WT/CTE/21  
 
3 December 2014  
(14-7073)  Page: 1/8  
   
 
 REPORT (2014) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT 
1. In 2014, the Committee on Trade and Environment in Regular Session (CTE) met twice 
under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Päivi Kairamo (Finland) on 30 June1 and 23 October 20142 
(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 51.3 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 item 1.
4 
3. No discussion took place under Paragraph 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).   
1  PARAGRAPH 32 
1.1  Paragraph 32(i) (Environmental  Requirements and Market Access) 
1.1.1  First part of Paragrap h 32(i) – "The effect of envi ronmental measures on market 
access, especially in relati on to developing countries, in particular the least-
developed among them"  
1.1.1.1  Environmental footprint of products  
4. At the June meeting, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provided an 
update on the ISO 14067 technical specification related to the requirements and guidelines for 
quantification and communication of greenhouse gas footprint of products and informed that an 
ad-hoc group had been established in May 2014 to analyse trade impacts associated with the 
application of ISO 14067.  ISO also shared up dated information on ISO draft international 
standard (DIS) 14046 related to the principles, requirements and guidelines for assessing and 
reporting the water footprint of products, processes and organizations. 
5. Several delegations expressed support for th e ISO and the development of standards and 
technical specifications based on scientifically gr ounded methodologies. Some delegations raised 
concerns over the possible impact of standards on market access, in particular for small and 
medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, and the risk that such standards could 
                                               
1 Available through WT/CTE/M/57, "Report of th e Meeting held on 30 June 2014", Note by the 
Secretariat.  
2 To be circulated through WT/CTE/M/58, "Report of  the Meeting held on 23 October 2014", Note by the 
Secretariat. 
3 The CTE Work Programme and the parts of the Doha Development Agenda that are relevant to the 
work of the CTE Regular are included in Annexes 1 and 2 respectively. 
4 Item 1 of the CTE Work Programme reads: "The relationship between the provisions of the multilateral 
trading system and trade measures for environmental purposes, includin g those pursuant to multilateral 
environmental agreements." WT/CTE/21 
 
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  be used as a trade barrier. One delegation stated that the assessment of carbon footprint on a 
lifecycle basis raised concerns similar to those related to processes and production methods.  
6. At the October meeting, the European Union (EU) provided an update on the voluntary pilot 
phase of environmental footprint of products and organizations methodology under the EU Single 
Market for Green Products Initiative. It aims to improve the availability of clear, reliable and 
comparable information on the environmental performance of products and organisations, and it is based on existing ISO standards. The three year pilot phase (2013-2016), covering a broad range 
of industrial and agriculture products, aimed to  test: (1) the process for the development of 
specific product and organization environmental footprint category rules; (2) different verification approaches; and (3) various communication methods. The European Union stressed the open and transparent character of the process, with a signif icant participation of stakeholders from all over 
the world. 
7. Members generally reiterated their interest in the topic of environmental footprint of 
products. Several delegations asked for details on the European pilot projects. One delegation 
welcomed the opportunity to participate in this initiative. Several delegations noted that, in 
general, the proliferation of labelling schemes could represent trade barriers to developing countries and SMEs' market access, and stressed the need to take key WTO principles into 
account, such as international harmonization, transparency and non-discriminatory treatment. 
One delegation expressed concern that many environmental initiatives introduced as voluntary can later become mandatory, and highlighted the need to find multilateral solutions rather than implementing unilateral policies.  The European Union responded by underlining that the process 
was an open one, which also included non-EU actors.  Several delegations also pointed out that 
under Paragraph 32(i) of the CTE agenda, Member s' focus should be on the impact of such 
environmental measures on market access and exports, especially from developing countries and 
the least-developed ones among them.   
1.1.2  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"  
1.1.2.1  Illegal Logging 8. In 2014, 13 delegations shared information on experiences with combatting illegal logging 
and their efforts to promote legally harvested timber.  
9. At the June meeting, the European Union (EU) presented the measures put in place to 
promote trade in legally-harvested timber and timber products in the EU market, including the 
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. The FLEGT Action Plan 
aimed, among other things, at developing specific procedures to exclude illegal timber from supply 
chains. One of the available tools was the development of FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) to ensure that only legally harvested timber was imported into the 
European Union. In this context, the European  Union highlighted that capacity building and 
technical assistance were provided to developing countries. Indonesia provided information on the 
Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) aimed at  zeroing cases of illegal logging by maintaining 
a sustainable industry based on the principles of  governance, representativeness and credibility, 
including through the negotiation of a FLEGT VPA with the European Union.  
10. Australia provided an update on the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation 2013 
requiring Australian importers and domestic processors of regulated timber and timber products to 
have a complying due diligence system in place in  order to reduce the risk of illegally logged 
timber entering the Australian market. Ghana de scribed their domestic programme establishing 
tree growth limits, annual caps and selective harvesting initiatives to address illegal logging. 
Switzerland informed on nationwide supervision and controls, as well as market transparency 
mechanisms ensuring the risk of illegal timb er harvest was negligible in Switzerland. 
The United States presented the different means through which illegal logging was being 
addressed, including the Lacey Act, which prohibits trade and imposes penalties on the purchase 
and sale of wood products from illegally sourced timber; and the inclusion of specific provisions in 
regional trade agreements (RTAs). Canada reported  on their rigorous and effective supervision of 
sustainable forest management that provides assurance that Canadian forest products are made WT/CTE/21 
 
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  from timber originating from legal sources. Canada informed that it supports a risk-based 
approach to combatting trade in illegally harvested forest products, focusing enforcement efforts on imports from regions where there is a demonstrab le risk. Canada indicated that it uses official 
development assistance to support sustainable forest management and to combat illegal logging 
internationally. New Zealand informed on the promotion of voluntary industry initiatives.  
11. At the October meeting, China complemented its statement delivered at the June meeting 
with a presentation on its domestic and international efforts to combat illegal logging, such as the 
launch of a pilot project on timber legality in selected enterprises, the development of a Chinese 
forest certification scheme, and bilateral and international cooperation with several WTO Members, and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Cameroon presented the various 
measures adopted to combat illegal logging, including a transparent attribution scheme for 
e x p l o i t a t i o n  p e r m i t s ,  a n  i n c r e a s e  i n  t h e  n u m b e r  o f  g o v e r n m e n t  s t a f f  i n  c h a r g e  o f  m o n i t o r i n g  
compliance, strict sanctions in case of non-compliance, and the adoption of a FLEGT VPA with the European Union in 2011.  
12. Chinese Taipei reported on the legal framework applicable to producers and consumers of 
forest products, including a research and development programme in cooperation with the Forest 
Stewardship Council (FSC). Mexico referred to internal measures adopted to address illegal logging 
and to their active participation in the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). Chile reported on 
the legal forestry framework, in particular the requ irements to be fulfilled in order to perform any 
forestry activity. It was highlighted that all loggi ng activities performed in a native forest, no 
matter the type of soil where the forest is located, must be executed with a Management Plan 
previously approved by the responsible government agency. 
13. WTO Members in both regular meetings of the CTE welcomed the national experiences in 
fighting against illegal logging and related trade, which have serious environmental, social and 
economic impacts. A number of delegations undersco red the importance of bilateral, regional and 
international cooperation to address illegal logging and related trade. Some delegations recalled that illegal logging initiatives should be consistent with WTO disciplines, scientifically based and 
not constituting unnecessary barriers to trade. Some Members raised concern regarding the 
implementation costs of some initiatives that could affect market access for developing countries. One delegation underscored the need to provide developing countries with sufficient policy space to manage their own natural resources in line with their development goals and within the 
framework of shared responsibilities. The need for capacity building in developing countries to 
improve the enforcement of laws and regulations ai med at combatting illegal logging, and to raise 
awareness about its associated impacts, was also underscored.  
14. In addition to national experiences, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) reported on 
the activities to promote sustainable forest management and strengthen long-term political 
commitment to this end. The Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) presented the Convention's work related to 
legal and illegal trade of forest products and other species. At the last Conference of Parties (COP), 
a significant number of timber species had been listed in the CITES Appendices.  
1.1.2.2  Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform 
15. At the June meeting, New Zealand reported on the key points from a roundtable on fossil 
fuel subsidy reform jointly hosted by the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform5, the United States 
and the World Bank on 11 April 2014. The event was an opportunity to support reform efforts by 
providing participants with (1) updates on peer review processes currently under way through the 
G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); (2) first-hand accounts from countries about their reform experiences; and (3) briefings from international organisations on the tools and 
initiatives available to support the reform. 
16. Several delegations welcomed the presentation. Some delegations highlighted that the fossil 
fuel subsidy peer review was a voluntary process taking place under the G20, without any linkages 
                                               
5 The Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform is a grou p of non-G20 countries that support the reform of 
inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The Friends group (New Zealand, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, 
Norway, Sweden and Switzerland) was formed in June 2010 to support G20 and APEC leaders’ commitments to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. WT/CTE/21 
 
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  to the WTO, and were of the view that the CT E was not the appropriate venue to discuss those 
reforms. Other delegations pointed to the broad CTE mandate and considered such information sharing to be useful.  
1.1.2.3  Preventing and removing trade restrictions in the natural gas sector 
17. At the October meeting, Qatar presented on the environmental benefits of preventing and 
removing trade restrictions on natural gas as a source of clean energy. According to Qatar, the 
products covered by the seven HS-6 tariff lines encompassing the natural gas sector are still facing 
important trade barriers, such as high bound and applied tariff rates. Qatar also reported on 
various projects aimed at enhancing the country's environmental performance. Some delegations expressed the view that reducing barriers to natural gas trade could further environmental 
protection. One delegation was of the view that the imposition of export restrictions on fossil fuels 
was not a suitable measure to protect the environment. 
1.2  Paragraph 32(iii) – "Labelling requ irements for environmental purposes" 
18. At the June meeting, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 
provided an update of their on-going proj ect on environmental labelling, underlining the 
importance of moving towards internationally recognised standards to tackle the issues associated with the multiplicity of environmental labelling schemes, such as inaccurate claims; systemic 
favouring of domestic over international producers; and lack of harmonization of domestic 
regulations regarding particular self-made environmental claims.  
19. Several delegations expressed support for the OECD work and welcomed further discussions 
on this subject. Several also reiterated their concern regarding the impact of the multiplicity of 
environmental labelling schemes on market access, especially for developing countries. 
China shared its experience with environmental labelling and underscored the importance of 
bilateral and international cooperation agreements in order to avoid restrictions on trade. 
1.3  Other Paragraph 32 items 
1.3.1  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." 
20. Following requests by several delegations, the CTE received at the June meeting an informal 
presentation by the WTO Secretariat on "Environment-related Case Law under GATT Article XX". 
2  OTHER BUSINESS 2.1  Initiative on Environmental Goods Agreement 
21. At the June meeting, Canada reported briefly on the Initiative on Environmental Goods 
announced at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in January 2014 and noted that 
participants in this plurilateral initiative were committed to transparency.6  Canada also noted that 
any agreement concluded would be implemented once a critical mass of participating members 
was reached, and would be done on a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) basis.  China underscored the 
importance to accommodate the concerns of participants with different development levels and 
avoid the misuse of the environmental concept. At  the October meeting, Costa Rica, on behalf of 
the representative of Australia, provided an u pdate on the progress of the Environmental Goods 
Agreement negotiations. Following its formal launch on 8 July 2014, two negotiating rounds had been held to discuss the identification of po ssible environmental products, which would be 
nominated under an agreed list of environmental product categories. A third round would take 
place in December 2014. The initiative remained open to other WTO Members similarly committed to liberalization of trade in environmental goods.   
                                               
6 Australia; Canada; China; Costa Rica; European Unio n; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Republic of Korea; 
New Zealand; Norway; Switzerland; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; and the United States.  WT/CTE/21 
 
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  22. Several delegations welcomed this transparency exercise and further information sharing 
was encouraged. Several delegations expressed co ncern regarding the status of the initiative 
including its possible link to the CTESS negotiations under Paragraph 31 (iii) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and noted its genesis outside the WTO and pursuant to a separate 
mandate. One delegation queried what definition of environmental goods was being used and 
whether the elimination of non-tariff barriers had been contemplated.  Some delegations expressed concern on the negotiation of plurilater al arrangements and others indicated that any 
such initiative should include goods of interest to developing countries, in particular biodiverse and 
organic goods, and that it was important that the results be extended on an MFN basis.  
2.2  APEC Environmental Goods List 23. At the June meeting, China reported on the meeting of the APEC Ministers Responsible for 
Trade held in May 2014. A stand-alone statement was made on strengthening the multilateral 
trading system that reaffirmed the commitment to implement the APEC environmental goods list 
by the end of 2015. APEC leaders also directed Mi nisters to explore opportunities in the WTO to 
build on the APEC environmental goods commitment. 
2.3  Briefings by observer organizations 2.3.1  International organizations 
24. At the June meeting, the United Nations Co nference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 
presented the activities of the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS)7, created in 2013 
and focusing on private sustainability standard s and the role of governments in making such 
standards work for public policy objectives  and sustainable market transformation. 
25. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNE P) presented the decisions adopted at the 
first United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), held in Nairobi in June 2014. Sixteen 
decisions and resolutions were adopted to encourage international action on major environmental 
issues, including sustainable development goals, illegal trade in wildlife, and air pollution. UNEP 
also reported on the first Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE)8 Conference held in 
Dubai in March 2014. Finally, UNEP informed the CTE on the launch and activities of the Green 
Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP)9, which aimed at: (i) developing collaborative research 
committees in charge of identifying and addressi ng knowledge gaps in green growth theory and 
practice; (ii) managing knowledge through a dedi cated web platform; and (iii) sharing knowledge 
with practitioners and policymakers through social media and a series of events, conferences, and 
workshops.  
26. At the October meeting, UNEP provided an update on their latest trade-related activities, 
including a study on south-south trade of select ed environmental goods and country projects on 
green economy and trade opportunities.  One delegation expressed concerns on the concept of 
green economy and highlighted that, according to the Rio+20 outcome document, "The Future We Want", there were other approaches for sustainable development and encouraged UNEP to also 
promote them. 
27. The OECD presented on the recent studies and workshops organized on the increasing 
number of RTAs with comprehensive environmenta l provisions. According to a recent survey 
undertaken by the OECD, one of the main poli cy drivers behind the decision to include 
environmental provisions in RTAs was the desire to  ensure that the parties would not weaken their 
environmental regulation to promote trade or attract investment.  
28. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented the 2014 
report on the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA). Total world fisheries production 
                                               
7 The UNFSS is a joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 
the International Trade Center (ITC), UNCTAD, the Un ited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the 
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 
8 PAGE is a one-off UN initiative between UNEP, UNIDO, the United Nations Institute for Training and 
Research (UNITAR), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). 
9 The GGPK is a joint initiative established prior to the UN Rio+20 Conference, by the World Bank, 
OECD, UNEP and the Global Green Growth Institute. WT/CTE/21 
 
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  had continued to reach new highs in recent years, with fishery products becoming one of the most 
traded food products. The 2014 SOFIA also underscored the increasing number of fish stocks being overfished as well as the increasing importance of aquaculture. 
29. Some delegations highlighted the importance of  the fishery sector in the work of the CTE 
and the WTO. Several delegations also expressed concerns about the present pace of fish stock 
depletion and overexploitation, and on the issue of  fisheries subsidies. The need to specifically 
address subsidies granted to large fishing operations and to take into account the special 
conditions of developing countries was highlighte d. One delegation emphasized the importance of 
artisanal fishing to developing countries and noted the need to address the issues of technical assistance and illegal, unreporte d and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 
2.3.2  Multilateral Environmental Agreements 
30. At the June meeting, CITES reported on their recent activities, in particular a joint 
programme with ITTO aimed at ensuring the legality, sustainability and traceability of CITES-listed 
timber products.  
31. At the October meeting, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 
(UNFCCC) provided, through videoconference, an upda te of the current state-of-play of the climate 
change negotiations, including the UN Climate Summit, held on 23 September 2014. The current 
roadmap of the negotiations was aimed at reaching a binding agreement at the 2015 COP in Paris. 
One delegation highlighted its commitment to th e adoption of a legally binding international 
agreement in 2015 that would be applicable to all Parties; and to raising the global level of mitigation ambition before 2020 in accordance with the requirements of science. 
32. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela informed on the organization of a social pre-COP to be 
held in Venezuela, prior to the Lima COP in De cember 2014, with the aim of bringing together 
governments, social movements and organizations to discuss how to achieve successful results 
in 2015. 
33. At the October meeting, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reported on the recent 
meetings of the COP to the CBD, Cartagena Protoc ol on Biosafety and Nagoya Protocol on Access 
to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from their 
Utilization. Relevant trade-related activities includ ed: an upcoming analytical study on identifying 
harmful subsidies for biodiversity that should be eliminated, phased out or reformed; and the adoption of voluntary guidelines on addressing invasive alien species.  
2.4  Briefings by the WTO Secretariat on trade and environment issues 
34. At the October meeting, the WTO Secretariat made a presentation on the "Types of 
Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements". The CTE was also briefed by the 
WTO Secretariat on recent developments concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
 
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  ANNEX 1:  ITEMS OF THE CTE WORK PROGRAMME 
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. 
Item 2: The relationship between environmental policies relevant to trade and 
environmental measures with significant trade effects and the provisions of the multilateral 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 
requirements for environmental purposes relating to products, including standards 
and technical regulations, packaging, labelling and recycling. 
Item 4: The provisions of the multilateral trad ing system with respect to the transparency 
of trade measures used for environmental purposes and environmental measures 
and requirements which have significant trade effects. 
Item 5: The relationship between the disput e settlement mechanisms in the multilateral 
trading system and those found in mu ltilateral environmental agreements. 
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 issue of exports of domestically prohibited goods. 
Item 8: The relevant provisions of the Agreem ent 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. 
 
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 WT/CTE/21 
 
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  ANNEX 2: PARTS OF THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA THAT RELATE TO THE WORK OF 
THE CTE REGULAR  
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, 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;  (ii) the relevant provisions of the Agreemen t on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights; and 
 (iii) labelling requirements for environmental purposes. 
 
Work on these issues should include the identifica tion of any need to clarify relevant WTO rules. 
The Committee 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 out 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 th e Agreement 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 assist ance and capacity building in the field of trade 
and environment to developing countries, in part icular the least-developed among them. We also 
encourage that expertise and experience be  shared with members wishing to perform 
environmental reviews at the national 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 developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations, in order to help achieve the objective of having 
sustainable development appropriately reflected. 
  
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