WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/W/247 
29 October 2010 
 (10-5760) 
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:   English 
  
 
TECHNOLOGY DISSEMINATION  
 
Communication by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
 
  
 The following communication, dated 28 October 2010, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposes that the Committee on Trade and Environment in 
regular session (CTE) examine barriers to the dissemination of key environmental technologies.  Technology dissemination was raised by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the 29 September 2010 CTE meeting.  The Kingdom now wishes to advan ce this initiative through additional information and 
specific proposals. 
2. It is clear that technology will play an increasingly important role in addressing 
environmental concerns for the foreseeable future .  The CTE should consider trade barriers that 
prevent the diffusion of such technologies on a timely  and commercial basis.  Such issues should be 
addressed from a broad systemic basis.   
II. NEED TO ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO  TECHNOLOGY DISSEMINATION  
3. The deployment and dissemination of key tec hnologies is essential to address environmental 
concerns.  The high equipment and operating cost s involved with such technologies inhibit their 
widespread deployment.   
4. The reduction and removal of trade barriers, pa rticularly non-tariff barriers (NTBs), will 
lower costs and lead to greater technology availability through commercialization.  
Commercialization will in turn dr ive innovation and further improvement of such technologies.  It 
will facilitate public and private investment in thes e industries, thus increasing the choices available 
for Members to address environmental concerns. 
5. New, highly sophisticated technologies, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), are more 
expensive than competing conventional technol ogies, and incentives are needed to support 
commercialization and broad scale deployment.  Conventional technologies have established supply 
chain systems and enjoy market advantages arising from existing infrastructure, services and institutions.  Shifts in technolog y take time, and dissemination can take years before new technologies 
become widely accepted and economically competitive.  WT/CTE/W/247 
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  6. New environmental technologies thus face a disa dvantage when competing on a direct cost 
basis with conventional technologies, because the be nefits they provide to the environment is 
typically not reflected (or not fully reflected) in market prices and related investment decisions.  
7. Moreover, due to their high costs and investment requirements, highly sophisticated 
environmental technologies can be particularly sensitive to market signals and incentives.  The 
reduction of NTBs to technology dissemination w ould provide a positive signal to the market and 
enhance deployment. 
8. Incentives to support wide scale commercialization of key environmental technologies are 
necessary in order to promote their unique environmental benefits.  Investments are required now to ensure their long-term dissemination, availability  and use.  Cooperation among Members to facilitate 
market access will encourage technology investment. 
III. THE ROLE OF THE CTE  
9. To provide the necessary enabling structure, Me mbers need to identify and eliminate barriers 
to the dissemination of environmental technologies.   Members should examine what trade measures 
impose costs and risk to the privat e sector and thus prevent the indus try from capturing the rewards of 
deploying these highly effective methods.  
10. The CTE has the mandate to play an important  role in addressing technology dissemination 
concerns.  Under paragraph 32(i) of the Doha Decl aration, the CTE is charged with examining "the 
effect of environmental measures on market access, esp ecially 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 benef it trade, the environment and development."  The 
discussion of concerns related to technology disse mination fits clearly within this mandate.   
11. A number of non-tariff measures, such as standards and labeling, are already under discussion 
in the CTE.  Yet standards and labeling are just two of the types of NTBs that inhibit technology 
dissemination.  The CTE could consider other measures as well. 
12. The discussion in the CTE under the agenda item on the First part of Paragraph 32(i) – "The 
effect of environmental measures on market access" would thus assist Members to identify barriers to 
technology dissemination and identify strategi es and opportunities to overcome them.     
IV. NEXT STEPS  
13. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposes three st eps to advance the technology dissemination 
issue in the CTE. 
14. First, the CTE may wish to invite representa tives from relevant organi zations with expertise 
in this area to provide short briefings.  The pur pose of the briefings would be to impart essential 
information rather than to advocate any positions , and it would provide Members with the necessary 
factual basis for further work on this issue. 
15. Second, the Kingdom invites Members to share their own national experiences – positive and 
negative – with respect to technology dissemination during the discussions in the CTE. 
16. Third, the CTE could organize a workshop to discuss the trade impediments that inhibit the 
dissemination of key technologies.  The workshop could include experts to discuss barriers to 
technology dissemination, and the trade policies that promote or inhibit it.  WT/CTE/W/247 
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  17. Technology dissemination has a vital role to pl ay in protecting the environment, and should 
be discussed in the CTE in a concrete way to pr omote the development, trade and environmental 
interests of all Members.   
 
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