WT/CTE/20
11 November 2013
(13-6262)  Page: 1/4
  
 
 REPORT (2013) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT 
_______________ 
 
 
 
1. In 2013, the Committee on Trade and Environment in Regular Session (CTE) met twice 
under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Esteban B. Conejos, Jr. (Philippines) on 5 June1 and 
16 October 20132 (formal meetings).  
2. The work of the CTE was organized in accordance with the mandate established by the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration, Paragraphs 32, 33 and 51.  Discussions took place mainly on 
environmental requirements and market access i ssues under Paragraph 32(i) ("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").  Other items addressed by the CTE were Paragraph 32(iii) on labelling requirements for environmental purposes and items 1,
3 3(a),4 and 4.5  
3. No discussion took place under Paragr aph 32(ii) (relevant provisions of the 
TRIPS Agreement); Paragraph 33 (technical assistance, capacity building and environmental reviews); and Paragraph 51 (developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations).   
I. PARAGRAPH 32 
A. Paragraph 32(i) (Environmental Re quirements and Market Access) 
(i) First part of Paragraph 32(i) – "The effect of environmental measures on market 
access, especially in relati on to developing countries, in particular the least-
developed among them"  
4. CTE discussions under Paragraph 32(i) mainly took the form of ad hoc presentations on 
carbon footprint and labelling initiatives.  Several Members registered the concern that presentation topics, available only at the last minute, made effective participation in the discussion 
difficult.  Questions were also raised about the relevance of certain topics under this part of the 
mandate.  In response, the Chairman noted that ways to address such concerns would be explored. 
5. A representative from the European Commission presented the European Union's Single 
Market for Green Products initiative providing principles for communication of products and 
organizations' environmental performance, including with regard to greenhouse gas (GHG) 
                                               
1 The minutes of this meeting were circulated in "Report of the Meeting held on 5 June 2013", Note by 
the Secretariat, WT/CTE/M/55 and WT/CTE/M/55/Corr.1.  
2 The minutes of this meeting will be circulated in "Report of the Meeting held on 16 October 2013", 
Note by the Secretariat, WT/CTE/M/56. 
3 Item 1 reads: "The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral trading system and trade 
measures for environmental purposes, including those pursuant to multilateral environmental agreements." 
4 I t e m  3 ( a )  r e a d s :  " T h e  r e l a t i o n s h i p  b e t w e e n  t h e  provisions of the multilateral trading system and 
charges and taxes for en vironmental purposes." 
5 Item 4 reads: "The provisions of the multilateral trading system with respect to the transparency of 
trade measures used for environmental purposes and environmental measures and requirements which have 
significant trade effects." WT/CTE/20 
 
- 2 - 
 
  emissions and the development of methods for environmental footprint.  A representative from the 
British Standards Institute provided an overview of the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050  and the assessment of the lifecycle GHG emissi ons of goods and services, including the 2011 
revision, which aimed, among other things, at removing inconsistencies and differences with 
respect to other international initiatives.  Chinese Taipei presented their Product Carbon Footprint 
and Labelling Programme, which relied on a carbon footprint label at the first stage and a carbon emission reduction label at the second stage.  The Republic of Korea informed on their 
Carbon Footprint Labelling Scheme, which consisted of a two-level certification structure for carbon 
emissions and carbon reduction target.  Thailand shared their experience with the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Project, which provided for a lifecycle inventory database, a guideline on PCF calculation and product category rules.   
6. France provided information on a national voluntary pilot project related to environmental 
information on consumer products, in terms of carbon footprint and water pollution, among other indicators.  Switzerland made a presentation on their Green Economy Action Plan, which provided 
for supplementary means of action, including fo r the improvement of resource efficiency in 
consumption and production through, for instance, better environmental information and screening of products.   
7. In addition, some delegations provided comments on their national initiatives.  New Zealand 
provided an update on their GHG Footprint Strategy  for the primary sector, stressing that lifecycle 
assessment should foremost be used to reduce carbon emissions along the supply chain.  Nigeria also shared information on the Lagos State Carbon Footprint and Management initiative 
establishing a carbon footprint label, a carbon re duction label and an energy efficiency label.  
Costa Rica informed on the development of a national carbon neutral programme and the establishment of related requirements, methodologies and procedures.  
8. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provided an update on the 
ISO 14067 technical specification related to the requ irements and guidelines for quantification and 
communication of GHG footprint of products.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD) complemented the discussion on  carbon footprint by presenting a review of 
the economic literature on the potential impact of product carbon footprint labels on international trade, in terms of market access barriers and unfair competition.   
9. Some Members welcomed the information provided on national and international initiatives 
and sought further clarification on the functioning of carbon footprinting schemes.  Some 
delegations recognised the importance of enhanc ing the environmental performance of products 
and organisations and providing consumers with su ch information.  Other delegations supported 
the development of a science-based and consensus-based international standard on carbon 
footprint and labelling, with full participation of developing countries and consistent with WTO obligations, which could reduce the number of different carbon labelling initiatives and minimise 
barriers to trade.  Some Members have also under lined the importance of a shared technical basis 
(i.e. lifecycle analysis), consultations and involvement of third country stakeholders to ensure a consistent and compatible approach to carbon footprinting.  Some Members stressed that the establishment of global rules would not only have a positive impact on the predictability of trade, 
but also support the perspective of developing and small economies. 
10. Several delegations pointed out the undue focus on carbon footprint schemes under this 
agenda item, without sufficiently addressing the likely impact on developing countries, as 
mandated under the first part of Paragraph 32(i) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  It was also 
noted that environmental footprinting schemes could be used as a disguised restriction to trade and impose burdensome requirements, specifically  for developing countries and thereby impede 
their access to import and export markets.  Several Members provided comments and raised 
questions and concerns, including on the likely impa ct of carbon footprint schemes on trade, in 
particular in relation to market access for developing countries; the inadequate participation of developing countries in the development process of the ISO 14067 technical specification; the 
need of technology transfer to developing count ries; and the proliferation of national carbon 
labelling schemes.  A representative of ISO informed the CTE that ISO made substantial efforts to ensure the participation of developing countries and noted that ISO work benefitted from 
significant representation from developing countries. WT/CTE/20 
 
- 3 - 
 
  11. Moreover, the WTO Secretariat prepared an informal document summarizing the ad hoc 
presentations on carbon footprint and interactions  on these held in the CTE.  Some delegations 
welcomed the document, and described it as a usef ul informative tool for the work of the CTE.  
Some other delegations voiced concern as to how the divergence of views among Members on 
carbon footprint was captured, as well as, the lack of reference to other related multilateral 
negotiations that would have direct impact on the issue especially those under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 
12. At the October meeting the ISO provided a pr esentation on the draft ISO 14046 initiative for 
an international standard for water footprint, based on lifecycle analysis.  Some Members showed interest in the discussion on the topic with regard the need for further water resource efficiency which should reflect regional particularities, as well as the production or consumption location 
while others expressed concerns similar to those on carbon footprint especially in terms of 
implications for developing countries and least-developed countries in terms of the mandate in paragraph 32(i). 
(ii) Second part of Paragraph 32(i) – "[S] ituations in which the elimination or 
reduction of trade restrictions and distortions would benefit trade, the 
environment and development"  
13. Under the second part of Paragraph 32(i), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations (FAO) briefed on their 2001 International Plan of Action on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing as well as on aspects related to traceability in terms of food safety and quality assurance, and market access. Several Me mbers expressed strong support for the work of 
the FAO and highlighted the importance of cooperation and coordinated global effort to address 
the issue of IUU fishing. 
14. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) briefly informed on an 
ad hoc expert meeting on domestic requirements  and support measures in green sectors.  The 
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) pr esented their report on "Green Economy and 
Trade – Trends, Challenges and Opportunities" that explored triple-win situations in six economic 
sectors of particular interest for developing countries. Further to this, in another presentation, 
UNEP provided information on the current status of  its activities with regard to green economy and 
trade, highlighting in particular its national green economy projects in Ghana, Peru and Viet Nam. With regard to these presentations, some Memb ers recalled that the Rio+20 outcome document - 
"The Future We Want" - considered the green economy in the context of sustainable development 
and poverty eradication as one, but not the only, tool available for achieving sustainable development.  The OECD referred to recent work on six related areas, including measuring 
subsidies in agriculture, fisheries, and fossil fuels, as well as government incentives for "greener" 
goods with possible trade implications, environm ental regulatory stringency, and environmental 
provisions in regional trade agreements.  
B. Paragraph 32(iii) – "Labelling requirem ents for environmental purposes" 
15. The OECD made a presentation on a recent study on the characterisation of environmental 
labelling schemes, stressing complexities in terms of characteristics, modes of communication, methodologies, nature (voluntary, mandatory, private, public, hybrid) as well as the proliferation 
of such schemes.  Some delegations welcomed th e informative nature of the paper and supported 
the OECD work in this regard. 
C. Other Paragraph 32 items 
(i) 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." 
16. The UNEP Secretariat provided a brief on ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the 
Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions following the 
decision to merge the three Secretariats. Moreov er, the Convention on International Trade in WT/CTE/20 
 
- 4 - 
 
  Endangered Species (CITES) reported on their COP16 which resulted in, amongst others, the 
inclusion of new marine and timber species.  
17. At the October meeting, CITES informed on recent developments, including the accession of 
Angola as the 179th Party and the entering into force of the Gaborone amendment to Article XXI of 
the Convention, which allows for accession by regional economic integration organizations. On 
behalf of the Convention on Biological Diversity, a representative of UNEP briefed on decisions taken at COP11, including continuing implementation issues of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 
2011-2020 and progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity  Target Three, adopted at their COP10.  The 
UNEP Secretariat made a presentation on the newly adopted Minamata Convention on Mercury and highlighted some key features, including trade-related provisions.  Some delegations welcomed the conclusion of the new multilateral environmental agreement. 
18. The WTO Secretariat introduced the revision of the "Matrix on Trade-Related Measures 
Pursuant to Selected Multilateral Environmental Agreements".
6 
(ii) Item 3(a) 
"The relationship between the provisions of  the multilateral trading system and charges 
and taxes for environmental purposes" 
 
19. At the June 2013 meeting, Australia provided a detailed presentation updating the Clean 
Energy Future Package, an economy wide carbon pricing mechanism designed to reduce Australia's carbon emissions through the establishment of a ca rbon price that would later be replaced by an 
emissions trading scheme.  One Member stated that  carbon pricing could be used as a disguised 
restriction on trade inconsistent with WTO rules, imposing burdens and costly requirements for 
developing countries, an important issue that should be discussed within the UNFCCC, not the WTO. 
(iii)  Item 4 
"The provisions of the multilateral trading syst em with respect to the transparency of trade 
measures used for environmental purposes and environmental measures and requirements 
which have significant trade effects" 
 
20. Under item 4, the WTO Secretariat introduced the Environmental Database of 2010,
7 
circulated in two parts:  (1) a report presenting an overall analysis of the environment-related 
notifications and trade policy reviews; and (2) an electronic document providing the underlying 
data used for analysis. 
__________  
 
 
                                               
6 "Matrix on Trade-Related Measures Pursuant to Sele cted Multilateral Environmental Agreements", Note 
by the Secretariat, WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.6, TN/TE/S/5/Rev.4, circulated on 4 October 2013. 
7 WT/CTE/EDB/10 and WT/CTE/EDB/10/Add. 1 of 15 April 2013. WT/CTE/EDB/11 and 
WT/CTE/EDB/11/Add.1 were circulated on 21 August 2013.