Appendices II and III.  The ITTO -CITES program me 
was funded in its majority by the European Union , but included other donors such as the United WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  States, Switzerland, Norway, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand as well as  the private 
sector.  
1.25.   The representative of the European Union  expressed satisfaction with the progress made by 
the implementation  of the ITTO -CITES Programme. She welcomed the recent mid -term review, 
which had confirmed that the program me was achieving its objectives. The European  Union also 
valued the cooperation between ITTO and CITES in terms of building partnerships between the 
organizations and providing effective support to producer countries. For example, regarding 
Prunus Africana , activities financed under the programme had produced scientific information to 
support the resumption of exports to the European Union under some c onditions.  
1.26.   The representative of Nigeria  noted his delegation's interest in ITTO's diagnostic missions, 
given that Nigeria was an important producer of tropical timber. T he reports of such missions 
highlighted the constraints, recommendations and actions t hat needed to be taken at local and 
international levels. He asked whether any assessment or follow up was carried out after 
diagnostic missions to help implement the recommendations and actions. He explained that 
several reports showed that crucial constr aints in some countries were not limited to the sector 
itself and inquired whether there was any example of a success story arising from such missions 
since one had been carri ed out in Nigeria in the past.  
1.27.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  acknowledged that illegal logging was a significant 
problem in many countries as it degraded the forest environment, reduced its biodiversity  and 
undermined government regimes and revenues. Chinese Taipei was very active in the meetings of 
the APEC Experts Group on Ill egal Logging and A ssociated Trade . He noted that all kinds of 
international dialogue working towards combatting illegal harvest and trade of forest resources 
were welcomed and his delegation looked forward to working with ITTO  and other related 
organizatio ns on the subject. His delegation also looked forward to hearing from other Members 
about their policies and remained open for discussion on this issue in the CTE.  
1.28.   The representative of Guatemala  acknowledged that Guatemala had been beneficiary of 
several ITTO programmes. He also noted that Guatemala had many success stories and was keen 
on further helping the work of ITTO.  
1.29.   The representative of ITTO welcomed Chinese Taipei's active participation and efforts to 
eradicate illegal logging. He was also please d to note that all projects implemented in Guatemala 
had been successful. A diagnostic mission to Nigeria had identified several challenges and an 
action plan had been developed, but no follow up could be conducted before Nigeria would rejoin 
the organizat ion. ITTO's practice was to respond to the outcome findings from the diagnostic 
missions, as it had done in Indonesia and several Latin American and African countries. ITTO stood 
ready to do the same regarding Nigeria. Finally, he thanked the European Unio n for supporting the 
ITTO-CITES Programme.  
1.2  Fossil Fuel Subsidies  Reform  
1.30.   The representative of New Zealand  made a statement on behalf of  Costa Rica, Norway, 
Switzerland,  Uruguay and New Zealand.4 He reminded delegations that the Friends of Fossil Fuel 
Subsi dy Reform (FF FSR) was a group of developed and developing non -G20 countries comprising  
Costa Rica,  Denmark, Ethiopia , Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and New Zealand . 
The FFFSR sought  to build political consensus in various international forums on the need for 
reforming inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage d wasteful consumption and  to promote 
the environment al and developmental  benefits of reform . 
1.31.   As noted in p ast presentations by the FFFSR to the CTE, international  reform of ineff icient 
fossil fuel subsidies offered significant energy, environmental, fiscal and trade  benefits . By keeping 
prices to consumers artificially low, fossil fuel subsidies distort ed trade, divert ed investment, 
encourage d wasteful consumption, disadvantaged  renewable energy , drained scarce public 
resources , create d opportunities for rent -seeking, leakage, and fuel  smuggling between countries 
and generated revenue losses  due to illegal trade and distortion of the market. These r esources 
could be better allocate d in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .  
                                                
4 The statement is also available in document JOB/TE/ 41. WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  1.32.   Fossil fuel subsidy reform  was gaining momentum. For example, G20 leaders had 
committed to phasing  out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in September 2009 , and two months  later,  
APEC l eader s had made a similar commitment . These commitments ha d been repeated annually  
and had incentivized meaningful reform in many economies . Recent developments since the last 
CTE meeting in October 2015 show ed further encouraging progress.  
1.33.   Since the last updat e to the CTE in 2015,  the FFFSR issued a Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform 
Communiqué during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 
CoP21 in Paris.5 This Communiqué called on the international community to increase efforts to  
phase -out fossil fuel  subsidies as a major contribution to clima te change mitigation. The 
Communiqué sought to advance the fossil fuel subsidy reform  through three inter -related 
principles:  (i) increased transparency around fossil fuel subsidies; (ii)  greater ambit ion in the 
scope of reform; and (iii) p rovision of targeted support for the poorest. There was also the option 
to showcase where and how supporters  were making progress on fossil fuel subsidy reform  
domestically, and cooperating internationally to support reforms.  
1.34.   The Communiqué was initially launched at the April 2015 s pring meeting of the World Bank, 
and was presented to countries for endorsement  at various international events throughout 2015, 
including the UNFCCC meetings in Germany, the Financing for D evelopment meetings in Ethiopia, 
and the Clean Energy Summ it. During this process, the FFFSR also partnered with other countries, 
relevant international institutions and civil society, including the Global Subsidies Ini tiative and the 
Prince of Wales' s Corporate Leaders Group , in order  to attract support from countries, civil society 
and business.  
1.35.   He noted further that throughout 2015 support for the Communiqué had grown  and in 
November  2015 it had been presented at C oP 21 in Paris  to world leaders and the 
UNFCCC  Executive Secre tary as part of efforts to reach a new global climate agreement. The 
Communiqué was endorsed by 40 partners , support ed by business associations representing over 
90,000 businesses and investors , as well as NGOs and international orga nizations such as the 
International Energy Agency, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) 
and the World Bank, and business groups such as the World Business Council for Sus tainable 
Development and the We  Mean Business Coalition . The event at C oP 21 had received significant 
media attention and the F FFSR's  social media campaign had reached over 2 million accounts.  The 
Communiqué would remain  open for further endorsements  in 2016  and t he FFFSR  invite d 
WTO Members, companies and civil society organizations to join efforts to  reform fossil fuel 
subsidies in an ambitious and transparent manner , as a contribution t o climate change mitigation.  
1.36.   The Paris Agreement included  the objective of making  "finance flows consistent with a 
pathway towa rds low greenhouse gases (GHG)  emissions and climate resilient development. " 
Thirteen parties  had included the issue of fossil fuel subsidy reform and energy pricing within their 
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) towards the Paris Agreem ent. The 
Addis  Ababa Action Agenda  on Fin ancing for Development in July 2015 and the Means of 
Implementation of Goal 12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production P atterns of the SDGs of 
September 2015 reaffirmed the commitment to rationalize inefficient fo ssil-fuel subsidies that 
encouraged wasteful consumption.  
1.37.   The G20 and G 7 had also reaffirmed fossil fuel subsidy reform commitments , further defined  
timeframes  and encourage d greater uptake of the pee r review process. In particular, t he G20 in 
Antalya (Tu rkey) in November 2015 had reaffirmed  its 2009  commitment  "to rationalise and phase 
out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage d wasteful consumption, over the medium term, 
recognising  the need to support the poor" and the G7 in May 2016 had simil arly committed to 
phasing out inef ficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025.  
1.38.   In the lead -up to the G20 Energy Ministerial Meeting, the FFFSR  encourage d G20 members 
to set a date before 2025 to phase -out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies  in accordance with  their 
commitmen t of 2009 to eliminate them " over the medium term ". The FFFSR  also welcome d the 
recent peer review process by China and the United States as well as  Germany and Mexico and 
acknowledged that s imilar peer review processes were under  way in APEC  and through self -review 
processes . For instance, New Zealand had recently concluded a peer review involving  the 
                                                
5 The Communiqué  is available at www.fffsr.org .  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  OECD  and APEC. The FFFSR  encouraged these  initiatives , which increased  the transparency of 
domestic fossil fuel s ubsidies.  
1.39.   International progres s on reform was encouraging  and there was a  growing momentum  for 
implementation  of reforms, especially given the continuing low oil price. Nonetheless , energy 
subsidies were still significant; in 2014, governments had spent approximately  US$600 billion on 
fossil fuels subsidies worldwide,  with consequent negative impacts for the environment and 
trade.  Action to address trade and environment concerns c ould be mutually reinforcing. 
Sustainable  development was a stated objective of the Marrakesh Agreement  and trade policy 
should address  global challenges.  Leaders recognis ed fossil fuel s ubsidy  reform as a sustainable 
development goal. It was important to turn political commitment into action. Trade agreements, 
especially at the multilateral level, could  help mitigate the effects of climate change and could  
reinforce the role of  trade in solving global environmental concerns .  
1.40.   The representative of Norway , another member of the FFFSR, recognised  the importance of 
fossil fuel subsidy reform as a key climate change  policy with economic , social and environmental 
benefits  and strongly encourage d Members  and other key  actors to maximise the climate -related 
benefits of subsidies reform.  Fossil fuel subsid y reform would level the playing field for trade in 
renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. T he cost of renewable energy had been 
significantly  reduced, which created  opportunities to mitigate climate change while maintaining  
economic growth.  She invited Members to encourage investments in technolog ies necess ary to 
lower carbon e mission s. The amount of current fossil fuels  subsidies  were several times greater 
than the  value of financial resources that the world aim ed at raising for investment in low -emission 
and climate -resilient development pathways in 2020. Norway endorsed the Communiqué and 
underscored the FFFSR invitation to additional WTO Members, companies and civil society 
organizations to join efforts to  reform fossil fuel subsidies in an ambitious and transparent manner , 
as a major contribution t o clim ate change mitigation .  
1.41.   The representative of Switzerland , as an active member of the FFFSR , strongly support ed 
efforts to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies . Switzerland  considered these subsidies to be  inadequate 
tools to address  socio-economic objectives . He shared New Zealand's concern regarding their 
negative e ffects on international  trade and on the development of renewable energy  by artificially 
lowering fossil fuel prices. He also noted that fossil fuels subsidies were weakening the 
commitments of the Paris Agreement and  the SDGs. Finally, he highlighted the importance for 
Switzerland and the international community to combat  climate change and global warming. 
Switzerland would collaborate actively with its partner s to achieve th e reform o f fossil fuel 
subsidies . 
1.42.   The representative of Mexico  thanked New Zealand and Norway for bringing the issue of 
fossil fuels subsidies to the attention of the CTE. This area was crucial for the work of the CTE and 
noted that it was essential for this body to monitor rele vant developments in the international 
arena. The issue of fossil fuels subsidies was close ly related to  trade, trade policy and the 
environment. In this regard, the WTO could and should make a contribution to the success of 
SDGs for 2030. The discussion i n the CTE on reform measures for fossil fuel subsidies would also 
be useful to discussions in other WTO bodies, in particular the Negotiating Group on Rules both 
with regard to  horizontal subsidies and fish eries subsidies. The reform of fossil fuel subsidi es was 
imperative, but the WTO faced  severe limitations to address this challenge. In particular, the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures only covered specific subsidies. Indeed, this 
issue would require covering also the reduction and elimi nation of horizontal subsidies with regard 
to fossil fuels, which affected the environment in general and fisheries in particular. Her delegation 
expressed willingness to continue monitoring this issue in the CTE.   
1.43.   The representative of the Philippines  noted his delegation's interest in this issue and its 
implications for the environment, trade and the economy. The Philippines had not provided 
subsidies for a long time, which had had consequences on the economy. For instance, the 
Philippines' energy price was one of the highest in the Asia Pacific region and this had impact ed on 
the country's competitiveness. His delegation was interested in thi s issue, and in the link to 
WTO rules. The Philippines noted that while general subsidies were accepted by Members , specific 
subsidies under defined policy objectives were not. Neither specific nor general subsidies should be 
encouraged. Members should continue conversations in the CTE and other Committees on how to 
address this issue and on the impacts on different s ectors of the economy, society and 
development. The current low prices of fossil fuels provided an opportunity to address this issue, WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  which should be exploited by Members now as there was no certainty  on the level of prices in the 
next decades.  
1.44.   The represe ntative of Uruguay  noted that  Uruguay had joined  the FFFSR, in accordance with 
its decades -long domestic polic y on fossil fuels. Uruguay had actively fought climate change 
through the reform of subsidies that led to an increase in fossil fuel consumption i n an uneconomic 
manner. Uruguay was one of the few developing participants in the FFFSR and considered its 
experience  in reforming the national energy matrix to be an example. In Uruguay, 55% of energy 
and 97%  of electricity were sourced from renewable ene rgy. Uruguay's fiscal policy was cutting -
edge in relation to the challenges of climate change as it imposed considerable taxes on the use of 
fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Uruguay could serve as an example of how  to move 
forward discussions on fossil fuel subsidy reform. It illustrated  how an environmentally sustainable 
energy policy could also be sustainable in economic terms and how the absence of fossil fuel 
subsidies accelerated the process of reform necessary to achieve the objectives pr oposed in the 
Paris Agreement.  
1.45.   The representative of Pakistan  reaffirmed his delegation's commitment to the reform o f 
fossil fuel subsidies. Pakistan had launched a major structural reform as part of its national agenda 
and the International Monetary Fund's E xtended Fund Facility program me, which had recently 
been completed to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. The reform focused on the energy sector 
and addressed in particular costly and inefficient energy subsidies. Major steps had been  taken 
despite a 25% deficiency in energy needs  and the fact that 87 % of Pakistan's energy mix was 
from hydrocarbon -based fuels. Pakistan's fossil fuels subsidies had decreased from 2 % to 0.7 % of 
Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) in 2016 and, despite the difficulties, the intenti on was to reduce 
them to 0.3 % of GDP in 2017. This reduction in subsidies was accompanied by measures to 
protect poor populations and efforts to increase energy supply, in order to address electricity 
outages and to improve the efficiency of generation and  distribution companies.  
1.46.   Pakistan had made investments in new projects , particularly in renewable energies such as 
solar, wind, hydro and biomass. On biomass, a large number of Pakistan's sugar mills were co -
generating from bagasse and were receiving priv ate sector technical assistance and hardware from 
India. He also referred to the regional project known as " CASA -1000" (CASA stood for Central 
Asia-South Asia) , which consisted o f the transmission of energy from clean hydro power from 
Central Asia, primari ly from the energy surplus during  the summer months in Kyrgyz Republic and 
Tajikistan, to Pakistan , which was energy deficient during that season . The project entailed the  
construct ion of  a long transmission line of about 1000km to bring 1000MW of electric ity from 
Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, the  project was on a fast -
track, and a joint working group composed of the World Ban k, Islamic Development Bank, 
UK Department for International Development, European Bank for R econstruction and 
Developm ent, US Department of State, US  Agency for International Development, International 
Finance Corporation and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited  had recently met in Almaty to 
finalize the key procurements. The project was  an ex ample of a multi-stakeholder initiative 
supporting regional energy trade with a view to further fossil fuel subsid y reform .   
1.47.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  welcomed efforts to reduce fossil 
fuels subsidies and the related positiv e impacts on reducing global warming. She recalled that 
climate mitigation actions were based on UNFCCC principles and provisions, which established that 
developed parties should take the leadership in reducing GHG emissions. Likewise, the 
UNFCCC  recognize d that developing parties would need to increase their energy consumption, 
have access to the resources necessary to their development, and reduce poverty. Similarly, 
Agenda 2030 provided that the reduction of fossil fuels subsidies should take into accoun t the 
specific needs and conditions of developing countries and should minimiz e the possible adverse 
impacts on their devel opment in a manner that protected  the poor .  
1.48.   The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  recalled her delegation's position tha t 
the peer review exercise was a voluntary G20 initiative with no link to the WTO. The WTO was not 
the appropriate venue to discuss this issue.  
1.49.   The representative of Qatar  expressed appreciation for efforts to update WTO Members on 
recent developments on f ossil fuel subsidy reform. Nevertheless, the G20 peer review process was 
voluntary and on -going in another forum. While many Members, including Qatar, had recently 
made efforts on the issue, fossil fuel subsidy reform issues were broad and raised many non -trade WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  related issues. Discussing the subject was not under the mandate of the CTE, and would pre -judge 
discussions in other multilateral forums. The recurrence of this debate raised concerns regarding 
the rights and obligations of WTO Members and Qatar was  of the view that these discussions were 
unwarranted.  
1.50.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  recalled  that the fossil fuel 
subsidy reform peer review process was a voluntary exercise cond ucted in the context of the 
G20 and APEC. It had no link to the WTO or the CTE, which were not the appropriate for ums to 
debate th e issue. Similarly, the peer review process es had not been endorsed by any of the for ums 
in which the FFFSR had promoted their initiative, including CoP21  in Paris. Decisions by the G20 
and other for ums should not be imposed beyond their respective memberships.  His delegation 
was concerned that several other delegations insisted on discussing th is topic at the WTO instead 
of focusing on subsidies in fisheries and agriculture, which were within the purview of the WTO and 
had a negative impact on trade and the environment. The agricultural sector was a key contributor 
to GHG emissions. With respect to response measures, Article 4.8 of the UNFCCC provided that full 
consideration s hould be given to countries whose economies were highly dependent on fossil fuels. 
Response measures were policies put in place to reverse or reduce the effects of climate change. 
His delegation was concerned about the possibility that issues addressed in the climate change 
forum c ould go into reverse due to duplication in other forums such as the WTO, which did not 
have a mandate in this area, and which was ill -suited  to discuss the issue . 
1.51.   The representative of Nigeria  noted the number of international ini tiatives on this issue. 
Nigeria was not  a member of the G20 and therefore considered the preceding presentation as 
purely informative and without prejudice to Members' rights and positions  on the subject. While 
fossil fuel subsidies were often justified wi th legitimate policy objectives, their economic, social and 
environmental costs were enormous, exceeding their benefits. Member s' experiences  showed 
several challenges associated with these reforms. Fossil fuel subsidies placed an important burden 
on gover nment budgets, prompting Nigeria to embark on reforms. While fossil subsidies were 
justified for social w elfare purposes, they would likely benefit wealthier households, rather than 
lower income consumers, because the former consumed more energy. In additi on, these subsidies 
created disincentives for energy efficiency and energy infrastructure investments. His delegation 
was willing to engage in further discussions on the issue.  
1.52.   The representative of New Zealand  noted that his presentation was intended to p rovide  
information on international policy coherence , which was a shared objective among all 
WTO Members . This information sharing exercise was important and  he encourage d WTO M embers 
to examine  the FFFSR C ommuniqué. The FFFSR  would welcome the support of more participants. 
The C ommuniqué  was issued by all FFFSR members and was in  line with the SDGs, which were 
agreed by all WTO Members . His delegation appreciated the extensive sharing of experiences by  
Members in relation to their reform processes, particu larly the Philippines and  Nigeria.  The 
CTE was the appropriate forum for these discussions. From an  international policy coherence 
perspective, this issue was consistently emerging across the SDGs , APEC, the G20  and the  
UNFCCC.  His delegation appreciated t he comments and questions  on the  intersection of this issue 
with trade  and the role of the WTO. He understood that some delegations had doubts on this 
aspect. This information sharing exercise was important for  domestic and international policy 
coherence , and for the mutual supportiveness between trade and the environment.  
1.3  Organic Agricultural Certification  
1.53.   The representative of Ecuador  explained  the process for obtaining organic agricultural 
certification for small and medium -sized enterprises  in her count ry.6 Ecuador , which straddled  
three distinct geographical regions, had great diversity of products , flora and fauna. Work on the 
commercialization of its agricultural products and handicrafts was undertaken by CAMARI - 
"Sistema Solidario de Comercializació n del FEPP", an NGO member of the social group known as 
"Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio" (FEPP) . CAMARI, along with the other businesses that 
were part of that group, had 468 employees,  almost 50 % of which were women. It  supported 
families with dif ferent projects through teams and regional offices in 23 provinces of Ecuador. 
CAMARI, a member of the World Fair Trade Organization, had received organic certification  and 
had implemented ISO 900 1. CAMARI aimed to increase the commercialization of organic  products.  
                                                
6 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/89.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  1.54.   While many organizations in Ecuador were agro -ecological, few had organic certification and 
could export to foreign markets requiring such certification. In training small producers , 
CAMARI  sought to convey to them the benefits of organic certi fication, which included:  i) greater 
income with a higher selling price expected for organic  products ; ii) market access opportunities 
with increase d national and international demand  for organic  products ; iii) lower environmental 
impact ; and iv) eligibili ty of organically certified products for export. CAMARI realized the 
importance of organic certification for both primary and processed products  and considered 
certification as an investment, not an expense . CAMARI had raised awareness and had identified 
impediments  faced by small organizations, including  a lack of resources , technical support , and 
basic knowledge to prepare the necessary documents  and meet organic  certification  requirements .  
Furthermore, for sales within Ecuador,  small producer organizati ons had direct and immediate 
access to income. By contrast,  sale receipts from export transaction s were available indirectly 
through CAMARI with a time-lag. Therefore, small  organizations often preferred to sell at lower 
prices for immediate access to inco me, rather than to obtain higher prices through exports . In 
addition, there was a  2-3 year transitional period for the soil to be assessed as clean and organic, 
during which organizations  could only sell at the price of conventional products despite their 
continuous investment in certification. Also, certification differed across Europe, Japan and the 
United States in terms of  procedures , documentation  and costs . Some  WTO Members accepted 
certification only from specific firms, which further  raised  costs. Small producers could reduce 
certification costs by collaborating in groups.  
1.55.   Organic certification required: a transitional period; the selection of seeds and organic 
products; a crop rotation plan for soil fertility; and processes for production, water con servation, 
and pest and disease control. In relation to the certification process, she explained  that 
organizations had to complete five steps, beginning with establish ing contact with CAMARI's offices 
because small producers often lacked information on or ganic certification. Subsequently, producers 
had to complete approximately 20 documents issued by the certifier and submit a complete 
application form. Next was the payment of a deposit amounting to half the cost of the certification . 
The following  step wa s the inspection itself, where organizations often faced challenges in terms of 
understand ing the terminology and requirements. Small producers usually needed support during 
the inspection. The final step was to pay the remain der of the cost of the certifi cation . With limited 
resources, most of these steps were difficult and costly for small producers. The costs could be 
reduced depending on the size of the land to be  certified, with a minimum of 10 hectares needed 
for certification to be profitable.  
1.56.    In Ecuador's experience, the profits realized from organic production varied greatly, as did 
the challenges faced to obtain certification. CAMARI supported the organic certification process for 
small producer  organization s, including through: contacts with cert ifiers, collection of information, 
preparation of documentation, training on issues related to organic production, and review to 
ensure conformity with certification requirements. CAMARI also sought resources for small 
producers to finance certification, b ut the funding available was limited.  
1.57.   The production of organic goods was part of Ecuador's national policy for incentivizing 
exports of environmentally sustainable products, as enshr ined in Article 306 of the 
2008 Constitution. Objectives 7 and 10 of Ecu ador's National Development Plan for  
2013-17 included policies related to sustainable production. In addition, Ecuador had developed 
guidelines under the general rules on organic -ecological -biological production. There were 7,749 
certified organic produce rs in Ecuador, of which 330 were individual producers. The remaining 
producers were grouped into 47 organic operator groups.  Her delegation considered organic 
agricultural production as an opportunity for diversifying and increasing exports with higher va lue 
added, generating benefits and productive engagement for organic producers, and increasing  
Ecuador's share in international trade.  Ecuador faced tariff and non -tariff measures such as a 
multiplicity of organic certifications to access different markets . This added to the costs of small 
producers and created market access barriers for organic products from developing countries. 
While organic products usually obtained better prices in international markets, this depended on 
factors such as the supply and price of conventional products. When prices were low, the 
investment for small producers to change from conventional to organic  production was not 
justified. Her delegation supported preferential tariff treatment for organic products as a means to 
incentiv ize production, promote healthier sustainable consumption, and contribute to global 
environmental protection.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  1.58.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  appreciated Ecuador's efforts in 
promoting organic production . In particular, her delegat ion noted the non -tariff barriers that small 
producers faced with certification, as well as the high costs and lack of profitability in some cases.  
1.59.   The representative of Ecuador  noted that CAMARI supported the product commercialization 
of approximately 20 0 producers and suppliers. While Ecuador aimed at increasing the number of 
organic producers, the lack of certification was a challenge for exports. Regarding processed 
products, there were 100 producers , of which only two per cent had organic certificatio n. 
Commercialization of organic products was having an impact on Ecuador as there was more 
awareness of the benefits in terms of market access. The focus on organic certification for small 
producers was necessary because larger organizations usually  had th e resources for certification.  
1.4 Presentation by UNCTAD on Trade, Market Access, and the SDGs  
1.60.   The representative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ) 
presented  UNCTAD's report titled: "Trading into Sustainable Development: Trade , Market Access, 
and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)".7 The 2030  Agenda for Sustainable Development 
and the SDGs adopted in 2015 was an integrated agenda with economic, social and environmental 
dimensions. Under this framework, trade policy should  contribute not only to economic growth, but 
also to the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.  
1.61.   The report contained four chapters. Chapter 1 on trade policy making and the SDGs 
explained the interaction between trade policy and t he determinants of sustainable development. 
Chapter 2 on tariffs and the SDGs covered the areas where tariffs influenced the SDGs. Chapter 3 
on non -tariff measures (NTMs) and the SDGs described why NTMs were the key policy interface 
that connected trade to  the SDGs and vice versa. Finally, chapter 4 on physical market access and 
trade costs explained how connectivity to markets contributed to inclusive growth. The focus of the 
report was on market access because custom tariffs and NTMs were formal and measu rable 
elements of countries' trade policies; and market access was the core component of trade 
agreements - multilateral and regional - which UNCTAD considered important vehicles for making 
trade equitable and mutually advantageous. This was also reflected  in the 2030 Agenda and the 
Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.   
1.62.   The representative of UNCTAD stressed that better market access conditions for 
environmental goods contributed to SDG Target 17.7 wh ich aimed to "promote the development, 
transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing 
countries". One of the findings of the report was that developing countries' share in world trade 
and exports of environmental goods were increasing. The import share of developing countries had 
increased from 10 per cent in 2002 to 26% in 2014, while exports had increased from 25% to 
38% over the same period. In 2014, exports of environmental goods from developing countries to 
developed countries were valued at US$ 95.8 billion while exports to other developing countries 
(South -South trade) amounted to US$ 25.7 billion. Average tariffs on environmental goods were 
relatively low (three per cent and less), across low, middle and hig h income countries. Weighted 
applied tariffs for environmental goods, clustered into three Harmonized System groups (HS84, 
HS85 and HS90), suggested that exports from low income countries generally faced higher tariffs 
than other groups of countries, but t his in turn depended on the composition and the destination 
of the exports.  
1.63.   Another finding of the report was that NTMs were policy interfaces that interconnected the 
SDGs and international trade. She said that NTMs were becoming the key determinant of mar ket 
access in international trade and the source of trade costs. Nonetheless, NTMs were also 
considered legitimate domestic regulatory measures that aimed at securing the wellbeing of a 
country's population. For example, technical barriers to trade ( TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary 
(SPS) measures enacted for health or environmental reasons were legitimate measures that 
influenced trade flows and that could indirectly affect sustainable development in all its 
dimensions. As countries implemented the SDGs and applied development policy measures, the 
number of NTMs in international trade could increase. Policy makers needed to assess the extent 
to which sustainability policies might conflict with their own economic growth and that of their 
trading partners. The number of NTMs had increased, while applied and most -favoured nation 
(MFN) tariffs had fallen between 1995 and 2015. The report used a Frequency Index and Coverage 
                                                
7 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/86/Rev.1.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  Ratio to present NTMs in world trade, by type and sector. The report estimated that the effects of 
NTMs on trade flows could be significant. For example, SPS measures on agricultural products such 
as fruits, vegetables and grains, added an ad -valorem equivalent of almost 20% to the price of 
those products. For manufacturing products such as m achinery, electronics and vehicles, 
TBT measures added an ad -valorem equivalent of more than 10 % to the cost of the products. 
While NTMs could be legitimate domestic regulations for sustainable development in the social and 
environmental dimensions, region al and international coordination in domestic regulatory 
measures could reduce the trade costs associated with NTMs and help countries collectively 
improve sustainable development in all three dimensions.    
1.64.   On the way forward, UNCTAD, in collaboration wit h WTO and ITC, contributed to the review 
and monitoring framework by providing data and analysis for the SDG Global Indicators. UNCTAD's 
work on trade and the SDGs included improving transparency on NTMs through the collection and 
dissemination of data cov ering countries accounting for over 90% of world trade and based on an 
international taxonomy of NTMs. UNCTAD analysed the impact of NTMs on trade flows and 
provided policy recommendations towards achieving win -win outcomes to reduce the trade -
distorting e ffects of NTMs while collectively achieving sustainable development in all three 
dimensions. Other work on trade and SDGs included UNCTAD's programmes in support of organic 
agriculture (the BioTrade initiative) and the inter -agency activities of the United  Nations Forum on 
Sustainability Standards on the trade and environmental impact of private and voluntary 
sustainability standards.  
1.65.   The representative of the European Union  supported the link between trade policy and 
sustainable development in the 2030 Age nda and the commitment to integrate sustainable 
development into trade policies at all levels. UNCTAD's report showed different ways that this 
could be accomplished. The European Union had taken steps towards integrating sustainable 
development into its tr ade policy with unilateral and bilateral instruments such as provision of 
trade preferences under the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP+) and comprehensive 
trade and sustainable development chapters within the EU's free trade and investment 
agree ments. She also stressed the importance of liberalization of trade in environmental goods 
and services and the negotiation of the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) as a contribution 
to sustainable development, along with sustainability impact assessment and the upcoming review 
of trade and sustainable development in the EU's Aid for Trade strategy.  
1.66.   The representative of Guatemala  noted that NTMs, in particular the rapid increase in 
certification requirements, posed a problem for SMEs in developing countr ies. Her delegation was 
concerned with green protectionism which could have a negative impact on developing countries. 
Guatemala supported further discussions on this issue in the CTE.  
1.67.   The representative of Chile said that his country had been addressing challenges in the 
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Institutional challenges arose as 
implementation required coordination among administrative bodies, the private sector and civil 
society. Chile had created a council for the i mplementation of the 2030 Agenda comprising  the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism; the Ministry of 
Social Development; and the Ministry of Environment.  The Council entered into force in May 2015 
with Supreme Decr ee No. 49 and would serve as an advisory body to the President for the 
implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Council also had to coordinate with all the relevant 
bodies, including international and national organizations, governmental entities, NGOs , the 
private sector and civil society. A "Sustainable Dialogue for a Sustainable Chile" had been held in 
June 2015, involving civil society, academia, and the public and private sectors to deal with 
specific challenges and to make constructive suggestions for C hile. 
1.68.   The representative of Ecuador  asked UNCTAD to clarify the relationship between trade and 
the SDGs, and the strategy for achieving sustainable development.  
1.69.   The representative of UNCTAD  invited delegations to examine the report  directly . 
UNCTAD  also ha d a database and analysis on NTMs.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  1.5 Presentation by the OECD on the stringency of environmental regulations and 
trade in environmental goods  
1.70.   The representative of the Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development ( OECD ) 
presented an OECD  working p aper on the stringency of environmental regulations and trade in 
environmental goods published in December 2014.8 Trade in environmental goods was growing 
faster than  growth in general merchandise  trade. Positive factors or "tailwinds" driving the fast 
growth in environmental goods trade included economic growth, demography, environmental 
awareness, and the degree of ambition or stringency of environmental policies. Working against 
this were negative or "headwind" factors, which impeded trade in environment al goods. Examples 
included import tariffs, quotas, local content requirements, discriminatory procurement practices, 
taxes and subsidies, and foreign -equity limits.  
1.71.   OECD 's research aimed at empirically testing whether countries with the most ambitious 
environmental policies were also the countries with more exports of environmental goods. This 
required establishing methodologies to measure the degree of stringency of environmental 
policies. An environmental policy worked along a chain that included the ac tual legislation, its 
perception, its actual effect, and its environmental outcome. The degree of ambition or stringency 
of a particular policy could be measured at any one of those points. The OECD had developed an 
Environmental Policy Stringency index fo r OECD countries and a few emerging economies. In 
addition, the OECD had examined the environmental outcomes in the waste sector by considering 
landfill of municipal solid waste. There was a strong correlation between countries that had 
stringent environme ntal policies in different domains, especially energy, and countries that were 
relatively large exporters of environmental goods. The revealed comparative advantage method 
was used to measure exporters of environmental goods, taking into account the differ ent size s of 
countries.  
1.72.   Based on this research, he concluded that ambitious environmental policies affected how 
countries specialize d in what they produce d and consume d by increasing the implicit price placed 
on the release of different pollutants. Moreov er, trade barriers and well -designed environmental 
policies had opposite effects on the trade of environmental goods and services. Trade barriers had 
a negative impact, while stringent environmental policies increased trade in environmental goods. 
Other OE CD research had shown that policies had to be well -designed, and that discriminatory or 
burdensome environmental policies were counterproductiv e. These findings had political economy 
implications for both trade and the environment. While ambitious environm ental policies could 
have a negative impact on pollution or energy intensive industries, there were also many 
industries that could gain from such policies. Both perspectives had to be balanced.  
1.73.   The representative of Egypt  sought clarification on the meth odology used by the OECD to 
define environmental goods.  
1.74.   The representative of the European Union  asked whether the OECD study took into account 
climate action legislation and how this drove the market. Recent climate change developments 
could have an impac t on the conclusions of the OECD study published in 2014. Furthermore, she 
underscored that trade barriers had a negative effect on the demand of environmental goods and 
this was important to note for the work of the CTE.  
1.75.   The representative of the OECD  clarified that the study avoided the bias of selecting a 
unique list of environmental goods and took into consideration different lists, namely : the 
OECD/EUROSTAT list of 1999 , the WTO Friends of Environmental Goods list , the APEC list , and the 
OECD list of 2010. The study also combined all the lists and the results held irrespective of which 
list was selected. The stringency index contained information on the energy sector, and included 
climate actions such as higher energy taxes, carbon taxes or prices for emission permits. Given 
that the study was published in 2014, it would be useful to assess the results in light of more 
recent developments.  
                                                
8 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE /78. WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  2  OTHER ITEMS ON THE C TE'S WORK PROGRAMME (ITEMS 1, 2, 3(A), 4 , 5, 7, 9, AND 10)  
2.1  Item 1  
"The relationship between the  provisions of the multilateral trading system and trade 
measures for environmental purposes, including those pursuant to multilateral 
environmental agreements  (MEAs) ." 
 
2.1.1   Presentation by the UNFCCC on CoP21   
2.1.  The representative of the UNFCCC  briefed delegati ons on the results of CoP21 .9 The 
Paris Agreement  had been adopted by 195  parties in December 2015 . It was built on the basis of 
the UNFCCC and it established  the course of action that parties w ould take to combat climate 
change from the period starting in 2020. The Paris Agreement established a long term 
temperature goal aiming to limit global temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre -
industrial levels, while pursuing all efforts to limit this increase to 1.5°C . In pursuing this long term 
goal, the Paris Agreement targeted a global  peaking  of all GHG emissions as soon as possible and  
a global  balance between emissions by sources and removals by sinks in the second half of the 
century. It also recognized that developing parties would take longer to ac hieve their global 
peaking and to follow the trajectory of reducing their global emissions.  
2.2.  In terms of mitigation  efforts , the backbone  of the agreement w as the Nationally Determined 
Contributions ( NDCs ) whereby  each party had committed to emission reduc tion targets based on  
their national capabilities and responsibilities . She also provided some information to the 
CTE based on  the UNFCCC  Secretariat Synthesis  Report on  161 Intended NDCs (INDCs) received 
between 2015 and April 2016 . The INDCs cover ed 96% of UNFCCC  parties and account ed for 96% 
of global emissions. In terms of mitigation targets , INDCs varied broadly: (i) some parties pledged 
to meet sector -wide and economy -wide targets by 2025 or by 2030; (ii) some  undertook absolute 
emission  reduction targets compared to business as usual  (BAU)  scenario s; (iii) other s had 
pledg ed to reduce their emission s intensity  per GDP or per capita.  Parties still had to establish a 
common baseline to assess progress. Additionally, 83% of the  INDCs analysed  also referr ed to 
adaptation  needs.  The aggregate effect of the implementation of the INDCs analysed in the report 
would lead to a rise in global emissions levels to 55 Gt CO2eq by 2025. While global emission s 
would rise as compared with 2010, there would be a signifi cant decrease, of almost  one-third,  in 
the growth of emissions as compared  with the 1990-2010 period .   
2.3.  Concerning transparency  and accounting , the Paris Agreement established a mechanism to 
monitor the actions being implemented by each party through a  review process based  on 
information submitted and mutually assessed by them. Rules and modalities  on how this would 
operate had still to be established . The Agreement further established a compliance committee  to 
facilitate the implementation of NDCs and to p romote compliance with the agreement's obligations 
in a non -adversarial and non -punitive manner. Finally, a global stocktake,  to assess the collective 
progress of parties in meeting their mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology obligations 
would tak e place every five years starting in 2023. Its outcome would  inform parties on collective 
progress  and could help enhance their subsequent  NDCs. The global stocktake also sought  to 
provide parties with  updated scientific data on global emissions and the ac tions necessary to meet 
the objective of the Paris Agreement.  
2.4.  The Paris Agreement was a new departure point  for climate action . It stated the course of 
action  for all countries  and provided indication  on the direction of travel by setting up  targets on 
global peaking  of emissions and  a global balance of emission sources and removals by sinks . It 
also clarified the vehicle for such travel/ course of action: the NDCs. Finally, it emphasized  that this 
was a common journey, in which the most ambitious effort s were required  by both developed and 
developing parties , as opposed to the  previous division between  Annex 1 and non -Annex 1 parties.  
2.5.  The Paris Agreement also established a global adaptation goal by which parties aimed to 
significantly strengthen their nati onal adaptation effort s internally and to make every effort to 
support developing parties and  vulnerable nations  in increasing their resilience to climate change . 
In addition, parties committed to submit  and update  regular adaptation communications 
indicat ing: (i) their priority areas ; (ii) where further effort s were needed ; and (iii) where support 
                                                
9 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/80.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  was required. Regarding t he concept of loss and  damage , which  suggested that adaptation 
measures adopted by  parties could not always address  the irreversible dam ages caused by climate 
change, the Paris Agreement recognized the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and 
Damage and the need to help vulnerable parties to cope with such situations, creating a 
framework to enhance understanding, support and action on the matter .  
2.6.  On finance, the Paris Agreement  reaffirmed developed parties' commitment to support 
developing parties in building clean, climate -resilient futures,  and to submit regular update reports 
to the UNFCCC detailing how they were financially  support ing developing parties . Furthermore, 
parties aimed  to develop by 2018  clear accounting methods for global climate finance flows  under 
the Paris Agreement . For the first time , the Agreement called upon developing parties to provide 
financial assistance on a voluntary basis . Regarding technology, the Paris Agreement would 
establish a framework of strategic guidance for technology transfer , innovation and research and 
development.  
2.7.  Article 6 of the Paris Agreement  established a mechanism that provided the mean s for parties 
to cooperate voluntarily to implement their NDCs  and to allow for higher ambition . It provide d the 
means for Parties to cooperate  by allowing the transfer  of mitigation outcomes , to invest  in 
mitigation efforts in other countries (sustainable  development mechanism) and the means to 
connect and integrate  existing and emerging market -based mechanism s. In the context of the 
2016 Bonn Climate Talks , three Chairs ' reflection notes had been published on how this 
mechanism  would operate , what would b e the nature and scope of the  obligations  and how this 
would  relate to existing Kyoto Protocol activities and other UNFCCC mechanisms. The issue  would 
be discussed at CoP22 in Marrake sh.  
2.8.  Concerning response measures, there was  recognition that some Member s could be 
negatively impacted by climate actions and policies adopted  by other Members to meet their 
obligations . A response measures forum had previously  been established under the UNFCCC  and 
its role was to be further enhanced post -2020 under the Paris Agreement . The forum's work 
program me, its modalities and functions would be developed in the future, but a technical paper 
on economic diversification and another one on impact assessment s had been recently published  
by the UNFCCC Secretariat. Also, the t erms of reference for the ad-hoc Technical Expert Group  on 
the subject  had been  adopted  and the representative indicated that the WTO might be interested 
in filling one of the two ope n positions for observer organiz ations . She finally mentioned that a 
workshop on economic dive rsification would be conducted during  CoP22 in Marrake sh and that 
parties should  identify the priority areas for the forum 's future  work.  
2.9.  The representative of Egypt  welcomed the  presentation  but considered that  the legal and 
more app ropriate  term to  be used when referring to national mitigation efforts  was "contributions"  
rather than " commitments ". He asked whether trade as such was mentioned in the 
Paris Agreement.  He noted that Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC was related to trade and , since the 
Paris Agreement was based  on the UNFCCC , that provision was  applicable to the Paris Agreement. 
He then recalled that  Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC stated that m easures taken to combat climate 
change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a me ans of arbitrary or unjustifiable 
discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.  
2.10.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  supported the position expressed by 
Egypt  that the Paris Agreement was built on the basis of the U NFCCC. In this sense, the provisions 
and principles of the UNFCCC were applicable to the Paris Agreement, whose obligations continued 
to differentiate on the basis of the level of development.  She appreciated the information provided  
on the state of the Bo nn discussions  and noted  that many concepts and modalities  still needed to 
be defined. As an example, she mentioned the lack of clarity around the meaning and operation  of 
some of the concepts in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement . She noted that after the K yoto CoP the 
definition o f rules and modalities for markets had taken more than two years and that a similar 
scenario for these issues would not be surprising.   
2.11.   The representative of Canada  noted that a North American Leader s' Summit had taken  place 
in Ott awa on 29 June 2016,  during which the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States  had 
issued a joint statement on North American Climate, Clean Energy and Environment Partnership. 
Among other things, t he statement recognized the Paris Agreement as a tu rning point for the 
planet and as showing  the urgent need to take action in combatting climate change through 
innovation  and deployment  of low carbon solutions. In addition, the statement acknowledged that WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  North America had the capacity, resources and the moral imperative to show strong leadership 
building on the Paris Agreement and to promote its early entry into force. He noted that the 
statement set a number of targets and goals for North America in this regard. Canada was  taking 
the necessary steps in its domestic process to ratify the Paris Agreement  in 2016  and supported its 
early entry into force .  
2.12.   The representative of the European Union  stated that the Paris Agreement represented a 
historic achievement and the opening of a new chapter in internation al climate action. Also, it was 
a strong signal to policy makers, investors and businesses that the transition of the global 
economy towards a climate neutral future had decisively accelerated and was irreversible. All 
parties needed to convert their INDCs  into robust national policies. This raised the question of the 
contribution of trade policies to this process . She expressed  her delegation's  willingness to discuss 
these issues and to present their INDC at the next CTE meeting. She also noted that h er 
delegation supported Canada's views and was similarly determined to ratify the Paris Agreement 
as soon as possible.  
2.13.   The representative of the UNFCCC  noted  that under the Paris Agreement parties had made 
commit ments  through their NDCs and in accordance with their national capacit ies. CoP21  had 
invited parties to submit voluntary actions based on their capacities but it had  also established a 
transparency mechanism and a compliance committee to monitor progress in the contributions. In 
most NDCs, parties had stated unconditional mitigation components which  suggested that they 
were already  planning such commitments at the national level to achieve the goal s under the 
Paris Agreement. She also confirmed that , although t here was no explicit mention of trade , the 
Paris Agreement was under the auspices of the UNFCCC , which did refer to trade  under Article 3.5 . 
Also, the Paris Agreement reinforced the work of the Forum on Response Measures and established 
a technology framework that discussed trade -related aspects of intellectual property rights and 
innovation. Therefore, there were many linkages despite the lack of specific words related to trade 
in the Agreement .   
2.1.2   Members' presentations on INDCs  
2.1.2.1   Singapore's INDC  
2.14.   The representative of Singapore  presented his delegati on's INDC, which reflected the 
perspective of a small island city -state, the size of  Lake Geneva .10 He noted that Singapore's 
approach  to the UNFCCC negot iations was informed by its membership  to the  Group of 77 and the 
Alliance of Small Islands States (AOS IS). The Paris Agreement reinforce d the multilateral system  
and confirmed  that multilateral environmental agreements  based on international consensus  were 
the best way to coordinate policy action to tackle  the global climate  change challenge . The 
Paris Agreement provided  a framework for collective efforts to combat climate change . Quoting  
former UNFCCC E xecutive Secretary  Christiana Figueres , he noted that  everyone had agreed on 
the direction of travel, so the next step was to speed along th at direction of travel. He highlighted  
that the bottom -up approach , based on national circumstances , was the reason why the  
Paris Conference had been a succe ss, in contrast to Copenhagen. Finally, he emphasized that 
economic development was essential to address climate ch ange and that t he Paris Agreement was 
part of  an overall sustainable development  objective . Parties  had agreed that climate actions 
needed to  be taken in the context of an open and supportive international economic system. In 
other words, parties  had agree d to maintain open markets.  
2.15.   Turning to Singapore's INDC, the representative highlighted that,  just like GATS schedules, 
no two INDC s were similar  and that the GATS notion of progressiveness was also built in to these 
national contributions . The preparation  of Singapore's  INDC had sta rted after the Bali CoP in 
2007 and had entailed a very robust  inter-agency process  in order to address the multi-faceted  
issue of climate change. Such process facilitate d the coherence of actions adopted by  Singapore to 
meet its UNFCCC commitments  while ensuring their  consistency  with WTO obligations.  
2.16.   He highlighted some of Singapore's geographical and geological features as a small, highly 
populated island state which lacked natural resources and was water scarce. Due to these  
geographical and national endowment constrain ts, Singapore depended on imports of fuels for 
energy and was  an alternative energy disadvantaged country . Solar was the  only alternative 
                                                
10 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/87/Rev.1.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  option, but even this  was constrained by the country's  small size, high population density and high 
cloud cover. Therefore , Singapore's core mitigation strategy was energy efficiency, which had 
started with a robust planning process in 2012.  After three years of public consultations , 
Singapore's INDC had been put forward. The public consultation had been  useful to balance the 
competing challenges involved in climate efforts, such as social security, an ageing population and 
other development issues.  
2.17.   In its INDC, Singapore  pledged  to reduce GHG emission intensity  by 36%  from 20 05 levels 
by 2030, with  the aim of p eaking emissions  around 2030. In the 1970s and 1980s, Singapore had 
aimed at reducing its GHG  footprint  by switch ing from fue l oil to natural gas in its development 
strategy . Presently, natural gas constituted approximat ely 95 % of Singapore's  energy mix  due to 
the lack of renewable energy options . Singapore's pre -2020 measures covered a large number of 
sectors and included, for instance, m inimum Energy Performance Standards for appliances and 
lighting , green mark certific ation for all new and existing buildings when retrofitted , and a 
mandatory fuel economy labelling scheme . There were also measures that would be taken when 
the Paris Agreement entered into force, possibly even before 2020. These included measures to 
furthe r improve the energy efficiency of industry and of household appliances.  
2.18.   As a small island developing country, Singapore was already experiencin g the effects of 
climate change with the rise in sea levels and  it was seeking to learn from the Netherlands'  sea 
walls technology in order to guard against such effect.  In that sense, besides mitigation, Singapore  
devote d significant  resources to adaptation, particularly regarding: (i) enhancing food security, as 
a food disadvantaged party that import ed all of its  needs; (ii) strengthening infrastructure 
resilience ; (iii)  safeguarding public health , especially given that rises in tropical temperatures 
would increase  concerns over dengue fev er; (iv) reducing flood  risk; (v) enhancing water security ; 
(vi) safeguardin g biodiversity ; (vii) p rotect ing the coastline  against rising sea levels ; and 
(viii) establishing  a regional climate monitoring centre. Moreover, Singapore was conducting 
South -South coopera tion, providing technical assistance to over 10,700 officials  from developing 
parties  in the region and from AOSIS partners.  Singapore had also gained from the exchanges in 
this technical assistance  programme.  
2.19.   Despite the se challenges , Singapore supported  multilateral efforts at the United Nations  and 
at the WTO , and it  would  work with the international community to address climate change. 
Singapore would  implement its commitments under the Paris Agreement and also regarding the 
pre-2020 period, while ensuring that its climate actions were consistent with WTO  rules. The  
WTO and trade policy had an important and complementary ro le in supporting and fostering an 
open international economic system , which was a requirement of the UNFCCC .  
2.1.2.2   Mexico's INDC  
2.20.   The representative of Mexico  recall ed that Mexico was a developing country  extremely 
vulnerable to the effects of climate change.11 National GHG emissions amounted to 1.4% of global 
emissions and the net per capita emissions in all sectors was 5.9  tCO 2eq. Despite its minor 
participation in global emissions, Mexico was committed t o combating global climate change by 
transitioning to a low -emissions development path. This required a gradual dissociation of carbon 
emissions and economic growth. She considered Singapore's reference to the GATS appropriate, 
as the Paris Agreement had b een based on a positive list of self -determined commitments and had 
adopted a progressive approach to its implementation.  
2.21.   In April 2012, Mexico's  Congress had approved the General Law on Climate Change, thereby 
becoming the first developing country to ado pt a comprehensive law on the subject. The Law 
established the goal of reducing emissions by half by 2050 as compared to 2000  emission levels . 
To implement this law,  Mexico had adopted a National Str ategy on Climate Change in June  2013, 
setting the vision for the next 10, 20, and 40 years, as well as a Special Programme on climate 
change for 2014 -18. Both instruments incorporated GHG emissions and short -lived climate 
pollutants (SLCPs). This legal framework had enabled Mexico  to submit its INDC in March  2015, 
becoming the first developing party to present its contribution in relation to the Paris Agreement .  
2.22.   Mexico's INDC had two components: mitigation and adaptation. Regarding mitigation, the 
contribution covered a reduction of all types of GHG s and SLCPs. SLCPs had a considerable 
                                                
11 The presentation is available in document RD/CTE/84.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  potential for global warming and a short period of life in the atmosphere when compared with CO 2. 
Actions to reduce emissions of SLCPs represented an increase in the level of ambition compared 
with Mexico's previous pledge and they  contributed simultaneously to: (i) climate change 
mitigation in the short term; (ii) immediate improvement in air quality; and (iii) positive impacts 
on human health and ecosystems conservation.  
2.23.   Concerning mitigation, Mexico had included  unconditional and conditional emissions 
reductions targets . Mexico had unconditionally committed to  reduce 25% of its GHG and 
SLCP emissions below the BAU baseline by 2030. This commitment implied a reduction of 22% of 
GHG and 51% of black carbon emissions. In addition, th is commitment implied net emissions 
peak, starting from 2016,  by decoupling GHG  emissions from economic growth in a way that 
emissions  intensity per unit of GDP would be reduced by around 40% from 2013 to 2030. This 
represent ed a considerable challenge for  the Mexican economy.  With regard to conditional 
commitments, Mexico aimed at a reduction beyond 25%, and up to 40%, in case of agreement on 
technical cooperation, access to low -cost financial resources and Mexico's demand for the 
establishment of an inter national carbon price. Therefore, GHG reductions could increase up to 
36% and black carbon reductions up to 70% in 2030  as a result of those conditional commitments .  
2.24.   Concerning adaptation, Mexico was the first country to include an a daptation component in  
its INDC. It  had taken a geographical approach with targeted actions in three areas: reducing 
social vulnerability  (e.g. g uarantee food security and water access ), enhancing adaptation via 
ecosystems  (e.g. reach a rate of zero deforestation by the year 20 30), and reducing the risk to 
strategic infrastructure  (e.g. execute infrastructure relocation program mes currently located in 
high-risk zones ).  
2.25.   Mexico considered its INDC to be highly ambitious as it presupposed unconditional 
investments and transformati onal changes in production and consumption models in order to reach 
a peak in total emissions within the committed period. Necessary actions  would involve all 
productive sectors  of the Mexican economy . 
2.1.2.3   China's INDC  
2.26.   The representative of China , as the large st developing country, considered that responding 
to climate change was a responsibility and a requirement to achieve sustainable development. 
China had been promulgating for many years national strategies, action plans and measures in 
various fields to ta ckle climate change and had achieved concrete outcomes.   
2.27.   Four major actions were mentioned. First, China had issued its first national climate change 
plan in June 2007 aimed at controlling GHG emissions in 2010 through national programmes on 
mitigation, ad aptation, development of science and technolog y and increased public awareness. 
The plan also indicated China's position on several issues and its demand for international 
cooperation.  
2.28.   Second, i n March 2011, the Work Plan for GHG Emission Control had been  included in 
China's 12th Five -Year Plan . It aimed at achieving four  climate change objectives: (i) to reduce 
CO2 emission s per GDP unit by 17% by 2015 as compared with 2010; (ii) to effectively  control 
non-energy -related GHG  emissions; (iii) to improve th e policy scheme on climate change, 
establishing a carbon emissions accounting and management platform and gradually building a 
carbon emissions trading market; and (iv) to promote key eco -friendly cities, industrial parks, 
enterprises and products with pil ot program mes. China had taken  comprehensive actions to fulfil 
these objectives, including by: strengthening the legal system and strategic planning; launching 
low-carbon pilot projects; optimizing clean energy consumption; and promoting a low -carbon 
conce pt among the public . These measures had reduced carbon emissions per GDP unit by 38% 
from 2005 to 2015, equivalent to 4.1 billion tons of CO 2. China's non -fossil fuels primary energy 
consumption had reached 12% and forest stock volume had risen by 2.8 bill ion cubic meters.  
2.29.   Third, China had issued a new National Climate Change Plan in 2014, setting objectives and 
key tasks to address climate change before 2020. Simultaneously, relevant ministries and 
provincial government  bodies  had prepared  climate change plans in their respective areas  of 
responsibility .  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  2.30.   Finally, China had submitted its INDC, which aimed to: (i) achiev e the peaking of 
CO2 emissions around 2030 and mak e best efforts to peak early; (ii) increas e the share of non -
fossil fuels in primary ener gy consumption to around 20% in 2030; (iii) lower carbon emissions per 
unit of GDP by 60% to 65% in 2030 as compared with the 2005 level; (iv) increas e the forest 
stock volume by around 4.5 billion cubic meters as compared with 2005 levels; and (v) improv e 
the ability to adapt to climate change in a comprehensive manner.  
2.31.   Regarding China's carbon trading system, seven  carbon emissions trading pilot schemes had 
been established in 2014 in Guangdong and Hubei provinces and in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, 
Chongq ing and Shenzhen. These provinces  and cities  had adopted local carbon emissions trading 
management measures, covering more than 1,900 emission -controlled enterprises and units and 
allocating approximately 1.2 billion tons of CO2 emissions quotas. Pilot are as reinforced compliance 
monitoring and enforcement, with compliance rates of 96% and 98% in 2014 and 2015, 
respectively. At the end of April 2016, the seven  pilot schemes  had accumulated transactions of 
local quotas of approximately 67 million tons and a turnover of RMB 1.8 billion. On the basis of the 
experience of the pilot projects, China aimed to gradually establish a national wide carbon trading 
market in three  phases  focusing on : (i) legislation and infrastructure development  (2014 -16); (ii) 
launch  of the carbon trading market operation  (2017 -20); and (iii) broaden ing of  the scope of the 
trading market, diversification of the  trading model, and explor ation of  the possibility of connecting 
with other carbon trading markets internationally  (after 2020) .  
2.32.   China would further enhance its actions, polic ies and measures to implement the national 
and provincial climate change plan and would keep optimizing energy structure, promoting energy 
efficiency and low carbon industries, controlling carbon emission s in construction and 
transportation sectors, increasing forest carbon sinks, reducing forest destruction, promoting a 
low-carbon lifestyle, increasing investment in research and development and establishing a carbon 
emissions accounting and management platfor m and carbon emissions trading market. Finally, he 
expressed his delegation's willingness to enhance international cooperation on climate change and 
stated that developed and developing Members should  follow the path of green and low -carbon 
development tha t suited their national conditions.  
2.1.2.4   Brazil's INDC  
2.33.   The representative of Brazil  indicated that its INDC had built upon the results in emissions 
reductions during the previous decade: a decline of 80% in deforestation in the Amazon Region 
and measures in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture. 
Brazil's INDC included more ambitious goals than those achieved so far: (i) reducing emissions by 
37% by 2025 in relation to 2005 levels; and (ii) possibly emissions reduction of 43 % by 2030. 
Brazil had adopted an ambitious absolute target for reducing emissions in the overall economy . 
Brazil  had consulted extensively with civil society, private sector and academia for the 
development of its INDC. He reaffirmed his delegation's commi tment to discussing the issue of 
climate change in the relevant and appropriate fora.  
2.1.2.5   Other comments  
2.34.   The representative of Singapore  reminded  delegations that climate change was a major 
global challenge affecting all Members. In the words of the UN Secret ary General, it was the 
greatest sustainable development challenge. The Paris Agreement had given a signal and the 
challenge was for  WTO Members and UN parties to complete the various mandates arising from 
Paris. The WTO and trade policy could contribute t o address this challenge and one of the 
important starting points was to ensure coherence between  climate actions adopted by 
WTO Members and to respect the integrity of WTO rules. The WTO and the CTE could play a 
constructive role in that respect.  
2.35.   The rep resentative of China  noted that developing Members were in a different position 
compared with developed Members in addressing climate change. For example, China's per capita 
GDP was equivalent to 70% of the world average, its industrial and urbanization pr ocess was still 
on-going and it faced complex challenges in improving people's livelihood and in protecting the 
environment. Although  this was a complicated issue, China would make its best efforts to address 
climate change and, under its 2015 -20 Five -Year Plan, it would work pragmatically in many areas 
to fulfil its national strategies and INDC. His delegation hoped that this work would provide  a solid WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  foundation for achieving emissions peaking by 2030 and highlighted the need of persistent efforts 
by the international community to work together.  
2.1.3   Chinese Taipei's presentation on Renewable Energy Policies and  
Accomplishment s 
2.36.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  made a presentation on  their experience with  
renewable energy  policy and related achievements, cov ering three main points: i) an update of 
Chinese Taipei 's policy on renewable energy; ii) renewable energy projects ; and iii) trade growth 
involving emerging energy technologies. Chinese  Taipei's economy was highly dependent on 
international trade. Being a n island with its own independent electricity grid, Chinese Taipei 
imported over 98% of its energy. Its population totalled 22 million, with a large number of 
industries but limited natural resources, which explained the considerable dependence on imports.  
In 2015, installed capacity of renewable energy was only 4.42 Gigawatts (GW). The target for 
renewable power generation capacity by 2030 was 17.25  GW. 
2.37.   The Renewable Energy Act had been enacted in 2009 and aimed to promote the use of 
renewable energy, boos t energy diversification and help to reduce GHG emissions. Seven related 
industries had been developed: solar energy; LED ( light emitting diode ) lighting; wind power; 
hydrogen energy and fuel cells; biofuels; energy information and communication technologi es; and 
electric vehicles. Chinese Taipei's feed -in tariff program mes had been introduced to encourage 
private initiatives to generate green energy. Two renewable energy projects were introduced : the 
Million Solar Rooftop Photovoltaics (PVs)  and the Thousa nd Wind Turbines.   
2.38.   The Million Solar Rooftop PVs  project  had been launched in 2009  reflecting  Chinese Taipei's 
natural advantage for solar energy  as it was located in a sunny  subtropical location . Trends 
indicated  a projected increase in solar energy prod uction over a 20-year period (2009 -30) and 
Chinese  Taipei expected to have a  power generation capacity of 8,700 Megawatts (MW) by 2030  
based on the use of  exposed rooftop and ground solar panels . In order to achieve these goals, 
Chinese Taipei had encourag ed banks to facilitate loan applications for solar power generat ion 
installation costs. The Thousand Wind Turbines project, on the other hand, would boost energy 
production from wind turbines during the same period to 5200 MW by 2030. The potential of wind  
energy production was far greater off -shore than on -shore. By 2020, Chinese Taipei would be 
developing off -shore demonstration wind farms and within the following 10 years Chinese Taipei 
expected to have developed a large wind farm bas e, with some 500 off -shore wind turbines 
producing energy on a commercial scale. Chinese Taipei also provided incentive program mes for 
the exploration of geothermal resources with the aim of achievi ng a generation capacity of 
200 MW by 2030.  
2.39.   Due to its long tradition of tech nical innovation and government support for renewable 
energy, Chinese Taipei was in an outstanding position to meet demands for new PV  systems both 
at home and abroad. Chinese Taipei had successfully encouraged private and public partnerships 
with a strong  commitment from  stakeholders . For example, its domestic market provided a 
complete supply chain  for PV  technologies, including polysilicon , wafers, cells, modules, inverters 
and even complete solar PV  systems. In terms of volume, Chinese Taipei was the se cond largest 
solar PV producer in the world. Regarding technology, one of the leading companies in 
Chinese  Taipei  (TSMC ) had developed  the CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) solar module  
with the highest efficiency rate to date.  
2.40.   Regarding trade facilit ation in the sector, a one -stop PV module certification service had 
been established to assist both manufacturers and co nsumers . Chinese Taipei also worked with 
many leading international standards and accreditation bodies  to facilitate trade flows  and to 
ensure the quality of its products. Such bodies included : the IECEE ( IEC System of Conformity 
Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components) and the German 
TÜV (Technical Inspection Association ) in Europe; UL (Underwriters Laboratories) in the 
United States; JET (Japan Electrical Safety and Environmental Technology Laborat ories) in Japan; 
and CGC (China  General Certification Center) in China .  
2.41.   Chinese Taipei had been integrating  solar energy generation into some of its most  iconic 
modern buildings  such as the world’s first whale -shaped BIPV  (Building -integrated photovoltaics ) 
Pingtung Marine Museum and the world’s first spiral BIPV construction in  Kaohsiung Stadium. He WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  also noted that due to its location in a region which suffered, on aver age, the highest number of 
natural disasters, Chinese Taipei had developed PV  systems for emergency backup energy in 
remote areas.  
2.1.4   Joint proposal on "Deepening the understanding of the relationship between the 
climate change and trade regimes " (Korea, Cana da and Costa Rica)  
2.42.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  presented a joint proposal on "Deepening the 
understanding of the relationship between the clim ate change and trade regimes" on  behalf of 
Korea, Canada and Costa Rica.12 He reminded delegations that p arties to the UNFCCC were 
working towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which demonstrated the resolve of 
the global community to take ambitious action for the future. Climate change was a cross -cutting 
global challenge made more complex  by its implications for the economy, including transportation 
and energy infrastructure , food security , health and social issues , international trade and 
development , and increasingly global security.   
2.43.   Concerning trade, it was imperative that the trade a nd climate change communities 
intensified their cooperation to ensure synergies and the development of mutually supportive and 
reinforcing policies and measures. Both UNFCCC and WTO Agreements encouraged cooperation 
between their two  regime s, as shown  for example  in the preamble of the WTO Agreement , 
paragraphs 31 to 32 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration , and Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC. Within its 
mandate, the CTE ha d discussed the effects of environmental measures in trade and market 
access and ha d been cl osely communicating with relevant international organizations, such as the 
UNFCCC and the United Nations Environment Programme  (UNEP) . Intensified cooperation was 
currently necessary to advance a mutually supportive and coherent relationship between trade and 
climate policy. Several paths could be considered in order to achieve this, starting from reviewing 
the discussions and outputs  of the WTO on trade and climate change related issues and 
exchanging views with outside experts.  
2.44.   The CTE regular session was  the appropriate forum to discuss this issue, as it had the broad 
mandate of examining the relationship between trade and the environment in order to promote 
sustainable development, and it maintained ongoing engagement  with relevant international 
environm ental organizations , such as the UNFCCC. It was relevant for the CTE to further 
strengthen its cooperation with the climate community and external experts in order to raise 
awareness of the climate community on the potential trade implications of climate a ctions and  of 
the trade community  on the  potential  climate implications of trade measures. Concerning past 
discussions and efforts,  the CTE could review  and consider building upon the  comprehensive  
WTO-UNEP  “Trade and Climate Change” report of 2009 in ligh t of recent developments , such as 
the Paris Agreement. In order to inform discussions, the CTE could also obtain fresh perspectives 
from climate and trade experts, including outside of the WTO, on  how to coordinate the efforts of 
the two regimes so as to  enable Members to advance both trade and climate objectives in a 
mutually supportive manner. Looking forward , Members could discuss  how to continue their 
discussions on trade and climate change in future  CTE meetings and other WTO bodies.  
2.45.   Korea, Canada, an d Costa Rica suggested that Members review both the discussions at the 
WTO and the outcomes of the common work conducted with relevant international climate and 
environmental organizations at the next CTE regular session. The co -sponsoring delegations 
proposed to discuss at that meeting potential next steps, such a s: (i) building on the 
WTO-UNEP  Report , informed, as appropriate, by  external experts on trade and environment issues 
and past discussions on climate change -related issues at the CTE; and (ii) conducting further 
discussions on trad e and climate change in the CTE  and other appropriate WTO bodies. To this 
end, the co -sponsoring delegations requested the Secretariat to prepare a summary paper to 
assist Members reviewing the nexus between trade and cli mate change and past WTO discussions  
and work  in this area. They encouraged other Members to support this initiative, welcomed any 
suggestion to make it more fruitful  and expressed willingness to consult and to answer any 
question s.  
2.46.   The representative of Costa Rica  indicated that climate change was a very relevant and 
current topic, especially after the Paris outcome. He re called  that the UNFCCC Executive Secretary 
had described the Paris Agreement as an agreement of conviction and solidarity with the most  
                                                
12 The proposal is available in document RD/CTE/82.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  vulnerable. Costa Rica agreed with this statement an d saw the success of Co P21 as the beginning 
of a long process that would require a common effort to reduce GHG  emissions. Recent studies 
showed that without corrective actions the impact of climate chang e would be reflected in GDP 
losses in practically all regions of the world. Similarly, climate change would have direct and 
indirect effects on international trade. Consequently, his delegation considered that the 
relationship between trade and climate cha nge deserved deeper analysis and that the CTE was the 
ideal venue  for these discussions. He indicated that the best starting point was to rev iew previous 
work and expected his delegation's  interest to be shared by other delegations.  
2.47.   The representative of Canada  encouraged Members to support the proposal to reinforce the 
mutual supportiveness between trade and climate policy.  
2.48.   The representative of Morocco , on behalf of the African Group took note of the proposal. The 
African Group stressed the importance of  respecting the CTE mandate as reflected in  the Doha 
Development Agenda . While  it was important to have  a discussion on trade and climate  change, he 
noted  that other environmental problems were  also important for the African Group and were 
within the CTE m andate, for example the developments taking place in multilateral environmental 
agreements dealing with  chemical products, and biodiversity and CITES . This was the case 
especially since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development  included objectives on the se 
matters.  
2.49.   The African group was of the view that  climate change could  have numerous negative 
effects  on sustainable development and combating poverty, particularly in developing countries. 
Efforts with adaptation, financing and capacity strengthening sh ould be made to remedy this 
situation . Climate  institutions and the trading community should work together to ensure 
consistency and complementarity, on the basis of agreed principles such as: common but 
differentiated responsibilit ies and respective capab ilities, equity, special and differential treatment 
and less than full reciprocity. Furthermore, the African Group recalled  that Article 3.5 of the 
UNFCCC established that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, 
should  not const itute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction 
on international trade. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that the trade and climate 
change communities develop in a mutually coherent  manner . Therefore , the Afri can Group 
supported the avenues of exploration  put forward in the joint  proposal regarding the roles of the 
CTE and the Secretariat in prompting and initiating a discussion on the topic, as long as  this would 
not impact the Committee's other agenda items . Developing countries would require particular 
assistance and support as they  were particularly vulnerable to climate change and the economic 
effects of reducing CO 2 emissions. He noted that Article 4 of the UN FCCC and Article 9 of the 
Paris Agreement included provisions  for aid in finance, technology transfer and capacity building .  
2.50.   There was a clear need  to deepen  knowledge on the links between trade and clim ate 
change. The dynamics of CoP 21 should continue through the creation of new rules and follow up 
mechanisms to further the Paris Agreement recommendations. In this manner, it was important 
that the consequences of the Paris Agreement reflect parties' expectations and the differentiation 
in the level of development and commitment.  The African Group noted the importance of 
maintaining  the ordinary CTE agenda and that it would be timely to have an informal informati ve 
session in the margin of the next meeting, during which the WTO Secretariat,  and some other 
institutions such as  the South Centre, UNCTAD an d UNEP could provide background information  on 
some question s included  in the 2009  WTO-UNEP Report . The African Group and Morocco, as the 
host of the forthcoming UNFCCC CoP 22, stood  ready to provide support to define the contours of a 
discussion on climate  change.   
2.51.   The representative of Colombia  reaffirmed his delegation's  commitment in Paris to 
strengthen the global response to climate change, which had economic and trade implications that 
deserved the attention of the WTO. Actions developed in the WTO and  in other fora had to  take 
place in a coordinated manner and this topic could have  deep repercussions that needed to be 
discussed . In this sense, his delegation supported the joint proposal to reinitiate this discussion 
within the CTE mandate .  
2.52.   The represe ntative of Egypt  supported the statement  by M orocco on behalf of the 
African  Group. The majority of the issues discussed in this meeting were related to climate change . 
The CTE should not only focus on one specific issue, since the  mandate of the CTE conta ined in 
paragraph 32 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration referred to: (i)  the effect of environmental WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  measures on market access; (ii)  the relevant provisions of the TRIPS  Agreement ; and (iii) labelling 
requirements  for environmental purposes . He expressed doubts on whether the Paris Agreement 
could be discussed under any of these items . As mentioned by Morocco, it could be discussed 
generally in an infor mative session on previous work , but the focus of the CTE should not 
completely change to discuss only one specific issue.  
2.53.   According to the 2013 Environmental Database (EDB) , the majority of environment -related 
regulatory measures and quantitative  restrictions related to chemicals. Thus,  other issues were 
also very important for the CTE to consider, as they were already impacting trade . As noted by 
Morocco, his delegation proposed to further discuss  this and suggested that the WTO Secretariat 
prepare a paper on environmental measures related to chemicals based on the EDB, which was a 
very informative and appr eciated  document .  
2.54.   To conclude, the joint proposal required further clarification, including concerning the 
agenda item under which it could be discussed and the potential format of such a discussion . The 
CTE had a clear mandate and several delegations had already supported in this meeting and in 
previous ones the need to have an exchange on the effect of environmental measures on market 
access, especially for developing Members.  Paragraph 33 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration 
recognized the importance of  technical assistance and capacity building in the field of trade and 
environment to developing Members, which was not clearly reflected in  the proposal. An 
inform ation session could be held, building upon several elements, including the 2009 WTO -UNEP  
Repor t, and  bringing views from organizations work ing in the field, such as UNCTAD, South Centre 
and UNEP. In doing so , CTE Members should not leave aside other important  environment -related 
issues, particularly  chemicals.  
2.55.   The representative of the Kingdom of S audi Arabia  was concerned about bringing the issue 
of trade and climate change to the WTO. The Paris Agreement was recent and had a long term 
negotiation time -frame. The issues of this agreement were very delicate and could not be 
discussed or open ed for interpretation in a forum other than the UNFCCC.  
2.56.   The representative of Switzerland  supported discussing this subject in the WTO in order to 
develop  a common understanding on the interaction between the trade and climate  regimes  and 
expressed the view that there was enough space in the CTE for such a discussion without 
competing  with other topics . He noted  that the proposal suggested  analysing  the past work of the 
CTE, which was a good first step on which the Committee would be able to continue to build its 
future work. Moreover, it would be useful  to identify some specific aspects that could be  discuss ed 
more concretely  in the relevant  Committees. As mentioned  by Egypt, presentations made in the  
CTE had already brought up several useful examples and ideas. H is delegation supported the joint 
proposal and indicated Switzerland's interest to contribute actively to the discussions.  
2.57.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  shared the African Group and 
Saudi  Arabia's concerns that the CTE 's work sh ould be limited to the Doha mandate. As expressed 
by previous delegations, a series of environmental topics were also important and had an impact 
on market access for developing Members, particularly trade measures on chemicals and on 
endangered species. C onsequently, Bolivia failed to see the need for prioritizing one subject over 
others. The CTE had already discussed this subject at this meeting  and she considered it 
unnecessary to raise this discussion to another level. Documents produced by the Secretar iat were 
useful, but they did not reflect the views of WTO Members. In addition, documents of other 
organizations such as UNCTAD and the South Centre were also useful as they reflected other 
perspectives. As indicated by Saudi Arabia and the UNFCCC, the discussions on the Paris 
Agreement had only started; many topics were still open for discussion  and would require time to 
be further defined. It was not pertinent to ask the Secretariat to prepare  a report as the 
Secretariat  could not interpret issues that M embers were still in the process of analysing.   
2.58.   The representative of Ecuador  asked whether the reference in the joint submission to "trade 
regimes" included the consideration of the intellectual property regime and its relation to climate 
change, in parti cular whether the current intellectual property  regime administered by the 
WTO contribute d to mitigate the effects of climate change, and which were the means through 
which this could  be achieved.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  2.59.   The representative of India appreciated the general thrust of the joint submission. The 
underlying idea of exploring  the interface between trade and climate change and  ensur ing 
coherence between trade and environment policies  was important , particularly in the context of  
the Paris Agreement.  His delegation would c arefully consider  the proposal in consultation with 
capital and revert with  comments.  
2.60.   In his preliminary comm ents, the representative  underlined the importance of examining 
the possible work of the CTE within its mandate.  The proposal lacked specificity a nd he therefore  
asked the co -sponsors to clarify which aspects of the nexus  between trade and climate change 
they propose d to discuss. This would facilitate the determination of  whether the se discussions 
were within the CTE mandate. The joint submission so ught the review of previous WTO discussions 
and of "outcomes of the common work conducted with the relevant international climate and 
environmental organizations ". His delegation asked for clarification on the thrust  of the  proposal 
and on the meaning of t he term "outcome s of common work".  
2.61.   Regarding the proposal to build  on the 2009  WTO-UNEP  Report , he reminded delegations 
that Members had not endorse d it in previous  CTE discussions . The report only r epresented the 
views of the WTO  and the UNEP Secretariat s. In past discussions, some Members had even raised 
concerns on the scope of interpretation  related to the imposition of  unilateral trade measures on 
environmental grounds, which would clearly be to the detriment of developing Members. 
Moreover, from a sy stemic perspective and given the member -driven nature of CTE discussions, 
India was not comfortable with the idea of inviting  external experts to CTE  meetings  in the context 
of the discussion on  trade . India would engage in any proposals or ideas emerging from Members 
and expressed interest in further elaboration of the proposal.   
2.62.   The representative of Guatemala  considered the proposal to be positive for the work of the 
CTE. Guatemala was interested in the question of  the WTO compatibility of trade measure s that 
Members would adopt to fulfil the Paris Agreement . In this context, WTO law needed to be 
respected and it was  important that the CTE discussed this issue. She considered it positive to 
discuss the compatibility with WTO law and the impact on interna tional trade of trade measure s 
included  in Members' national plans, particularly with regard  to their effects on developing 
Members. Guatemala would closely monitor this topic and hoped that Members could reach  an 
agreement on these discussions.  
2.63.   The repres entative of Mexico  stated that the Paris Agreement represented a historic shift in 
the fight against climate change, being the first time that both developed and developing Members 
committed to cooperate through national mitigation and adaptation contribut ions. While there was 
clarity on  UNFCCC  parties' individual commitments, it was still unclear which instruments, 
including economic ones,  would be taken to implement the m. She beli eved that the CTE should 
focus on  this issue and that it was important to ha ve information on parties' discussions at the 
UNFCCC and to explore the potential impact of these economic measures. The discussion proposed 
by the three co-sponsors was within  the mandate of  several items of the CTE Work Programme: 
item 1  on the  relations hip between  the WTO and multilateral environmental agreements; 
item 3(a) on taxes for environmental purposes , as several  parties would use carbon taxes; 
item 3(b) on labelling for environmental purposes; item  4 on transparency; and item 8  on the 
relevant p rovisions of the TRIPS Agreement . The Paris Agreement relate d to many items of the 
CTE regular agenda and therefore her delegation supported discussing this topic further . 
2.64.   The representative  of Qatar  noted  that this proposal came at a late stage and reques ted 
clarification on the content and scope of the proposed paper that could be drafted by the 
Secretariat. Any Secretariat summary paper should be written at its own discretion and should not 
reflect the CTE 's views.  
2.65.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  noted that Chinese Taipei was interested in the 
proposal and believed that further discussions on this subject would clarify the link between the 
trade and climate change regimes.  
2.66.   The representative of the European Union  noted  that climate change was an ove rarching 
issue and the implementation of  the Paris Agreement would require a transition  towards a low 
carbon economy across  all sectors of the economy. While she agreed with Egypt that other areas 
were also important, currently other areas needed to contri bute to climate objectives and it was WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  therefore necessary to find mutually supportive solutions.  Her delegation was open to further 
discussions and to the organization of a seminar  at the next CTE meeting  in order to exchange 
views and experiences with other organizations and experts. The European Union was interested in 
examples of trade contributions contained in the INDCs and noted  that CTE discussions had shown 
examples of how trade contributed to climate objectives, in particular the liberalization of 
environmental goods and services. Her delegation believed that there were other examples and 
remained open to further explore and exchange views  with experts.  
2.67.   The representative of Norway  was open to discuss trade and climate change as long as the 
CTE focu sed on how trade could contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation and on 
finding common ways to achieve concrete results. The CTE had to look for solutions to climate 
change and for the contribution of trade to addressing this challenge. The WT O-UNEP  Report 
provided useful insights on the relationship between trade and climate change. An updated report 
by the WTO and UNEP with inputs from UNFCCC could provide a useful basis for further 
discussions, with a particular focus  on solutions and how tr ade could contribute to climate change 
challenges.  
2.68.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  was of the view that  the proposal 
lacked clarity and  was concerned that it was based on the 2009  WTO-UNEP joint publication, which 
reflected the o pinions of the WTO and UNEP Secretariats  and not those of the WTO m embership. 
This joint publication had never  been formally discussed in the CTE or endorsed by Members , as 
shown in the relevant minutes of 2009 and 2010. Also , the debate that took place in 2009 and 
2010 raised  the question of whether the WTO, and more precisely the CTE , was the right forum to 
address the issue of trade and climate change. There had never been a consensus in the CTE to 
discuss the relationship between trade and climate chang e as show n in these minutes. There had 
only been an agreement in the CTE for intergovernmental organizations , such as the UNFCCC, to 
inform Members on  climate change negotiations and for d elegation s to share  their climate change 
national experiences.  
2.69.   Venezuela was concerned that this proposal would reopen  the debate  and that requesting 
the Secretariat to update th e joint  publication would mean  de facto endorsing the content of the 
material. He asked  the co -sponsors what other WTO work on climate change was referred to in the 
proposal . He was also concerned with the proposal to invite experts from  the climate community to 
bring new ideas to the WTO as this could contradict  the WTO's  Member -driven nature. 
Intergovernmental organizations with observer status could attend the CTE and the Secretariat 
could organize informal events outside the CTE and under its own responsibility , as was  the case 
of the informal expert panel  on "Unlocking Trade for Clean Energy Technologies " that had taken 
place a day before the C TE on  29 June 2016 , or session s organized at the WTO Public Forum.  
2.70.   Venezuela invited the co -sponsors and other Members interested in discussing climate 
change at the WTO to present concrete proposals in order to clarify the direction of the debate.  
Venezu ela reaffirmed its commitmen t to the Paris Agreement.  As already  mentioned in previous 
presentations, competent authorities  were digesting what had been agreed and planning  steps for 
ratification and implementation. Many issues remained unresolved after Pa ris and would require 
future work upon its entry into force. Therefore, the WTO should not get ahead of the competent 
forum  while referring to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Venezuela currently did not 
support this proposal.  
2.71.   The representative of Japan  expressed  interest in th is debate  and general ly supported the 
proposal. His delegation was open to discuss  how to proceed further  and would find it useful  to 
have an update  of the WTO-UNEP Report after the historical Paris Agreement.  
2.72.   The represent ative of Haiti indicated that climate change had sometimes irreversible 
impact s on the planet, particularly in LDCs. As noted by previous delegations, he believed that the 
CTE agenda should not be completely changed. Nevertheless, it was important for the WTO to 
strengthen its links w ith the UNFCCC and other organiz ations that worked in the field of trade and 
the environment in order to better understand the impact of climate change on trade. Under the 
Doha Development Agenda, some concrete actions could be  taken such as technical assistance to 
the most vulnerable Members and LDCs.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  2.73.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  recognized that some delegations were 
concerned with the scope of the proposal  and the CTE mandate . Regarding the comment of India 
on the WTO-UNEP  report, he noted that while the co -sponsors recognized that this was not a CTE 
report, it contained comprehensive information on the linkages between trade and climate change 
and included the important message that mitigation measures should be  designed and 
implemented in a mutually supportive manner with trade. C oncerning the mandate of the CTE, he 
highlighted that c limate change was not a new issue , as the CTE had discussed rela ted topics, such 
as carbon foot print, carbon leakage  and energy ef ficiency. He noted  that the CTE was already in 
contact with environmental organizations such as the  UNFCCC and that discussions on possible 
implications of climate policies on trade were within the CTE mandate . The co -sponsors would 
make efforts to define  further  the scope of the work on the implementation of the 
Paris Agreement. In his view, t he proposal was within the CTE mandate and did not modify  
existing discussions.  This was a n important issue , which  needed to be discussed  in order to further 
climate mitigation  while promoting trade as an engine for sustainable and inclusive growth.  
3  OTHER BUSINESS  
3.1  Environmental provisions  in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)  
3.1.1   Presentation by the European Union on e nvironmental provisions  in concluded 
RTAs  
3.1.  The representa tive of the European Union  noted that the rationale for including 
environmental provisions in RTAs was rooted in the recognition that environmental policies were 
an integral part of sustainable development.13 Sustainable development was an overarching 
objec tive of EU policies. Ensuring that all policies would contribute in their capacity to foster and 
achieve sustainable development was both a political commitment (as reflected in EU strategies 
and vision documents) and a legal commitment enshrined in the Li sbon Treaty, which establishes 
that EU trade policy was to be guided by the values of the European Union, including sustainable 
development. The latest trade and investment strategy, which was contained in the "Trade for All" 
communication adopted in Octob er 2015, had sent a very clear message that the EU trade agenda 
should promote sustainable development. Driving the integration of environmental provisions in 
RTAs was the realization that different policies needed to work together to achieve sustainable 
development. It was necessary to foster synergies among trade and other policies, ensure 
coherence to avoid that those policies would work at cross -purposes, and strengthen their mutual 
supportiveness. RTAs provided an opportunity to pursue the three main o bjectives of sustainable 
development – economic growth, social protection, and environmental protection.  
3.2.  Her delegation's approach was to consider sustainable development as an underlying 
principle that informed all areas of a trade agreement. Relevant env ironmental aspects were 
included in specific RTA chapters, and in the form of dedicated provisions in a specific chapter, 
usually in  a chapter on trade and sustainable development covering both labour and environment. 
Together with trading partners, her de legation sought to maintain a certain degree of consistency 
regarding environmental provisions in RTAs. As a starting point , RTAs contained provisions that set 
a common context for the Parties in terms of recalling the United Nations and other internationa l 
instruments, as well as a set of commitments to the respect and effective implementation of 
ratified multilateral environmental agreements. The objective was to  ensure that RTAs supported 
international global governance. In addition, EU trade agreements contained provisions that dealt 
with domestic environmental laws. Those provisions sought to: (i) maintain the right to regulate, 
i.e. the freedom of each Party to determine its own priorities and levels of protection, provided 
that international commitmen ts were respected; (ii) strive to achieve higher levels of 
environmental protection by improving policies and strengthening legislation; and (iii) ensure that 
environmental legislation was implemented properly  in the trade and investment context . The idea 
of the latter objective was  to avoid situations where domestic environmental laws would be  
disregarded and used as a way to unduly attract trade and investment, and to avoid any misuse 
and disguised protectionism, in line with WTO instruments.  
3.3.  Regarding th e so-called "positive agenda", which sought to identify areas where an increase 
in trade and investment would also enhance environmental protection, EU trade agreements 
included provisions that signalled the Parties' agreement to facilitate trade and inves tment in 
                                                
13 The presentation is availab le in document RD/CTE/90.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  environmental and climate -friendly products. In addition, trade agreements were reflecting  the 
contribution of trade to climate mitigation , promoting low emissions and climate resilience, and 
conserving and sustainably managing natural resources. Significant developments had taken place 
in this area. While early trade agreements contained references to some timber and fisheries 
elements , more recent agreements had been broadened to cover different natural resource sectors 
in a more comprehensive ma nner. This development partly reflected a process that took on board 
many inputs and reflections by EU trading partners. The most recent EU trade agreements 
contained dedicated articles on forestry, fisheries, wildlife and biodiversity. The rationale was t o 
find ways whereby trade policies could be mutually supportive of environmental objectives. 
Increasing trade in sustainably managed natural resources could yield benefits for both trade and 
the environment. Conservation was an important aspect in this reg ard. The latest trade 
agreements, including with Canada, Georgia, Moldova, Singapore, and Viet Nam, contained a set 
of commitments to promote trade in sustainably managed and sourced natural resources, and to 
take action to fight illegal trade.  
3.4.  An addition al focus area was to provide support for , and encouragement to , the private 
sector and stakeholders engaged in responsible practices. The European Union  had started to 
develop in its trade agreements a series of provisions to signal that the Parties wanted  to promote 
responsible business practices and sustainability assurance schemes. Trade agreements would  
refer to corporate social responsibility instruments ( i.e. the principles and guidelines adopted at 
the international level that cover labour, environme nt, and other relevant aspects such as 
corruption and good governance), and identify some practices that could contribute to sustainable 
development, including fair and ethical trade or ecolabels. Such initiatives were stakeholder -
driven, and as such, volu ntary. Nonetheless, there was value in providing governmental guidance 
to, and support for , those who voluntarily engaged in such initiatives. The positive agenda also 
focused on priority areas for cooperation. This was important to ensure that EU trade ag reements 
provided a platform for Parties to engage in a meaningful dialogue, and to share best practices. 
Several areas related to the interface between trade and environment had a prominent role in 
cooperation activities. Recent trade agreements referred to cooperation in international forums and 
exchange of good practices in areas such as illegal logging, and illegal, unreported and 
unregulated fisheries.  
3.5.  EU trade agreements contained provisions that set good practices for environmental policy -
making. For  example, there were provisions on ex -post evaluation of the environmental impact of 
trade agreements, and on consultations with relevant actors during the preparation and adoption 
of new environmental legislation. EU trade agreements also included guideli nes on how to factor 
into environmental policy -making scientific information and international guidelines, which could 
include the precautionary approach. In addition, sustainable development chapters in EU trade 
agreements created institutions to oversee the implementation of environmental provisions. It was 
important to bring together not only governments but also stakeholders  with valuable expertise. It 
was worth giving those stakeholders a platform to exchange views and discuss how to make the 
best use of the provisions negotiated in the agreements. Regarding enforcement, EU trade 
agreements had a dedicated mechanism to ensure that, in case of disagreement over the 
implementation of an agreement's environmental provisions, Parties had the right tools and  
procedure to come to a solution together. Dialogue, transparency and the right expertise played a 
very important role in this regard. She concluded by noting her delegation's interest in looking at 
how the language used in different trade agreements refle cted various principles and objectives, 
and in using this information as a basis for a broader debate on evolving practices regarding 
environmental provisions in RTAs.  
3.6.  The representative of Guatemala  said that her delegation supported the principle of 
preserving each Party's rights to regulate, and asked how that principle was reflected  in 
EU agreements, and how it was being operationalized.  
3.7.  The representative of Japan  stated that his delegation's recently concluded RTAs contained 
some environmental provisi ons, including an environmental chapter in the Trans -Pacific 
Partnership Agreement. While provisions sometimes differed from those in the European Union , 
many overlaps also existed. It was important to include environmental provisions in RTAs.  
3.8.  The represen tative of Egypt  indicated that UNCTAD had carried out work related to 
investment, investment disputes, and the right to regulate. He asked how EU trade and 
investment policy ensured a balance between investment protection and arbitration, on the one WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  hand, and the promotion of issues related to sustainable development, on the other, taking into 
consideration that the European Union  and its member States had concluded a significant number 
of bilateral agreements.  
3.9.  The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  noted the role of private companies in 
promoting environmental objectives, and asked how EU trade agreements ensured a balance 
between the interests  of private companies, particularly multinational companies, and their 
compliance with environmen tal standards.  
3.10.   The representative of the European Union  explained that the right to regulate was phrased 
in a relatively straightforward manner in EU trade agreements, namely as the reaffirmation of the 
right of each Party to set domestic priorities, polic ies, level of protection and corresponding 
legislation. The right to regulate existed in itself, and was not created by the trade agreement. 
Moreover, it was linked to commitments set out in the European Union's international obligations. 
Therefore, it was  neither meant to be an exception, nor to lead to situations open to different 
interpretations. Instead, the intention was  to indicate that Parties agreed on a common set of 
international commitments, and recognized each other's right to implement and elab orate their 
own legal system as they deemed appropriate, including by going beyond international 
commitments domestically if they wished. At the same time, the recognition of the right to 
regulate was meant to clarify that the purpose of including environm ental provisions in RTAs was 
not to create a parallel set of harmonized legislation between trading partners.  
3.11.   With respect to the question by the representative of Egypt, she noted that EU political and 
legal commitments, whether the Lisbon Treaty or EU st rategy and policy documents, applied to the 
European Union and its member states, and were not open to different interpretations. Moreover, 
sustainable development chapters and their environmental provisions were mainstreamed 
throughout the agreements. The ir presence in a particular chapter did not mean that they were 
isolated from the rest. The responsibility of negotiators was to ensure that what was said in one 
chapter would be coherent with what was said in all others, and to make sure that everything i n 
the agreement would contribute to the right understanding when it came to implementation. 
Environmental provisions were not only contained in the trade and sustainable development 
chapters , but also in the preamble, which provided  the overall framework f or everything that 
followed and clear ly recogni zed the shared objective of sustainable development.  
3.12.   On Bolivia's question, the representative  stated that the institutional structures used to 
implement EU trade agreements included an association of differen t non -State actors, including 
the private sector. Those institutional structures provided governments with a dedicated channel to 
interact and engage in a two -way dialogue. In addition, one of the priority areas for cooperation 
and joint work that had been  addressed  so far was the issue of responsible business conduct. This 
had been done through the organization of events, seminars and workshops with different private 
sector actors, which had proven to be a useful means to move forward on this front.  
3.1.2   Enviro nmental  provisions of New Zealand 's Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs)  
3.13.   The representative of New Zealand  stated that his delegation’s approach to trade and 
environment provisions in PTAs reflected the position that such agreements were a means, not an 
end, to enhance opportunities for economic growth in order to improve living standards, and 
thereby to contribute positively to sustainable development. It had become clear that, with regard 
to implementation, one size did not always fit all. Ensuring that t rade policy, including through the 
implementation of trade agreements, would contribute to positive environmental outcomes was of 
utmost importance. It was imperative to consider how trade, including at the WTO, could 
contribute to addressing some of socie ty’s wider concerns, including  climate change, fish stocks, 
environmentally harmful subsidies such as fossil fuel subsidies  and other concerns  expressed in 
the UN Sustainable Development Goals . 
3.14.   Trade and environment provisions in New Zealand's PTAs had th ree inter -related objectives: 
(i) to demonstrate the commitment of the Parties to the principles of sustainable development; 
(ii) to ensure that each Party was able to benefit from its legitimate comparative advantages; and 
(iii) to provide a means by whic h the Parties could engage on trade and environment issues. Those 
objectives could be achieved through the negotiation of: (i) common understandings or 
commitments, including the "classical" trade and environment provision, which sought to prevent WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  both the  use of environmental standards as a disguised form of trade protectionism, and the 
lowering of environmental standards for a trade advantage; (ii) a framework and appropriate 
mechanism for cooperation; and (iii) a means of communication and consultation b etween the 
Parties on relevant trade and environment issues. His delegation had concluded nine PTAs since 
the launch of the Doha Round in 2001, all of which included either a trade and environment 
chapter or a trade and environment side instrument associat ed with the agreement. With the 
exception of the instrument with Thailand, all of them were legally binding and had treaty -status.  
3.15.   The real value of trade and environment provisions lay in whether and how the Parties 
implemented and used them. New Zealand  delivered real value through a range of institutional 
provisions built into each agreement. Institutional mechanisms were designed to enable effective 
and efficient communication between the Parties. Regular meetings of the Parties and regular 
contact betw een the national contact points were important elements. A tailor -made approach 
helped to build trust and confidence, which facilitated cooperation and implementation, and made 
it easier to discuss issues of concern that may arise between the Parties.  
3.16.   Since 2006, his delegation had completed more than 90 cooperation projects (with Brunei 
Darussalam, Chile, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) in a range 
of formats, including capacity -building workshops, seminars, study tours,  peer reviews, exchanges 
of experts and information, and joint research projects. Approaches sought to be responsive to 
and reflect the interests, needs and resources of all Parties to the agreements. Consistent with the 
framework that guided negotiators, there was a strong preference for projects that provided both 
environmental and trade benefits, not simply environmental benefits. Past projects had covered a 
range of issues, including freshwater management, air quality standards and management, 
environme ntal governance, and climate change mitigation (including in the agriculture sector). A 
recent example was a four -year project with China where the New Zealand and Chinese 
Environment Ministries, together with agricultural research organizations, universit ies and private 
sector firms in both countries had collaborated to trial alternative methods for the safe disposal of 
dairy effluent to land. This issue posed problems in both New Zealand and China. The successful 
outcome provided the basis for a policy ch ange in both countries that avoided  the further pollution 
of waterways. The outcome had been good for the environment, and had enhanced domestic 
production and built trade capacity.  
3.17.   A practical approach to the implementation of negotiated outcomes undersco red the 
commitment by New Zealand  and its trading partners to ensure that trade policy in general, and 
PTAs in particular, could support and contribute  to meaningful and practical outcomes that helped 
drive sustainable development. One -size-fits-all approa ches were not practical. Rather, tailor -
made approaches were needed to ensure effective and efficient delivery of sustainability -related 
objectives. Ensuring the mutual supportiveness between the trade and environment regimes was 
of vital importance. It wa s clear that trade policy could contribute to addressing global challenges. 
New Zealand’s Minister of Trade had recently observed that it was important to "consider how 
trade could help to achieve the UN SDGs agreed by world leaders in September 2015 ". Sev eral 
SDGs touched on the nexus between trade and the environment. For example, SDG 12 touched on 
fossil fuel subsidies. There was a question as to how reform in that area might be secured, and in 
particular whether there was a role for trade policy. Simila rly, SDG 14 was about protecting the 
oceans and global fish stocks. The WTO was already contributing with negotiations in this area. 
The provisions disciplining marine fisheries subsidies contained in the recently concluded Trans -
Pacific Partnership Agreem ent were similarly seeking to address this urgent challenge. It was clear 
that, as concluded by the Trade Minister, trade agreements could contribute to solutions to the 
most pressing global problems of our times. Effective implementation was a path to tho se kinds of 
effective solutions.  
3.18.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that the environmental chapter of the Free Trade 
Agreement ( FTA) with New Zealand eliminated tariff and non -tariff barriers on environmental 
goods to facilitate trade of environment al goods and services. The list of environmental goods 
under the environment chapter comprised 132 items pertaining to equipment for renewable 
energy, pollution reduction, and environmental monitoring and control. The links between trade 
and environmental protection had long been a concern of the WTO. The central question was 
whether trade liberalization helped advance shared economic and environmental goals. 
Environmental provisions in FTAs could both facilitate trade and support sustainable environmental 
development. Trade liberalization and environmental protection were mutually supportive.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  3.1.3   Switzerland's experience  
3.19.   The representative of Switzerland  said that , as a general rule, his delegation followed a 
similar approach to the European Union in the FTAs n egotiated  within the European FTA (EFTA) 
together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Since 2010, Switzerland  and EFTA partners had 
systematically included a chapter on sustainable development in its FTAs, including with Hong 
Kong,  China and  Central A merican States, and in the bilateral agreement with China. The 
importance of environmental issues illustrated the need to think across sectoral policy silos. The 
international trading system, including regional agreements, needed to take into account the 
interaction between different policy goals. The inclusion of environmental provisions in RTAs was a 
crucial element for the coherence of trade and environment policies. Environmental provisions 
were undergoing significant developments in RTAs around the wor ld, particularly in South -South 
agreements. His delegation was interested in exchanging experiences on this topic.  
3.1.4   Korea's experience  
3.20.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  said that Korea  had concluded and implemented 
FTAs with 51 countries. Environm ent provisions and chapters had not been an issue in bilateral 
FTAs, as those FTAs had focused on the liberalization of goods and services sectors. Environmental 
provisions had tended to reaffirm existing principles rather than providing for new obligation s. Nine 
FTAs (with Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, the European Union, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey, 
and the United States) had separate chapters dedicated to environmental issues or sustainable 
development. Among them, the FTAs with Colombia, the Europea n Union and Turkey had 
environmental and labour provisions under the chapter on trade and sustainable development. 
Some specific provisions in those chapters were not found in other FTAs. The Korea -United States 
FTA provided for dispute settlement procedur es for any matter arising in the environment chapter, 
under certain conditions, and for the promotion of public awareness of environmental laws and 
public participation. The FTAs with the European Union and Turkey included cooperation provisions 
on the tra de-related aspects of the climate change regime. The Korea -European Union 
FTA established a civil society forum to conduct a dialogue encompassing environment -related 
aspects of trade relations. The FTAs with Colombia and Peru contained a provision that re cognized 
the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and traditional 
knowledge. The FTAs with Colombia, China, New Zealand and Peru reaffirmed the sovereign right 
over Parties' natural resources and their authority to det ermine access to genetic resources. Given 
the cross -border effect of pollution and environmental measures, future RTAs were expected to 
include environmental provisions.  
3.1.5   Chile's experience  
3.21.   The representative of Chile noted that Chile had sig ned 25 trade ag reements with 
64 economies. RTAs had not followed a single model, and the environmental provisions contained 
therein differed in form, content, and depth. Some RTAs contained an article on environmental 
cooperation, while others included an environmental c hapter. In other cases, a parallel agreement 
had been concluded. The Agreement on Environmental Coopera tion signed with Canada in 
1996 along with an FTA marked the first time Chile had incorporated environmental matters in a 
trade agreement. In 2002, Chile  signed an Association Agreement with the European Union, which 
included an article on environmental cooperation. Its FTA with the United States, in force since 
2004, included an environmental chapter with general commitments and provisions on issues such 
as public participation and environmental institutions, as well as a companion Agreement on 
Environmental Cooperation. The Environmental Cooperation Agreement associated with the Trans -
Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (P4) with Brunei Darussalam, New  Zealand and Singapore 
was in force since 2006. In Latin America, Chile had concluded trade agreements that considered 
environmental matters, including with Colombia and Panama. The agreement with Panama, in 
force since 2008, incorporated environmental asp ects in an Agreement on Environmental 
Cooperation similar to the P4. The agreement with Colombia, in force since 2009, contained an 
environmental chapter of similar characteristics. In Asia -Pacific, the FTA with Hong Kong , China, in 
force since 2014, inclu ded an environmental chapter, while the FTAs with Malaysia (in force since 
2012) and Thailand (since 2015) covered environmental matters in an article within the chapter on 
cooperation. Recently Chile had signed the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) , which 
included an environmental chapter. Environmental matters were also included in the trade 
agreement that was being negotiated with Uruguay.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
- 34 - 
 
  3.22.   Environmental cooperation and other activities carried out under these instruments had 
strengthened Chile's i nstitutional, regulatory and monitoring capacities in the environmental field. 
Several biannual environmental cooperation work programmes had been developed, including nine 
work programmes under the FTA with Canada; five under the FTA with the United State s; and one 
under the FTA with Colombia and the P4. Work programmes covered a wide range of issues, 
including: environmental governance and democracy; sustainable production and consumption; 
water resources; waste management; emissions registration systems;  climate change; 
environmental protection and biodiversity; capacity building to improve the implementation of , and 
compliance with , environmental laws and regulations; promotion and adoption of environmentally 
friendly technologies and practices; sustaina ble management of resources, including protected 
areas and wild fauna and flora; and the participation of civil society in environmental decision 
making and education.  
3.23.   The growing number of trade agreements with environmental provisions, and the large 
numb er of government bodies involved in environmental cooperation activities carried out under 
the aegis of those agreements, called for strong inter -institutional coordination and close 
collaboration with trading partners. In response, Chile had set up a coor dination network among 
relevant institutions. The coordination network had helped to: realize the full potential of the trade 
agreements; facilitate the timely diffusion of relevant information among actors in the trade and 
environment field; and follow -up on the implementation of trade agreements that include d 
environmental issues, among others. Incorporating environmental issues in trade agreements had 
brought important benefits to Chile and had served as a basis for cooperation with a wide range of 
trading partners, thereby resulting in solid and trustworthy relationships.  
3.1.6   Other comments  
3.24.   The representative of New Zealand  noted that the preceding high -quality conversation on 
environmental provisions in RTAs would have been unthinkable in the CTE during the  late 1990s 
and even the early 2000s. He was heartened by the creativity and interest shown by a wide range 
of actors in this area. While his delegation's approach was based on the premise that one size did 
not fit all, it was clear that incredible creativ ity had been demonstrated around the world. Trade 
policy contributed to growth, but Members should be very concerned about the profound challenge 
that trade policy was facing in many countries. More work was needed to explain better why trade 
mattered. In addition, civil society was expecting governments to demonstrate that trade could 
contribute to addressing  some  of their  concerns. A conversation could take place in the WTO about 
what trade might be able to do. Trade could not solve everything, but it cou ld help address wider 
societal concerns.  
3.2  Briefing  on the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations  
3.25.   The representative of Australia , on behalf of the chair of the EGA negotiations, said that 
significant progress had been made towards concluding the EGA sin ce the last update provided to 
the CTE. The EGA had been formally launched in July 2014 and the negotiations had moved 
quickly throughout the course of 2015. There had been some consideration whether it might be 
possible to conclude the EGA at the end of 2 015. Nonetheless, given the technical nature of the 
negotiations, including detailed work on the many "ex -outs" that would help to ensure the 
environmental  credibility of the products on the EGA list, that time -frame had not been met. The 
negotiations had advanced considerably in 2015 and work had continued in the first half of 2016. 
The list of environmental goods being considered in the EGA was focusing on around 350 HS -6 
tariff lines, from an initial list of around 700 product nominations. The list of po tential EGA 
products was well developed and there was a deep understanding among EGA participants about 
each other's priorities and sensitivities.  
3.26.   In addition, in 2016 participants started to engage on possible staging requirements for 
phasing in tariff cu ts, where such staging might be needed to help manage commercial 
sensitivities while still achieving trade liberalization and environmental outcomes. There had been 
regular and on -going bilateral engagement. Informal sub -groups had undertaken work to help 
provide further information on the likelihood of support for different product nominations. 
Discussions were continuing on how to make the EGA a living agreement, including future updates 
to the EGA product list, and possible consideration of broader issue s such as services and non-
tariff barriers . Four negotiating rounds had been held since the CTE meeting in October 2015. 
Discussions during the 14th and latest round had been positive and constructive, and participants WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  had reaffirmed their commitment to co ncluding an ambitious EGA in a timely manner. Besides 
being a WTO -consistent trade agreement, the EGA would, by liberalizing trade in environmentally 
beneficial and climate friendly products, help to accelerate the implementation of the Paris 
Agreement on Climate Change, and assist with progress on the SDGs. EGA participants remained 
very interested in having new Members join the negotiations . Over the past years, some 
EGA participants had organized workshops in different capitals to explain the EGA and res pond to 
questions. Moreover, several outreach sessions had been held in Geneva from time to time with 
potentially interested Members. EGA participants remained open to meeting bilaterally with any 
Member. Progress in the EGA had been quick and positive. Th e negotiations remained well on 
track for an ambitious outcome. The next round of negotiations would be held from 25 to  
29 July 2016. There had been increased contact on the EGA at senior levels outside of Geneva. 
EGA participants expected that to continu e. 
3.27.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  reiterated  the position of her 
delegation in relation to this type of initiative, which was developed outside of the WTO context, 
and could undermine multilateral efforts on trade. Therefore, her delegation did not support it.  
3.3  Briefing on recent developments in UNEP  
3.28.   The representative of the United Nations Environmental Program me (UNEP)  said that, since 
the last CTE meeting in 2015, ground breaking progress had been achieved at global level in the 
area of trade and the environment, including through the 2030  Agenda and the SDGs, the 
Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa, 
and the Second United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi (UNEA -2).14 Guided by those 
outcomes, UNEP's work focused on the implementation of 2030 Agenda and the SDGs by 
promoting synergies between trade and environment policies at national, regional and global 
levels. In December  2015, UNEP had launched the Environment and Trade  Hub on the side-lines of 
the WTO 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. By working at the nexus of environment, trade and 
investment through a network of national, regional and international partners, the Hub would offer 
services tailored to local and re gional needs and circumstances. Available services included: 
technical training to support international, regional and national design and implementation of 
sustainable trade and investment policies; assistance in designing greener trade agreements; 
identi fication and dissemination of best practices; and support for stakeholder consultations to 
advance the sustainable trade agenda. Current project work focused specifically on three areas: 
(i) enhancing trade and investment in environmentally sound technolog ies; (ii) promoting mutual 
supportiveness between trade and environment regimes; and (iii) g reening global value chains and 
promoting sustainable consumption and production . Through the Hub, UNEP was actively engaged 
in macroeconomic green growth planning efforts through the Partnership for Action in a Green 
Economy (PAGE) initiative with four other UN agencies ( the United Nations Industrial Development 
Organization , the United Nations Institute for Training and Research , the International Labour 
Organizati on, and the United Nations Development Programme ). Trade -related work was being 
carried out in Ghana, Peru, South Africa, and more recently, in China and Mongolia.  
3.29.   UNEA -2 had taken place in Nairobi in May 2016 under the theme "Delivering on the 
Environment al Dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". Twenty -five 
resolutions had been agreed  on, many of which were directly linked to environment and trade. For 
example, UNEA had agreed  that UNEP should accelerate its support to countries to buil d regional 
readiness capacity to implement the Paris Agreement. Among other resolutions relevant to the 
work of the CTE were those on illegal wildlife trade, waste management, ocean conservation, and 
sustainable consumption and production.   
3.30.   The representat ive of  the European Union  indicated that the discussions during UNEA -2, 
especially in the high level segment, were a good example of the interconnectivity of the different 
dimensions of sustainable development.  
3.4  Other Matters  
3.31.   The representative of the United States  stated  that over the years, the CTE had provided an 
important international forum to discuss issues at the centre of trade and environment. Issues like 
fisheries subsidies  disciplines and trade liberalization in environmental technologies had take n 
                                                
14 The statement is available in document RD/CTE/91.  WT/CTE/M/61  
 
- 36 - 
 
  shape in the CTE. As the WTO evolved and matured, her delegation was interested in energizing 
the work in the CTE. For example, the issues of: wildlife trafficking; illegal logging and associated 
trade; and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishi ng were not only important 
environmental and conservation issues, but were also linked to trade and economic growth. They 
featured increasingly in regional and bilateral trade agreements and in MEAs. The United States  
was interested in exploring these issu es within the CTE and sharing experiences, both with 
WTO Members and with the secretariats of relevant MEAs, including the Secretariat of CITES. 
Some Members had already contributed to the discussion, for example on IUU fishing and illegal 
logging. Her del egation would welcome continuing and advancing discussion on these topics at the 
next CTE meeting with a view to exploring next steps and future discussions in the CTE.  
3.32.   The representative of Egypt  highlighted that issues related to chemicals were of great 
importance, and were an integral part of the CTE's work, as reflected in the Environmental 
Database. His delegation wished to see that issue reflected in the CTE's upcoming meeting, if 
possible.  
3.33.   The representative of the Plurinational  State of Bolivia  stated that her delegation would like 
to maintain the CTE agenda in its original form, and did not foresee any changes to it.  
3.34.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  took note of the statement  by 
the United States . Discussions on this matter  should be taken up in an informal setting. His 
delegation supported the preceding interventions by Egypt and the Plurinational State of Bolivia, in 
particular regarding the CTE agenda.  
4  DATE OF NEXT  MEETING  
4.1.  The next meeting of the Committee would take plac e in the autumn  of 2016. The precise 
date would be communicated to Members in due course.  
 
 
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 WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  ANNEX 1: ITEMS OF TH E CTE WORK PROGRAMME  
 
Item 1:  The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and 
trade measures for env ironmental purposes, including those pursuant to 
multilateral environmental agreements.  
Item 2:  The relationship between environmental policies relevant to trade and 
environmental measures with significant trade effects and the provisions of the 
multilater al trading system.  
Item 3(a):  The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and 
charges and taxes for environmental purposes.  
Item 3(b):  The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and 
requirement s for environmental purposes relating to products, including standards 
and technical regulations, packaging, labelling and recycling.  
Item 4:  The provisions of the multilateral trading system with respect to the transparency 
of trade measures used for envi ronmental purposes and environmental measures 
and requirements which have significant trade effects.  
Item 5:  The relationship between the dispute settlement mechanisms in the multilateral 
trading system and those found in multilateral environmental agreeme nts. 
Item 6:  The effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to 
developing countries, in particular to the least developed among them, and 
environmental benefits of removing trade restrictions and distortions.  
Item 7:  The issu e of exports of domestically prohibited goods.  
Item 8:  The relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights.  
Item 9:  The work programme envisaged in the Decision on Trade in Services and the 
Environment.  
Item 10 : Input to the relevant bodies in respect of appropriate arrangements for relations 
with intergovernmental and non -governmental organizations referred to in 
Article  V of the WTO.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 WT/CTE/M/61  
 
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  ANNEX 2: PARTS OF TH E DOHA MINISTERIAL D ECLARATION THAT RELA TE  
TO THE WORK  OF THE CTE  
 
32. We instruct the Committee on Trade and Environment, in pursuing work on all items on its 
agenda within its current terms of reference, to give particular attention to:  
 
(i) the effect of environmental measures on market access, espe cially in relation to 
developing countries, in particular the least -developed among them, and those situations 
in which the elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and distortions would benefit 
trade, the environment and development;  
 
(ii) the relev ant provisions of the Agreement on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights; and  
 
(iii) labelling requirements for environmental purposes.  
 
Work on these issues should include the identification of any need to clarify relevant WTO rules. 
The C ommittee shall report to the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference, and make 
recommendations, where appropriate, with respect to future action, including the desirability of 
negotiations. The outcome of this work as well as the negotiations carried o ut under 
paragraph  31(i) and  (ii) shall be compatible with the open and non -discriminatory nature of the 
multilateral trading system, shall not add to or diminish the rights and obligations of members 
under existing WTO agreements, in particular the Agreem ent on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures, nor alter the balance of these rights and obligations, and will take into 
account the needs of developing and least -developed countries.  
 
33. We recognize the importance of technical assistance  and capacity building in the field of trade 
and environment to developing countries, in particular the least -developed among them. We also 
encourage that expertise and experience be shared with members wishing to perform 
environmental reviews at the natio nal level. A report shall be prepared on these activities for the 
Fifth Session.  
 
51. The Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on Trade and Environment 
shall, within their respective mandates, each act as a forum to identify and debate deve lopmental 
and environmental aspects of the negotiations, in order to help achieve the objective of having 
sustainable development appropriately reflected.  
 
 
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