RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/M/49 
7 April 2010 
 (10-1825) 
Committee on Trade and Environment  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 17 FEBRUARY 2010 
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
  
1. The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE Regular) met on 17 February 2010 under 
the Chairmanship of Ambassador Bozkurt Aran (Turkey).
1  The first agenda item was on 
Paragraph 32 of the Doha Development Agen da (DDA), which included Paragraph 32(i) on 
environmental requirements and market access (pages 1-5)  and Paragraph 32 (iii) on labelling for 
environmental purposes (pages 5-6).  It was follo wed by Paragraph 33 of the DDA on technical 
assistance and capacity building, and environmenta l reviews, and Paragr aph 51 on environmental 
aspects of the negotiations (page 6).  Under other bus iness, the CTE took up the following subjects:  
trade and climate change (pages 6-8);  environmen t and regional trade ag reements (page 8); and 
information exchange by the Convention on Biological Diversity (pages 8-10).  
I. PARAGRAPH 32 
A. PARAGRAPH 32(I) (ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS AND MARKET ACCESS ) 
The effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to developing 
countries, in particular the least-developed am ong them, and those situations in which the 
elimination or reduction of trade restric tions and distortions w ould benefit trade, the 
environment and development.  
2. The Chairman  recalled that at the 20 November 2009 meeting, a number of developing 
country Members had reiterated their concerns on market access difficulties due to the rapid 
proliferation of private standards.  In addition, a number of delegations had raised concerns on the 
effectiveness, challenges and possible trade impacts of carbon footprint and labelling schemes.  In this 
regard, it had been suggested to look into recent in itiatives developed at the international and national 
levels.   
3. Consequently, an Information Session on Pr oduct Carbon Footprint and Labelling Schemes 
had been held in the morning of 17 February 2010, prior to the meeting.  The Chairman believed that 
the Information Session had been timely, as there had been a growing interest among various stakeholders in assessing the carbon footprint of products over the last two years.  Various carbon footprint standards and labelling schemes had been de veloped, intended for different stakeholders and 
addressing different needs.  The Session had high lighted the importance of harmonizing and aligning 
methodology and reflected the challenge of achie ving the right balance between practicality and 
environmental credibility.  He hoped the Session ha d improved understanding of the complex nature 
of carbon footprint standards and labelling schemes and would enhance dialogue  and collaboration on 
this issue at the international level.   
                                                     
 
1 The airgram convening this meeting was circulated in document WTO/AIR/3494, dated 
21 January 2010. WT/CTE/M/49 
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  4. Presentations at the Information Session touched upon:  (i) recent OECD studies identifying 
the difficulties and challenges in implementing carbon footprin t schemes in areas such as 
documentation, methodology and conformity assessment procedures;  (ii) national experience by the 
United Kingdom (UK) in developing the Publicly Available Specification (PAS 2050) that has been adopted by a number of leading retailers to me asure embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 
goods and services;  and (iii) current efforts at the international level to harmonize carbon footprint 
standards – the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative on Accounting and Repor ting Standard in the 
corporate value chain;  the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard on emissions of individual products;  as well as the ISO 14067 standard, aimed to be finalized in 2011, that provides 
guidance on requirements and procedures for communicating carbon footprint.
2  
5. The representative of Australia  thanked the Secretariat for organizing the Information 
Session, which had been requested by Australia, Ne w Zealand and other Members.  She believed that 
the comments made by Kenya, Argentina, New Zeal and and others at the Session had shown the need 
to ensure that any standards developed were prope rly designed so that their environmental objectives 
were clear and they were accessible to all, incl uding both domestic and foreign companies.  These 
standards also needed to be easily implemented so as to avoid any potential trade distortions or create 
unnecessary barriers to trade.  During the Information Session, Kenya raised a question on how governments approached mutual recognition of nati onal standards, in particular when work on 
harmonization and international sta ndards remained to be completed;  this was an area of potential 
future work for the CTE.  Referring to the UK's  experience sharing on PAS 2050, she saw value for 
further opportunities in the CTE to obtain informa tion on national experiences in the development of 
carbon footprinting and labelling measures.   
6. She believed that there was a degree of overlap between the CTE discussion on carbon 
footprint standards and labelling schemes under para graph 32(i) on environmental requirements and 
market access and under paragra ph 32(iii) on labelling for envir onmental purposes.  This overlap 
should be avoided where possible, and Australia  supported that the discussion take place under 
paragraph 32(iii). 
7. The representative of the United States (US
) found the Information Session useful and 
appreciated the effort to bring together e xperts to improve Members' understanding on carbon 
footprint and labelling schemes.  She found that th e presentations, for the most part, had aimed at 
private owner standards and/or joint government pr ivate standards employed exclusively by private 
entities.  The same had been the case for the 2009 Workshop on Environment-related Private 
Standards.  She believed that the discussion in the CTE under agenda item pa ragraph 32(i) should be 
limited to government environmental measures.  While such a discussion might include reference to 
privately developed standards that had been or woul d be incorporated by government into technical 
regulations, it should not include private standards th at could not be attributed to a government.  This 
was relevant in light of WTO dispute settlement e xperience and reports, namely that WTO rules were 
generally targeted at State action rather than purely private conduct.   
8. She believed that it was important to consider how the term "measures" was used in the CTE 
terms of reference, and "measures" under Para graph 32(i) meant governmental actions.  The CTE 
discussions should be Member-driven and, in th at regard, the US welcomed presentations by 
Members on what their governments were doing in th e area of carbon footprinting and labelling.  She 
had heard that New Zealand had done work with  its key export industries to better measure and 
understand their carbon footprint, and France was em barking on mandatory carbon labelling in 2011.  
She invited these delegations and other Members to make presentations and suggest ideas on how the 
CTE might structure discussion under this agenda item .  She reiterated the ne ed to separate private 
commercial activities from government "measures" in the context of Paragraph 32(i).  She clarified 
                                                      
2 A report on the Information Session, prepared by the Secretariat, will be issued in due course.    WT/CTE/M/49 
 Page 3 
 
 
  that the US was not opposing the discussions on either private standards or government measures, but 
Members should not confuse the two under Paragraph 32(i). 
9. The representative of Saudi Arabia  appreciated the Information Session and reiterated his 
delegation's concerns on the use of private standa rds to measure carbon footprint.  Such measures 
would constitute non-tariff barriers and a form of disguised protectionism.  Private standards that 
differentiated between products on the basis of non-product related processes and production methods 
(PPMs) raised serious issues under WTO rules.  Meeting voluntary standards was burdensome, 
particularly to developing countries.  He agreed  that the CTE discussion should be Member-driven 
and government measures should be the ones to be discussed.   
10. The representative of India  said that it was important to design conformity assessment 
procedures that could objectively assess that the carbon footprint standard requirements had been 
complied with.  In the absence of proper procedures , such standards could create confusion.  It was 
necessary to take into account the cost involved, wh ich could impact on developing countries and, in 
particular, on SMEs.  He agreed with the view expressed by Saudi Arabia on non-product related 
PPM standards. 
11. The representative of the European Union (EU ) appreciated the Information Session, which 
had improved Members' understanding on carbon/GHG f ootprint measures.  There was the need to 
obtain information and knowledge in order to take ac tion, and action was urgently required to tackle 
climate change.  He hoped that these tools would be further refined in order to enable action to be 
taken to combat climate change.  He recalled that the importance of involvement of stakeholders in 
standardization activities had been highlighted at the Information Session.  He welcomed the fact that 
many countries had been involved in the process.   
12. He reiterated the EU's view that, while it was u seful to debate situations that might affect 
trade, Members had to bear in mind that the work of the WTO was focused on measures and disciplines as applied to governments.  This had to be kept in mind in order to decide or frame any 
debate on private initiatives.     
13. Referring to the carbon footprint initiative in France, he said that there was work being 
carried out to study the possible application of carbon/GHG footprint labelling.  The process was ongoing and, currently, decisions had yet to be made.  Regulators had to bear in mind the 
development at the international level, as discussions  were being held there as well.  If a measure 
were to be adopted in France, then it coul d be discussed in an appropriate forum. 
14. The representative of Colombia
 thanked the speakers for the presentations made at the 
Information Session.  He highlighted the importance of taking into account the trade restrictive effects 
of this type of measure on developing country expo rts.  He raised concerns on the proliferation of 
private environmental standards and highlighted  the importance to ensure harmonization and 
transparency when developing such standards.  He said that, based on past experience, there was 
inadequate transparency in private standard develo pment, which could have a trade restrictive effect 
particularly for SMEs in developing countries. 
15. The representative of Argentina  reiterated her country's position on private standards. She 
said that private standards were often more restric tive than official requirements in the environmental 
field and could therefore represent obstacles to intern ational trade.  Argentina would not want these 
standards to become de facto  requirements for market access.  These requirements could impact on 
developing countries due to their limited financial and technical capacities.  She believed it would be 
useful to identify possible tools or methodologies to measure the impact of such standards on market 
access, particularly for developing countries.   WT/CTE/M/49 
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  16. She said that the proliferation of private st andards and labels c ould cause confusion for 
consumers.  She noted that ther e were eco-labelling schemes under de velopment by various Members, 
and believed that one should bear them in mind.  It  would be useful for the CTE to be informed of 
these schemes developed by Members.  She believed that many private standards were based on only 
certain aspects of the life cycle of a product, whereas the entire life cycle should be covered.  She was 
doubtful of the environmental benefit of measures re lated to food miles and local purchase.  Studies 
had shown that purchasing locally produced prod ucts did not necessarily lead to GHG emissions 
lower than goods produced and transported a long  distance.  She believed that local purchase 
initiatives were not in line with international trad e rules and could have an impact on developing 
countries.   
17. Referring to the 1992 Rio Declaration, she said that there should be a proper balance between 
the goals of trade liberalisation and the protection of the environment and sustainable development.  
In this regard, environmental measures – private and public – should be desi gned and implemented in 
compliance with WTO rules and not lead to disguised restrictions on international trade.  They should 
be based on science, developed with transparency in  an inclusive way, through consultation with full 
participation of Members affected and concerne d.  Particular emphasis should be placed on 
participation by developing countries, and this included the development of international standards 
(e.g. in the ISO and WRI).  Environmental standards should be in line with the Code of Good Practice 
for the Preparation, Application and Implementation of Standards (Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement).   
18. She suggested that it would be useful for th e CTE to look at the work being done in the ad 
hoc group on private standards within the framewo rk of the SPS Committee.  The SPS Committee and 
the CTE could develop a joint working group on private standards.   
19. The representative of Turkey
 thanked the Secretariat for organizing the Information Session 
and found it useful and comprehensive.  He said that as consumers, producers, regulators and 
stakeholders increased their awareness of the environment, environmental requirements, namely mandatory technical regulations a nd voluntary standards, were increasing.  The importance of private 
voluntary standards was rising.  The difference between voluntary and mandatory requirements was 
not felt by the exporters or producers, since even if these standards were predominantly voluntary, 
they became obligatory to access cer tain markets.  Currently, there were more than 400 different 
environmental labels, making it difficult for pro ducers and exporters to comprehend.  It was 
challenging and costly for developing country expo rters to meet these requirements, and that could 
limit their market access, in particular for SMEs.  Caution should be taken in designing and 
implementing private environmental certification and labelling schemes.  Global cooperation was 
needed to increase awareness and knowledge on current standards and to further the transparency and 
harmonization of standards and conf ormity assessment procedures.   
20. He believed that climate change related initia tives, such as carbon footprinting, food miles 
and buy local campaigns, might increase in the comi ng years.  As mentioned at the Information 
Session, a number of carbon footprinting schemes were being developed by private sectors in 
developed countries, such as Tesco and Walmart.  Turkey was of the view that carbon footprint 
schemes should not become disguised protectionism, as was the case for certain private standards.  In 
this respect, it was crucial that governments remind private sector bodies within their jurisdiction that 
they should be guided by the Code of Good Practi ce for the Preparation, Adaptation and Application 
of Standards of the TBT Agreement (Annex 3) to  ensure that their schemes were not creating 
unnecessary obstacles to trade.  He invited other Members to share national experiences and 
challenges on both private standards and carbon footprint.  
21. Referring to the intervention by the US, he be lieved that Paragraph 32(i) did not make any 
distinction between governmental a nd private standards, and the manda te was directly related to the 
effects of environmental measures on market access.    WT/CTE/M/49 
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  22. The representative of China  thanked the Secretariat for organising the Information Session, 
echoing the view expressed by Colombia on privat e standards and carbon footprint labelling schemes.  
Based on previous discussions, he had the impression that all Members shared the common objective of preventing environmental standards and measures,  be they governmental or private, from being 
abused to create arbitrary and unjustified discrimina tion on market access.  He said that unfortunately 
such actions had increased following the outbreak  of the financial crisis.  Increasingly complex 
environmental standards and measures had created  difficulties in market access, especially for 
developing countries.  China encouraged Memb ers to continue to work on issues such as 
transparency, notification, impact  assessment and technology transfer, so as to strike a reasonable 
balance between environmental pr otection and trade facilitation. 
23. The representative of Kenya
 thanked the speakers for the pr esentations at the Information 
Session.  He said that it was clear that there were numerous grey areas and unanswered questions in the calculation of carbon footprint in the entire life cycle of products.  This was likely to complicate 
market access, particularly for SMEs.  He said that it was important not to rush into adopting 
standards and labelling schemes as mandatory requirements. 
24. The Committee took note
 of the statements made.  
B. PARAGRAPH 32(III) (LABELLING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PURPOSES ) 
25. The representative of the European Union  recalled that his delegation had proposed to work 
under this agenda item with a more positive approach .  He said there was merit in looking at how 
companies could actually seize the opportuniti es created by eco-labelling schemes.   
26. Eco-labelling schemes had been developed in  various countries, and relevant national 
experiences could be shared in the CTE, for inst ance, on the opportunities created from the labelling 
schemes.  This could include schemes in both deve loped and developing countries.  He said that it 
would be interesting to be informed of devel oping country experiences regarding their national 
labelling schemes, giving the example of the Brazilian eco-labelling scheme;  the China 
Environmental Labelling Program under the Environmen tal United Certification Centre;  the Ecomark 
Scheme in India;  the Indonesian eco-label progr am;  the Green Mark in Chinese Taipei;  the Green 
Label in Singapore;  the Thai Green Label and the Livi ng Planet Scheme in Ukraine.  He believed that 
by sharing information on these schemes, the Committee c ould have a clearer picture, in particular, on 
how countries sought to provide opportunities for domestic companies under domestic schemes.  He 
invited comments from other Members on his proposal.   
27. He said that the EU, together with the Ge rman Government, was funding a UNEP project 
aimed at facilitating and assisting companies, particularly in developing countries, to seize the opportunities of eco-labelling.  This project covered eco-labelling in general, and not on a particular 
scheme (e.g. the EU label).  A further debate in  the CTE, drawing on UNEP expertise, would be 
helpful to obtain a clear view on the kind of initiatives and issues the Committee could work on.  He 
invited a representative from UNEP to brief the CTE on the UNEP Eco-labelling project. 
28. The representative of UNEP
 gave a presentation on the UNEP Eco-labelling project.3     
29. The representative of Argentina  thanked the representative of UNEP for the presentation.  Her 
delegation's view was that eco-labelling schemes s hould conform to TBT rules and should not create 
unnecessary barriers to international trade, nor establish discrimination among countries.  The 
possibility of alternative solutions to labelling, wh ere the same environmental protection objectives 
could be achieved without creating unnecessary barriers to trade, should be reviewed. 
                                                      
3 See Annex I. WT/CTE/M/49 
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  30. The Committee took note
 of the statements made.  
II. PARAGRAPH 33 
We recognize the importance of technical assistance and capacity building in the 
field of trade and environment to d eveloping countries, in particular the 
least-developed among them.  We also en courage that expertise and experience be 
shared with Members wishing to perform envi ronmental reviews at the national level.   
A. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
31. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
B. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS  
32. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
III. PARAGRAPH 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 sustai nable development appropriately reflected. 
33. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
IV. OTHER BUSINESS 
A. TRADE AND CLIMATE CHANGE  
34. The Chairman  recalled that at the 20 November 2009 meeting, a representative from the 
Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Conve ntion on Climate Change (UNFCCC) briefed the 
CTE on the state of play in the pre-Copenhagen negotiations.  In 2009, the CTE had discussed, on a 
preliminary basis, some issues related to climate change under the agenda item "other business."  In 
October 2009, and also prior to this 17 Februa ry 2010 meeting, the Chairman held informal 
consultations to seek delegations' views on how to proceed with the discussions on this subject at 
future meetings.   
35. At these consultations, Members had reiterate d the importance of sequencing the CTE work 
with the negotiations taking place in the UNFCCC, th e main international forum dealing with climate 
change.  He recalled the underlying consensus at  the 2007 Bali Trade Ministers' Dialogue on Climate 
Change that a cooperative international agreement was the necessary first step  in the fight against 
climate change.  He said that the Copenhagen Summit had now taken place, and climate change 
negotiators were currently working towards a le gally binding climate agreement in Mexico in 
November 2010.  At the informal consultation prior to this meeting, delega tions had confirmed that 
this sequencing approach should remain th e preference in the post-Copenhagen phase. 
36. He understood that, meanwhile, delegations gene rally wished to proceed cautiously, instead 
of embarking in a formal debate on trade and climate change at the WTO.  In particular, they wished 
to avoid any discussion that could affect the pos ition of countries in the context of the UNFCCC 
process.  He believed that that while climate negotiators were working towards a multilateral 
outcome, the WTO, and in particular the CTE, should not sit idle.  He recalled that at the informal 
consultations, delegations had expressed their readiness to review specific topics at the intersection of 
trade and climate change and to be kept abreast of recent developments on trade and climate change  WT/CTE/M/49 
 Page 7 
 
 
  issues.  A number of topics had been suggested by delegations, for instance carbon labelling, the 
impact of transport on CO2 emissions and the effect of trade liberalization on climate change.  He 
believed such information exchange could take place in  the context of the CTE agenda – the nature of 
which was fairly broad – and could add value to the current debate.  He emphasized that the CTE 
discussion on the various issues at the intersection of  trade and climate change should be driven by 
Members, avoiding duplication with work done by other organizations. 
37. The representative of China  thanked the Chairman for recapitu lating the discussion held in the 
informal consultations.  He recalled that delega tions attending the consultations had stressed the 
importance of sequencing and that the CTE should be cautious in discussing the relationship between 
trade and climate change.  Some delegations had also emphasized that the CTE discussion should be 
Member-driven.  There had been no objection to  the CTE being briefed on the development of the 
climate change negotiations.  On the list of trade and climate change topics suggested by delegations 
for information exchange, he recalled that at the informal consultations, there had been no consensus 
reached, and believed that it would be helpful to hold further consultations  in this regard.   
38. The representative of Argentina  said that it would be useful to invite the Secretariat of the 
UNFCCC to brief the CTE on the results of the 15th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC held in 
December 2009 in Copenhagen and to provide the CTE with information on the climate negotiations 
in 2010, particularly with respect to trade and climate change.   
39. The representative of Saudi Arabia  shared most of the views expressed by China.  He said 
that, while he shared the sequential approach indi cated in the Chair's summary, he did not share the 
view to link environmental issues of climate change to relevant work of WTO bodies.  He believe that 
any such work would prejudge the outcome of the UNFCCC process.  Saudi Arabia did not support 
such prejudgment and therefore did not see the need or  the value for the CTE to carry out any work, in 
that direction, at this time. 
40. The representative of the European Union  said that the view that the CTE should have no 
discussion on trade and climate change would restri ct the mandate of the Committee.  The CTE's 
mandate provided the possibility of discussing some  aspects of trade and climate change.  His 
delegation had identified the topic of the impact of transport on CO2 emissions.  He could go along 
with the suggestion made by China to hold further consultations on the topics to be covered in the 
information sessions.  He reiterated that th e CTE mandate should not be narrowed down. 
41. The representative of New Zealand  thanked the Secretariat for giving a presentation on the 
WTO/UNEP Trade and Climate Change Report the prev ious day.  She agreed that only after the 
achievement of a multilateral agreement on climate change should the WTO develop a response to the 
new agreement.  Nonetheless, she welcomed the Repor t as a valuable contribution to the debate on the 
nexus between trade and climate ch ange and believed that the present ation of the Report had provided 
a useful start for the CTE's deliberations on trade and climate change.  Delegations had been given a 
sense of the wide range of complex issues that aro se at the interface of trade and climate change.  
New Zealand's view was that this area was still evol ving and that issues continued to emerge.  It was 
an area that the CTE must take time to study and an alyse closely so that mutually supportive trade and 
climate change objectives could be achieved. 
42. The representative of Australia  supported the intervention by New Zealand and found the 
presentation on the Trade and Climate Change Report useful.  Australia was among those delegations 
that had requested the presentation, and was of th e view that the presenta tion could form a useful 
starting point for discussion in the CTE. 
43. The representative of Saudi Arabia , referring to the Report on Trade and Climate Change, 
reiterated his delegation's position, and said that arguments could be made either way;  some were WT/CTE/M/49 
Page 8  
 
  factual and some opinionated.  He thanked the S ecretariat for the Report and took note of it.  
However, in Saudi Arabia's view, the CTE should not be discussing the Report. 
44. The representative of Argentina
 said that the Report on Trade and Climate Change, prepared 
by the WTO and UNEP Secretariats, did not represent the views of Members.  Some of the trade aspects of climate change measures referred to in the Report, for instance carbon trading, had not been 
studied in relevant WTO bodies.  On GHG emission s, she believed that one should have a balance 
view to look at the historic background of devel oped and developing countri es and take into account 
the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities – one of the key aspects of the UNFCCC.  
45. The representative of Canada
 said that in Canada's view, the joint initiative between the WTO 
and UNEP on the Report on Trade and Climate Change  was an excellent example of information 
exchange between trade and environment communities.   It was in line with the Marrakech Decision 
on Trade and Environment, which had tasked th e CTE to address "the relationship between the 
provisions of the multilateral trading system and trade measures for environmental purposes including 
those pursuant to multilateral environmental agreemen ts."  He thanked the Secretariat for the Report 
and echoed some of the comments that this work was appropriate. 
46. The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
B. ENVIRONMENT AND REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENT  
47. The representative of the European Union  said that the EU, in the future, would make a 
presentation on environment and regional trade agre ements in conjunction with partner countries, 
should it be deemed appropriate.  Currently, ther e were a number of agreem ents under negotiation and 
some negotiations had been finalised.  He would wait for the signature of the agreements before 
briefing the CTE.   
48. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
C. CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
49. The representative of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD ) said 
that the United Nations General As sembly had proclaimed 2010 the Inte rnational Year of Biodiversity 
to coincide with the deadline adopted by Govern ments in 2002 to achieve a significant reduction in 
the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. Launc hed by German Chancello r Angela Merkel and UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on 11 January 2010,  the International Year of Biodiversity would 
provide opportunities to celebrate the diversity of life on the planet and its critical contribution to 
human well-being, while working to take steps need ed to combat its loss. An event of particular 
importance would be the high level meeting on biol ogical diversity of the UN General Assembly to 
take place in September 2010.  A number of importa nt meetings of subsidiary bodies of the CBD 
would take place in 2010 to prepare the decisions of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties 
(COP) to the Convention and the 5th meeting of the Parties to the Cart agena Protocol on Biosafety, to 
be convened in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. These meetings were taking place at a critical 
juncture in the life of the Convention, as the COP would assess attainment of the global 2010 biodiversity target and adopt a new and upda ted strategic plan for the Convention. 
50. The International Regime on Access and Bene fit-sharing related to genetic resources, 
scheduled for adoption by COP-10, was of equal impo rtance and particular relevance to the work of 
the CTE.  The fair and equitable sharing of benef its arising from the utilization of genetic resources 
was one of the three main objectives of the CBD . The Convention foresaw facilitated access to 
genetic resources in exchange for the fair and equ itable sharing of benefits based on four fundamental 
principles, namely:  (i) States have sovereign ri ghts over their natural resources, including genetic  WT/CTE/M/49 
 Page 9 
 
 
  resources;  (ii) Parties shall facilitate access to gene tic resources for environmentally sound uses;  (iii) 
access to genetic resources, where granted, as well as th e fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising 
out of the utilization of these genetic resources, sha ll be on mutually agreed terms;  and (iv) access 
shall be subject to the prior informed con sent of the Party providing such resources. 
51. He recalled that, the COPs to the CBD, with a view to provide effect to the pertinent 
provisions of the Convention, following a call by Heads of States and Governments at the World 
Summit on Environment and Sustainable Developmen t in Johannesburg in 2002, had launched the 
negotiation of an International Regime on Access a nd Benefit-sharing related to genetic resources and 
associated traditional knowledge.  In May 2008, COP- 9 had instructed the relevant subsidiary body – 
the Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing (A BS) – to continue and finalize the negotiation 
of the International Regime on Access and Benefit- sharing prior to COP-10 in October 2010.  The 
Working Group had met twice since then and had ma de considerable progress in the negotiation.  At 
its most recent meeting, in November 2009, th e Working Group had succeeded in putting together a 
single negotiating text embodying all the chapters and elements of the Internat ional Regime.  The next 
– and final – meeting of the Working Group would be held on 22-29 March 2010, in Cali, Colombia. 
Its objective would be to reach consensus on the text of the International Regime with a view to its 
submission for adoption by COP-10. 
52. The co-Chairs of the Working Group pointed out, at the end of the November 2009 meeting, 
that while some differences rema ined, there was a preponderant understanding among Parties that the 
negotiations aimed at finalizing a draft protocol to  the CBD.  The chapters dealing with traditional 
knowledge and capacity had reached an advanced st age of negotiations. There was broad agreement, 
in particular, on the wording of provisions in the Inte rnational Regime to ensure that the utilization of 
traditional knowledge associated with genetic resour ces was subject to prior informed consent of the 
indigenous and local communities con cerned and to mutually agreed te rms for the sharing of benefits 
derived from the use of such knowledge.  
53. However, more work remained to be done with  respect to the scope of application of the 
International Regime, which involved clarifying the meaning of some key terminology and concepts.  
More work was also required on the other main components, namely fair and equitable benefit-
sharing, access, and compliance.  With regard to  access, the concepts under consideration included 
developing international minimum conditions and standards related to access, developing model 
clauses for material transfer agreements, as well as non-discrimination in access rules.  The possibility 
of having simplified access rules for non-commer cial research and taxonomy was also under 
consideration.   
54. An important topic in the negotiations was how to monitor and enforce compliance with 
national ABS requirements once the genetic resources had left the country of origin. In this regard, the 
negotiators were considering a number of measures and tools, some of which were of particular 
interest to the work of the WTO.  These included:   clarification of the concepts of misappropriation 
and misuse of genetic resources;  identification of  best practices and codes of conduct for groups of 
users;  possible introduction of internationally r ecognized certificates issued by competent national 
authorities;  possible introduction of disclosure requi rements for patent applications;  and measures to 
facilitate access to justice.   
55. The challenge ahead was to forge consensus on these issues to the benefit of all Parties and 
stakeholders by providing a clear, simple and tr ansparent framework for access and benefit sharing 
that provides legal certainty for both providers a nd users of genetic resources.  He believed that a 
number of measures contemplated in the Internationa l Regime on ABS related to the work of the CTE WT/CTE/M/49 
Page 10  
 
  and the WTO, and that there was continued need  for close cooperation between the CBD and the 
WTO with a view to ensuring harmonization and mutual supportiveness.
4  
56. The representative of China  thanked the representative of the CBD for the update. 
57. The representative of Norway  welcomed the presentation on CBD's work and said that 
Norway had been supportive in that process.  With  a view to making trade and environment policies 
mutually supportive, Norway had also supported the work regarding the WTO TRIPS Agreement on 
disclosure requirements.  Relating to the scope of the new regime on biological resources, he sought 
clarification on the CBD's role on biological resour ces.  He also sought information on how the CBD 
negotiation on the ABS regime related to the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources 
for Food and Agriculture and how to ensure th at the new regime would not encroach upon the 
integrity of the FAO Treaty.   
58. The representative of the CBD , referring to the question on bi ological resources and the CBD, 
said that biological resources was a term used several  times in the Convention, starting with Article 2 
on Use of Terms, and the term had been proposed und er the scope section and in other sections of the 
draft text of the new regime.  With regard to the Plant Treaty, he said that it was an issue under 
negotiation and consideration.  In the draft text, there was a paragraph on plants and the FAO Plant 
Treaty had been referred to.  However, there was no consensus on the text.   
59. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
V. DATE OF NEXT MEETING 
60. The next meeting of the Committee will be held  in the second half of 2010, with the exact 
date to be announced nearer to the time. 
                                                      
4 Additional background information is available at http://www.cbd.int/abs/ir/ .    
 
 
 
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  WT/CTE/M/49 
 Page 11 
 
 
  ANNEX I 
 
UNEP Statement under Paragraph 32(i ii) on the UNEP Eco-labelling Project  
  
1. The representative of UNEP said that sustai nable consumption and production (SCP) was a 
global challenge.  Increasingly, consumers were c oncerned about the state of the environment, and 
they had a core role to play in a shift from resour ce inefficient and wasteful societies.  Trade offered 
the opportunity to improve environmental perfo rmance of products, whil e leveraging consumer 
demand for environmentally preferable production.   Eco-labelling, whic h linked production and 
consumption, had been identified as a key element of the SCP approach.  It was an information tool to 
guide consumer purchasing choice and for companie s to communicate environmental credentials.  
 2. The UNEP project, entitled "Enabling Deve loping Countries to Seize Eco-labelling 
Opportunities", was designed to promote the mu tual supportiveness of trade, environment and 
development.  It aimed to improve the effectiveness  of eco-labelling as a market instrument, realising 
the potential environmental benefits, and enha ncing market access for products from developing 
countries, in particular by SMEs.  The project focused on eco-label type 1 of ISO 14024 standard – voluntary market-based instruments based on environm ental impacts of products throughout their life-
cycle with independent third party conformity assessme nt.  The key objectives of the project were:  (i) 
through capacity building and technical assistance, to  increase the number of export products from 
target countries awarded with eco-labels;  and (ii)  to develop a road map towards greater cooperation 
and mutual recognition between eco-labelling schemes.   3. The project was co-funded by the EuropeAid and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germ any, and was carried out by the UNEP Branch of Sustainable 
Consumption and Production.  Coor dinating the project, UNEP worked closely with international 
partners such as Capacity Build International, German y – specialized in training experts, especially in 
environmental management; the Federal E nvironmental Agency of Germany – the 
operator/coordinator of the Blue Angel, one of the oldest eco-labelling schemes in the world, 
established in 1979; and the Global Ec o-labelling Network (GEN).  In each target country, there were 
specific project partners to coordina te and implement national activities. 
 
4. Key challenges and needs ha d been identified by developi ng countries in meeting labelling 
requirements.  These related to:  (i) information – th e need to access clear and credible information on 
eco-labelling programs, requirements and operating ma rkets;  (ii) capacity building – the need for 
comprehensive and coordinated suppor t to develop sustainable enterprises;  and (iii) enabling policy – 
the need to integrate eco-labels with supportive and complementary policy measures.  Experience had 
shown that the most effective eco-labels were those that were well integrated into the overall national 
environmental policy framework.    5. The expected results of the project were:  (i) through the establishment of multi-stakeholder 
dialogues at the global and national levels, to  obtain an improved unde rstanding and knowledge on 
eco-labelling diffusion, market penetration, barriers and capacity building needs in target countries;  
(ii) to strengthen capacity among key industr y representatives, designers, government decision-
makers and local trainers in target countries to a pply and promote eco-labels;  (iii) in each target 
country, to enable at least one product to obtain a type 1 eco-label;  (iv) to increase awareness of 
governments to create an enabling policy and in stitutional framework for greater diffusion and 
effectiveness of labels;  (v) to develop greater cooperation and mutual recognition of eco-labelling 
schemes;  and (vi) to share concerns, experiences a nd lessons learnt from the project at the national, 
global and regional levels.    WT/CTE/M/49 
Page 12  
 
  6. The target countries had been chosen in co llaboration with UNEP regional offices.  Anchor 
countries (China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa) were chosen based on their political and economic role in shaping international relati ons, in addressing key global environmental and 
developmental challenges and in international standards development.  These were countries with 
trade links to Europe, industrial and innovation gr owth, and, at the same time, rapid negative 
environmental changes and vast regions of poverty.  Another group of countries (e.g. Kenya and 
Ethiopia) had expressed interest in joining the project.  Traditionally, these countries exported mainly 
primary commodities, but needed to increase international comp etitiveness and market access for 
manufacturing products.  The project aimed to promote value-added production and the manufacture 
of finished products, to increase their interna tional competitiveness and to contribute to greater 
regional economic integration.   
 7. The project methodology included:  integrated involvement of target groups through a combination of awareness raising, capacity building,  technical assistance and consultation activities;  
participatory management through a steering commit tee involving all partners and key associates;   
appropriate mix of national and in ternational partners with complementary experiences and functions;  
bottom-up approach ensured by n eed assessments carried out through multi-stakeholder dialogue;  
replication possibilities enhanced by experiences gained from different product groups (textiles, 
appliances, footwear and paper) and countries;  tr aining of country trainers;  and presentation of 
project results at regional level.  
8. The first stage of the project implem entation process was background assessments and 
studies.  This included the identification of well-established eco-labe lling schemes and product 
categories that could be used by project partners and countries;  obstacles and opportunities for greater 
market penetration in relation to the labelling sch emes;  existing and potential national policies that 
could be beneficial to promote and increase the ef fectiveness of the label and the eco-label products;  
key barriers to be overcome by the industries in orde r to obtain the labels and foreign market access;  
capacity-building needs of the government in order to create the enabling environment.    9. Workshops had been held at the global and national levels to create awareness on eco-
labelling and the SCP policy tool.  A number of pr oduct groups for each country were selected, for 
example, textiles in South Africa and India, footwear  in Mexico and Kenya, pulp and paper in Brazil, 
and electrical appliances in China.  The Europ ean eco-labelling schemes were studied by project 
partners to decide the suitability for the target countries to obtain the labels.  Throughout the project, 
there was the involvement of the EU and eco-l abelling scheme operators in order to channel 
information and communicate concerns and lessons learnt from the perspective of developing countries. 
   
10. The second phase of the project was capacity-b uilding.  A train-the-trainer global workshop 
was held in 2009 on "eco-labelling, what it is and how to do it" with partic ipation by 24 national 
experts from six countries and nine international tr ainers.  Companies from Thailand and India, with 
products that had obtained the European eco-label, we re invited to share their experience.  At the 
national level, capacity building activities included adapting the global workshop material to local 
situations and specific product groups, and organizing follow-up training with the participation of 
industry representatives and government decision makers.    11. A handbook was made available online with an  e-learning course that included subjects on: 
institutional set-up and operation of an  eco-label (e.g. the EU Flower);   how to create an eco-labelling 
scheme;  technical requirements for four product categories of the EU Flower;  marketing of eco-
labels and eco-labelled pr oducts, in particular with low budget, focusing on SMEs;  and the role of 
government and civil society in promoting eco-labels.     WT/CTE/M/49 
 Page 13 
 
 
  12. On technical assistance, thr ee companies in each target count ry were selected, based on their 
business proposals, technical feasibility and financia l viability for eco-labelling their products.  There 
were national experts to advise governments on re levant policies and measures to promote eco-
labelling.    
13. On mutual recognition, UNEP worked closel y with GEN on the development of a road map 
towards cooperation and mutual recognition between different eco-labelling schemes.  Work included 
assessing both the opportunities and barriers for great er cooperation between eco-labelling schemes.  
Steps were being taken towards greater cooperati on, information exchange and possibly mutual 
recognition on procedures and practices, as well as bila teral mutual recognition of certain criteria for 
products.  Further work would be carried out, incl uding the development of the rationale for such 
cooperation, a survey on perceptions and needs, and different models an d options relevant and 
feasible at the various levels.  There would be consultation workshops a nd specific recommendations, 
and a road map for implementation.    
14. The final stage of the project would be to organize regional conferences (Africa, Latin 
America and Asia) to disseminate the project results , to share experiences and lessons learned, and to 
explore the possibility of developing commercial part nerships with companies with products that had 
obtained or were on the way to obtaining a European Eco-label Licence.   
 
  
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