RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/M/50 
2 November 2010 
 (10-5830) 
Committee on Trade and Environment  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 29 SEPTEMBER 2010 
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
  
The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE Regular) met on 29 September 2010 under 
the Chairmanship of Ambassador Muñoz Gómez (C olombia).  The Committee adopted the agenda 
contained in WTO/AIR/3606, dated 8 September 2010.   
 
 
I.
 PARAGRAPH 32................................................................................................................... ...1 
A. PARAGRAPH 32(I) (ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS AND MARKET ACCESS )..........................1  
1. First part of paragraph 32(i) on "e nvironmental requirements and market 
access"........................................................................................................................ ................1  
(a) New Zealand's GHG Foot printing Strategy................................................................................1  
(b) Chile's initiatives on carbon footprinting....................................................................................4  
(c) Other statements ............................................................................................................... ..........7  
2. Second part of Paragraph 32(i) on "Sectoral Analysis"......................................................11  
B. PARAGRAPH 32(II) (TRIPS) ......................................................................................................11  
C. PARAGRAPH 32(III) (LABELLING ) .............................................................................................11  
(a) Chile's experience in environment-related la beling schemes in different products and 
sectors ........................................................................................................................ ...............11  
(b) Other statements ............................................................................................................... ........13  
D. OTHER ITEMS OF THE CTE  WORK PROGRAMME .......................................................................14  
II. PARAGRAPH 33................................................................................................................... .15 
III. PARAGRAPH 51................................................................................................................... .15 
IV. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................1 5 
V. DATE OF NEXT MEETING ................................................................................................17  
 
 
  
 
  WT/CTE/M/50 
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  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 re duction of trade restrictions and distortions 
would benefit trade, the envi ronment and development.  
1. First part of paragraph 32(i) on "envir onmental requirements and market access" 
1. The Chairman  recalled that in response to the intere st raised by a number of delegations on 
carbon footprint and labelling schemes and their effe ctiveness, challenges and possible trade impacts, 
the CTE held an Information Session on Prod uct Carbon Footprint and Labelling Schemes on 
17 February 2010.1  This event had provided Members with  the opportunity to learn, from experts, 
about the latest developments in international orga nizations and to start sharing national experiences.  
For instance, the CTE had received a briefing on the standard recently developed in the United Kingdom on the methodology used to measu re embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  
In a fax sent to delegations on 9 July 2010, concer ning the work programme of the CTE in the second 
half of 2010, the Chairman had invited both (i) Members developing any new national carbon 
footprint schemes to share their expe rience with the CTE, and (ii) Members to share the experience of 
their producers and exporters in complying with such  schemes.  He noted that New Zealand and Chile 
had replied to the invitation and therefore would present their experience.  
(a) New Zealand's GHG Footprinting Strategy 
2. The representative of New Zealand
 started her presentation by noting that the government 
was not engaged in regulation or standard-setting for GHG footprinting but that New Zealand's GHG 
Footprinting Strategy had been designed to assist New Zealand's export industry respond to overseas 
demand for this information and to help exporters  reduce their GHG footprints.  The strategy only 
related to agriculture and forestry sector products .  As an export-dependant economy, heavily reliant 
on its agriculture and forestry sectors, New Zealand was exposed to both the effects of climate change 
and to market demands or requirements (whether priv ate or governmental) that impacted this trade.   
3. Before explaining the GHG Footprinting Strate gy, a short overview of New Zealand's 
economic and climate change prof ile was provided:  New Zealand was a geographically isolated 
country with a small population of 4.4 million people;  its total GHG emissions amounted to 
0.2 per cent of global GHG emissions;  New Z ealand's principal exports were agriculture, 
horticulture, fishing and forestry, which together acc ounted for over half of the country's exports by 
value and which were also a major source of emission s;  two-thirds of New Zealand's electricity was 
generated from renewable sources, primarily hydro po wer.  Overall, New Zealand's emissions profile, 
with the predominance of agricultural emissions, w as different to that of most other developed 
countries and more closely resembled some developing countries' emissions profiles.  
4. She then provided some information on New Zealand's emissions trading scheme (ETS), 
which was the government's main policy response to climate change.  This was a price-based 
mechanism established to place a price on carbon,  to reduce net GHG emissions and to assist 
New Zealand's compliance with its internati onal obligations, including the Kyoto Protocol 
obligations.  The ETS was comprehensive, coveri ng all gases and all sectors.  Obligations for 
stationary energy, liquid fossil fuels, and indus trial process emissions had come into effect on 
1 July 2010.  By 1 January 2015, the ETS would cover all sectors of the New Zealand economy, 
including agriculture.   
                                                      
1 The report of this session is contained in document WT/CTE/M/49/Add.1.   WT/CTE/M/50 
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  5. Throughout ETS development, the government of  New Zealand was also working on a suite 
of complementary initiatives to address climate change.  One of these was the GHG Footprinting 
Strategy, designed to help exporters  respond to consumer and retailer expectations that products had 
verifiable sustainability credentials.  Actions under the strategy fell into three broad areas:  (i) supply 
chain projects dedicated to sectoral products;  (ii) national capability building;  and (iii) international 
participation in standard-setting bodies and othe r fora dealing with GHG footprinting.  The 
development of sector-specific approaches to GHG footprinting across the supply chain was a key part of the strategy.  To date some 17 secto r-specific methodologies were in various stages of 
development.  The output being produced include d reports providing a full life cycle assessment from 
cradle to grave and covering over 80 per cent of New Zealand's primary sector exports.  The reports 
identified emissions "hot spots", potential cost  savings, efficiency gains, areas for improved 
productivity and provided a deeper understanding of all inputs and outputs across the supply chain.  
Three of these reports were publicly available, on the kiwifruit, lamb and dairy sectors.  The projects were undertaken in partnership between i ndustry, researchers and the government.   
6. Industry contributed to the funding of projects and was expected to be actively involved in 
driving work forward to ensure th at research outcomes could be practically applied within sectors.  
Consistent criteria was applied to the methodologies for the supply chain projects.  The methodologies 
were practical for producers to use and aligned with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 
and the GHG emissions inventor y and reporting standards deve loped by the International 
Organization for Standardization (ISO).  For each project, the full supply chain was mapped.  All 
GHGs created in the production, processing, distributi on, retail, use and waste of that product were 
calculated and allocated to a functional unit, such as one single-layer-tray of kiwifruit or a 100 gram 
portion of lamb meat.   
7. Emissions were counted through to a product' s end-of-life in specific and typical export 
markets, for example kiwifruit to Japan or lamb to the United Kingdom.  For kiwifruit, it was found that orchard operations made up 21 per cent of emissions, pack houses seven per cent, shipping 
35 per cent, repacking and retailer emissions 11 per cent, consumer cons umption and disposal 
accounted for 26 per cent of total emissions.  For lamb, 80 per cent of emissions occurred on farm, 
12 per cent were associated with consumption, thr ee per cent with processing, and five per cent with 
transport.  These amounts were averages and significant  variations could occur.  For the lamb study, a 
dataset of around 500 farms and 11 processing plan ts was used, representing about 40 per cent of 
New Zealand's total lamb processing plants.   
8. At the beginning of the process, New Zealand had identified a need for greater expertise in 
life cycle assessment and management.  As part of th is strategy a Life Cycle Management Centre was 
established at a New Zealand university to help  build capability and support government policy 
development, and to work closely with industry.  National-level research initiatives also helped build 
capacity.  The Centre also played an important ro le in gathering data and developing a life cycle 
inventory database for New Zealand.   
9. The rapid proliferation of private schemes, which contained consid erable variation in 
methodologies and approaches, had the potential to  create market access barriers and to increase 
compliance burdens for exporters, particularly fo r small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but 
also for developing countries.  Therefore, New Zealand considered it critical that international standards be developed in a fair and transpar ent manner, based on robust science and measurement 
methodologies.  New Zealand's strategy focused on e ngagement with the three main fora developing 
international standards for the quantification and reporting of product-level GHG footprints, namely 
the ISO, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable 
Development (WBCSD), as well as with the British Standard Institute's PAS 2050.   
10.
 New Zealand's strategy did not look at labe lling or trade issues, but trade issues were 
monitored by the Sustainable Foods Export Group, a forum for industry and officials to share  WT/CTE/M/50 
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  information on sustainability trends and develo pments in offshore markets and to discuss the 
implications and opportunities for New Zealand food  and beverage exports.  The national strategy 
looked at sustainability widely, including water footprinting.  Mitigation practices were being 
developed through the Global Rese arch Alliance (GRA) on Agricu ltural Greenhouse Gases, which 
involved New Zealand along with 29 other countries calling for greater international attention and 
investment in agricultural GHG mitigation and better coordination of efforts.   
11. Communication of GHG footprinting messages was challenging as different people along the 
value chain for a product might not see the value or u tility in relation to their position in the process.  
New Zealand considered it critical to demonstrate that footprinting presented opportunities to reduce both costs and emissions.  It was also important to link footprinting with strategic efforts to target 
emissions hotspots.  For example, New Zealand was currently conducting specific research on ways 
to minimize methane emissions (through breeding,  vaccines) and the reduction of nitrous oxide 
emissions (through soil additives and nitrogen mana gement practices).  Through the GHG strategy, 
the government of New Zealand would continue to assi st its primary industries to operate in markets 
using internationally recognised, transparent and validated GHG footprinting methodologies.   
12. The representative of the Dominican Republic
 welcomed New Zealand's presentation, 
especially because New Zealand exported predominantly agricultural products. 
13. The representative of India  asked about the level of intern ational standard-setting in the 
organizations that the representative of New Zeal and had referred to, and the participation of 
developing countries in establishing st andards within these organizations. 
14. The representative of Turkey  asked whether any studies had calculated the price effects of the 
emission trading scheme on specific products, such as lamb or kiwifruit. 
15. The representative of the European Union  expressed his interest in the manner in which the 
topic of carbon footprinting was being addressed by different Members and the challenges they faced.  
He asked:  (i) for more information on how Ne w Zealand had managed the broad stakeholder 
involvement and the interaction between government au thorities and the private sector;  (ii) for more 
information on the work of the GRA;  and (iii) whet her there was any reason for the exclusion of trade 
and eco-labelling concerns from New Zealand's strategy. 
16. The representative of New Zealand  noted that guaranteeing a broad stakeholder involvement 
had been an important part of the strategy.  A Steering Committee, consisting of representation from 
government, industry and research institutes, was est ablished in 2007 to consider steps to help 
exporters respond to the new and emerging challeng es posed by climate change.  When preparing the 
research initiatives, stakeholders from industries co -funded the initial projects in order to get them 
underway.  The first projects, in particular kiwifruit and lamb  were therefore of particular relevance 
to the private sector.  The government of New Zeal and considered the collaboration with the private 
sector as a true partnership.  Concerning the quest ion on the GRA, New Zealand considered that 
agricultural emissions and the response to these we re a key challenge for the country and thus 
New Zealand was greatly involved in the GRA.  She further explained that New Zealand, in order to 
be focused on what the strategy intended to ach ieve, did not address trade issues.  However, 
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had a separate group, including officials and industry representatives, that had prepared a series of  reports about the relevant activities in some key 
export sectors.  
17. The representative of Australia
 was of the view that New Zealand's presentation illustrated the 
type of information exchange that could usefully  be undertaken in the CTE.  There was a growing 
awareness internationally of the environmental aspects of goods and services, and consumers wanted 
to know more about the products and services th ey purchased and what impact these had on the WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 4  
 
  environment.  For Australia, New Zealand's GHG carbon footprinting strategy illustrated how policy-
makers and regulators had sought to  develop a range of measures to publicize relevant environment 
information on products and influe nce consumer behaviour.  She took note that eco-labelling was not 
part of New Zealand's strategy.  However, a nu mber of countries were working on developing food 
miles labelling, eco-labelling and carbon footprint la belling.  She asked how New Zealand's strategy 
could feed into the type of schemes developed by importing countries, which could have an impact on 
the exports of countries such as Australia, or othe r agricultural exporter countries which were also 
relatively distant from their import markets.  
18. The representative of New Zealand
 stated that the intention of th e strategy was to ensure that 
New Zealand had its own house in order before e ngaging internationally.  It was essential for 
New Zealand to use robust methodologies, drawing on international best practices before engaging 
globally.  However, the international engagement wa s also a key part of the strategy.  A balance had 
to be found between, on the one hand, the rights of consumers to better information about the 
GHG footprint of products and, on the other hand, the minimization of compliance costs and requirements that might unnecessarily restrict trad e or unfairly discriminate between products.  For 
New Zealand to minimize unnecessary impacts on trade, countries, sectors, or firms should cooperate 
around harmonized or agreed international st andards or guidelines on carbon footprinting 
methodologies and on the communication of carbon footprints. 
19. The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 asked whether New Zealand could share 
some information on the impact on exports, when taking into account the environmental costs of their products and whether a fall in exports had been observed.  
20. The representative of New Zealand
 answered that the strategy had not been designed to 
respond to a fall in exports or any specific decline.   However, as a highly export-dependent economy, 
with a narrowly focused export profile, New Zealand w as critically aware of the risk to affect trade 
and the strategy aimed to be proactive. 
(b) Chile's initiatives on carbon footprinting 
21. The representative of Chile  started her presentation by providing some basic information on 
Chile's economy:  Chile had followed an economic growth model that was based on exports, given a 
small domestic market;  today Chile was an open economy;  the process of market opening had started 
in the 1980s with a unilateral reduction of tariffs , then multilateral, regi onal and bilateral trade 
agreements in the 1990s;  Chile had flat tariffs of six per cent and a real tariff of 0.4 per cent due to 
the wide network of trade agreements signed by Ch ile.  This internationa l opening had required Chile 
to diversify its export basket, based mainly on natu ral resources (about 60 per cent in 2009), and to 
have a productive export system consistent with  high standards of environmental protection, as 
international markets were considering not only pr ice and quality, but also other dimensions.  In 
January 2010 a law was enacted which creat ed the Ministry of Environment.   
22. Several initiatives had been instigated by the pr ivate sector on carbon footprinting.  First, in 
the forestry sector the international certifica tion on sustainability issues was part of sector 
performance and in 2006 almost 70 per cent of the Ch ilean plantations had been certified according to 
standards of sustainable forest management, either by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or by the Pan-European Forest Certification (PEFC).  In 2004, the Chilean Standard CERTFOR was accredited 
by the PEFC and this sustainable forest manage ment certification provided a guarantee to foreign 
markets on the manner in which forests were managed in Chile.   
23. Moreover, Chile maintained the status of "C arbon Neutral" in the agro-forestry sector, 
meaning that the emissions of agriculture were co mpensated by the capture in  the forestry sector.  
Plantations annually captured mo re than 40 million tons of CO
2 and thus reduced the pressure on  WT/CTE/M/50 
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  native forests.  Furthermore, the Corporación Chile na de la Madera (COR MA), regrouping forestry-
concerned companies in Chile, planned to develop a study regarding the effects of the plantation 
sector in the National Climate Change Strategy.  On e of the two largest forestry companies in Chile, 
Arauco, had asked the Fundación Chile (a public-priva te corporation) to develop a study to measure 
the carbon footprint of all its operations in Latin America.  The result of the study (2008) found that 
the net balance of its operations was positive and he nce a net sink.  Another initiative was a public-
private initiative to develop a national certification system of woods in the south of Chile.  The 
initiative set standards of quality and origin for the commercialization of wood in Chile in order to 
reduce the deterioration of forests and increasing of air pollution.   
24. Second, the wine sector, despite being a small emitter, had been a pioneer in responding to 
climate change challenges by measuring the carbon foot print and labelling its products accordingly.  It 
was increasingly becoming a requirement by major re tailers.  Some measures had been adopted by the 
wine sector, such as the use of lighter weight bo ttles and energy efficient practices in their production 
processes.  There had also been several initiatives on the water foot print, for example the Concha y 
Toro vineyard was the first winery in the world to  measure their water footprint.  The initiative sought 
to anticipate future environmental and production re quirements in main export markets.  The same 
vineyard had also implemented a pilot plan to measure the supply chain footprint, which included 
agricultural operations, winemaking and storage. 
25. Third, in the agriculture sector, some st udies published in 2008 in developed countries on 
Chilean fruits and their transportation emissions, e.g.  plums and cherries, had caused some concerns 
in the export sector.  As a response to these studies, th e Ministry of Agriculture and trade associations 
commissioned several new studies to quantify the carbon footprint of the main agriculture products in 
Chile.  The Fundación Chile decided to conduct th e first pilot in Latin America to create a 
certification system for responsible and sustainable management of water resources, a mechanism that 
was being tested through pilot certifications and developed jointly with the Sociedad Nacional de 
Agricultura (SNA) and CORMA.  The project had started in January 2010 and was to run for two 
years.  It also had the support of InnovaChile that provided 280 million Pesos, while CORMA and 
SNA had provided another 150 million Pesos in  human capital and other materials.   
26. Finally, in the mining sector, Corporación Nacional del Cobre (CODELCO), Antofagasta 
Minerals and Collahuasi were deve loping initiatives to identify the levels of direct and indirect 
GHG emissions associated with the production of c opper and its sub-products.   The International 
Copper Association (ICA), which grouped all majo r copper producers, promoted the adoption of 
international standards for measuring their footprint. 
27. The Chilean government had also undertaken  some initiatives.  ProChile, the export 
promotion agency, set up a "Carbon Footprint Ta ble" regrouping all relevant ministries and the 
private sector to discuss these issues.  This type  of initiative had positive aspects, as it contributed to 
mitigating the effects of climate change and offe red new market opportunities.  Chile had concerns 
about the methodology used because they varied s ubstantially among the various initiatives, which led 
to very different results.  She concluded that the methodology used was not neutral and therefore 
coordination at the international level was needed wi th the aim to reduce this kind of problem and to 
work towards the harmonization of these methodologies.  In Chile's view, it was important that when 
elaborating this kind of initiative, those who would be affected by the measure should be included, in 
order to achieve an appropriate balance and to take into consid eration possible effects on SMEs, 
which often lacked the necessary financial and human resources and did not have systematic 
information.   
28. The representative of Australia  requested more information on the extent of the work that had 
been done in the mining sector, particularly in copp er, on identifying the levels of direct and indirect 
GHG emissions associated with copper production and its sub-products.  WT/CTE/M/50 
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  29. The representative of the United States
 asked whether Chile could share some more 
information about the relevant devel opments in the Chilean wine sector. 
30. The representative of Switzerland  informed the CTE that Switzerland had similar experiences 
concerning carbon footprint methodology.  The result of the carbon footprint calculus depended to a large extent on the methodology used.  Switzerland ther efore agreed that it was very important to be 
transparent on the methodology used when calculati ng the carbon footprint, the water footprint, or 
other environmental footprints.  Switzerland had good experiences with the Ecoinvent life cycle 
inventory
2, a scientific approach to measuring envir onmental impacts.  However, despite this 
scientific basis, there was often a political aspect linked to it.   
31. The representative of the Dominican Republic  asked whether efforts to control and monitor 
carbon footprints and the certification of responsib le environmental manage ment and sustainability 
had affected the competitiveness of Chilean indu stry, namely the wine sector.  She questioned 
whether consumers were willing to pay a premiu m for the measures being taken in these Chilean 
products, and whether there had been any reduction in the consumption of Chilean wine as a result.  
This was an important consideration in the discussion of carbon footprints. 
32. The representative of Costa Rica  asked whether the labels presented were actual labels used 
by the wine sector, and whether they met industry established standards. 
33. The representative of Colombia  highlighted the point made in the Chilean presentation that 
carbon footprinting methodologies are not neutral and expl ained that his delegation shared that view.  
He highlighted the importance of transparency of th e calculation system and its scientific basis.  He 
asked how the representative of Chile thought pr ogress could be made towards a harmonized system, 
or the establishment of an international standa rd which could guarantee transparency on a sound 
scientific basis. 
34. The representative of the European Union  suggested commonalities between discussion of 
New Zealand lamb and Chilean wine, in that both countries were seeking to anticipate developments in export markets for these products.  He asked th at the discussion of competitiveness include not only 
the cost trade-offs of these requirements, but also  the demand from consumers for this information, 
which the supply side should fulfil.  He also requ ested further information about studies mentioned in 
the presentation that had analyzed the impact of transport of Chilean fruit, and studies conducted by the Agriculture Ministry, which could provide valu able information for the discussion.  Moreover, 
issues had been raised with regard to the impact of transport emissions on the footprint of some 
products, and suggested that there was an important role for government in analyzing these processes.  
He echoed the call from other representatives for ha rmonization of methodologies, and asked whether 
Chile had taken steps in this regard.  He menti oned that a seminar had taken place in Chile in 
September 2010 on the vulnerability of international trade to carbon footprinting, sponsored by the 
European Commission and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, amongst others.  Two important 
conclusions of this seminar were that carbon foot printing occurred in both de veloped and developing 
countries, and that the private sector was leading these efforts, because the public sector was too slow 
in responding to consumer demands. 
35. In response, the representative of Chile
 noted first that the copper industry had conducted a 
study to measure the direct and indirect emissions.  Concerning the wine sector, she explained that this sector was a pioneer in the work on carbon foot printing.  The main wine producers collaborated 
closely in this kind of initiative, had several publi cations and a dedicated public website.  Concerning 
studies on the competitiveness impacts, she explai ned that the measures had been adopted only 
recently.  Such studies would therefore only be possi ble at a later stage.  The issue of transport 
                                                     
 
2 See http://www.ecoinvent.ch/ .  WT/CTE/M/50 
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  emissions was also of concern to Chile, and to that  end two government groups had been established:  
one would study air transport emissions;  and the ot her, maritime transport emissions.  She recalled a 
study of maritime transport emissions in relation to competitive impacts on imports, but stated that the export side had not been analyzed.  She also clarif ied that the labels presented were private sector 
initiatives, and that government had not  participated in their design.   
36. The representative of Chile shared Colombia's concerns for transparency and science-based 
methods.  Chile began participating in ISO discu ssions about carbon footprint methodologies in 2009.  
In addition, a study had been carried out in 2009  and both private sector and government 
representatives visited New Zealand to learn more about their experience with carbon footprinting, 
within the framework of the "P4 Environment Cooperation Agreement". 
(c) Other statements 
37. The representative of the International Trade Centre
 (ITC) provided some information on the 
Trade, Climate Change and Environment Program, funded by the government of Denmark, which the 
International Trade Centre had undertaken to provide support for exporters in meeting carbon 
standards.  A workshop held in May 2010 with th e ISO, the Swedish Standards Institute and the 
Kenya Bureau of Standards had raised four main i ssues facing SMEs in this context:  (i) the costs and 
complexity of meeting carbon standards favoured larg e companies over small ones;  (ii) the lack of 
harmonization, due mainly to differentiation strategi es of retailers;  (iii) the lack of equivalence, 
including within one country;  and (iv) the lack of transparency of  some standard-setting processes.  
The issue of transparency extende d to issues such as the methodology which could favour temperate 
European climates over tropical climates.  In c onjunction with partners in Kenya, the ITC was 
preparing an exporter guide, and other resources. 
38. The representative of the Republic of Korea  presented briefly the general features of Korea's 
carbon footprint labelling system and the efforts made to ensure that it would not act as a barrier to trade.  Initiated by the government in February  2009, the system was voluntary and designed to 
encourage green production through green consumption.  The Ministry of Environment was 
responsible for its implementation and for overseei ng the development of labelling guidelines and the 
issuance of certificates by the Korean Environmental Industry and Technology Institute.  Phase I of the system involved government certification of product or service lifecycle GHG emissions;  it was underway with 234 products from 53 companies cer tified in August 2010.  Phase II, which would 
begin in October 2011, would issue low carbon cer tificates to those products and services with per 
unit emissions below a certain threshold.  She e xplained that the system covered all GHG gases 
specified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climat e Change (IPCC) across the full product lifecycle, 
and applied equally to domestic and imported goods.  Other standards such ISO, PAS 2050, and the 
GHG Protocol, were considered during development.  The system was carefully implemented so as to avoid any potential market access issues for expor ters, and emphasized that maximum transparency 
had been shown in implementation. 
39. The representative of Turkey
 asked how the Korean government had encouraged or promoted 
industry participation in these voluntary schemes, a nd what the ratio of participation was amongst 
industry. 
40. The representative of Korea  responded that of the 234 certified products, 68 per cent were 
non-durable goods, 20 per cent were durable goods, sev en per cent were production goods, and five 
per cent were production services.  The participation of the private sector was on a voluntary basis, as 
it recognized the importance of green growth  and the elimination of GHG emissions.   
41. The representative of Argentina  raised concern about the lack of uniform criteria for 
footprinting methodology and noted the differences in lifecycle methodology, such as whether or not WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 8  
 
  to include production and consumption emissions.  Fu rthermore, he questioned the use of production-
based versus consumption-based emissions accounting in carbon footprinting, in light of the export of 
developed countries' production-based emissions to  developing countries.  Carbon footprinting was 
generally applied to primary, agricultural, and food products, which were th e principal exports of 
developing countries.  He expressed concern regardi ng the transparency of calculations, and called for 
greater participation by developing countries a nd greater public access to information on standard 
development, including free access to the ISO standard.  In addition, he stated that the cost of carbon footprinting would be very high, in particular  for SMEs in developing countries, since many 
developing countries lacked their own certification agen cies and certification may have to occur in the 
importing country. 
42. The representative of Argentina su ggested some broad areas of action that could help address 
these difficulties:  (i) transparency in the development process of carbon footprint methodologies, involving developing countries and considering the entire lifecycle of a product;  (ii) harmonization 
but not unilateral non-differentiated measures, rath er developing countries specific measures based on 
the principle of special and differential treatment  and the tenets of the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);  (iii) ensu ring that the costs of climate change were not 
transferred from developed countries to devel oping countries through carbon footprinting;  and 
(iv) promoting the transfer of financial and t echnology resources to enable the development of 
developing countries specific methodologies. 
43. The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 expressed concerns about the 
proliferation of standards to measure carbon foot prints.  Such standards could become disguised 
restrictions to trade and the requirements of carbon footprinting standards could be especially 
burdensome to countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and could limit their access to export markets.  Environmental standards, including voluntary carbon footprint standards, needed to be consistent with WTO rules, including the Agreem ent on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).  He 
disagreed with the notion of assessing carbon footpr ints on a life-cycle basis as it would raise 
concerns related to processes and production methods (PPMs). 
44. The representative of Brazil
 supported the previous statemen ts made by Argentina and the 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  He recalled the Chair's 9 July fax which called for the continued need to 
improve understanding of the trade and environm ental impacts of eco-labelling initiatives of 
Members.  Trade opportunities eventually created by the many existing schemes and difficulties faced 
by exporters in complying were also mentioned as topics deserving of attention in the CTE.  Despite 
the clear importance of these two topics, the more  fundamental question about the role of these 
schemes in the pursuit of sustainable development, and its economic, social an d environmental pillars, 
had yet to be addressed.  
45. He suggested that Members would benefit from a debate in the CTE on the contribution of 
eco-labelling to sustainable development, and a comparative assessment of its advantages and 
disadvantages.  Members should not lose sight of the mandate of paragraph 32(i) of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration, which called on the C TE to focus on developing and least-developed 
countries (LDCs) when evaluating market access issues related to environmental measures.  
Developing country Members experienced the gr eatest difficulties when complying with the 
requirements of the many standards which proliferat ed indiscriminately.  Overlapping standards, lack 
of harmonization and lack of equivalence between sch emes created trade obstacles.  In this context, 
private standards imposed by large retailers we re of particular concern as they could become  de facto 
technical barriers to trade.  
46. The representative of Colombia  shared the concerns expressed by Argentina regarding carbon 
footprint calculation methods and the diversity of measures facing exporters which restrict market  WT/CTE/M/50 
 Page 9 
 
 
  access.  Harmonization of standards on the basis of tr ansparency and equal participation of developing 
countries was seen as essential. 
47. The representative of Cuba  expressed concern about the impact of carbon footprint measures 
on world trade, and how they would impact developi ng and least developed countries.  Environmental 
measures should not impose any new restrictions on international trade, nor impose market access 
constraints on developing countries.  The delegation of Cuba was concerned about the effectiveness, 
difficulties and consequences for world trade of eco-labelling and carbon footprinting schemes.  
These schemes involved important costs and effect s for developing countries, LDCs and small 
economies.  It was suggested that future presen tations from Members on car bon footprinting address 
not only positive, but also negative aspects , in particular for developing countries. 
48. The representative of El Salvador  noted that it was important that the CTE deal with issues 
relevant to developing countries and shared the vi ews expressed by the representatives of Argentina 
and the ITC, with respect to the difficulties and costs to SMEs in developing countries when faced 
with eco-labelling and carbon footprinting requirements in export markets.  The lack of harmonization 
and transparency in developing standards ultimately  served as trade-restricting measures.  Technology 
transfer, technical assistance, and capacity buildin g for developing countries could help overcome 
some of these difficulties.  This issue should rema in under discussion in the CTE, in particular with 
consideration of the effect s on international trade. 
49. The representative of India  supported the interventions of Argentina and the ITC, especially 
with respect to problems around the lack of harmonized standards for carbon footprinting and eco-labelling.  He expressed concern regarding th e focus in emerging footprinting methodologies on 
temperate climates, and the lack of consideration for tropical climates, which should be considered by 
standard-setting bodies.  Carbon footprint me asurements were complex and depended on the 
manufacturing process, the source of energy and othe r factors, which could lead to variations in 
product carbon footprints between production facilities of a single firm.  Harmonization was required 
since embedded carbon or energy varied according to the calculation method.  Moreover, variations in 
carbon footprints should not imply di fferential treatment of products.  It was also a concern that 
private voluntary eco-labelling schemes could be u sed to discriminate according to PPMs.  Such 
measures could not be justified under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement or 
the TBT Agreement and goods could not be clai med to be not like based on PPMs and justify 
differential treatment.  He reitera ted his delegation's concern about the non-tariff barriers imposed by 
these schemes, particularly for developing countr ies and LDCs. 
50. The representative of Turkey
 shared the concerns of Argen tina regarding the prevalence of 
private, voluntary standards, as they have beco me obligatory to access some markets.  Given the 
400 different environmental labels in existence, producers and exporters had difficulty knowing which 
standards were relevant in which markets.  The di fficulty and cost of meeting the requirements could 
limit market access for developing country exporters , especially SMEs.  Globa l cooperation should be 
encouraged to enhance awareness and knowledge of current standards, bring transparency, and further 
harmonize standards and conformity assessment procedures.  Also, the design and implementation of private environment certification and labelling schem es should be done carefully.  Turkey expected 
that climate change-related initiatives like carbon foot printing and food miles increase.  In order to 
avoid disguised protectionism in this context, sh e called on governments to remind their private sector 
to follow the Code of Good Practice for the Prepar ation, Adoption and Appli cation of Standards under 
the TBT Agreement, so as to avoi d unnecessary barriers to trade.  Turkey believed that eco-labelling 
on the basis of product-related PPMs was permissi ble under WTO rules, but that eco-labelling on the 
basis of non-product-related PPMs wa s inconsistent with WTO rules, since it could cause disguised 
protectionism.  It was suggested to have mo re experience-sharing from other delegations. WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 10  
 
  51. The representative of the European Union
 welcomed the activities of the CTE in the area of 
carbon footprinting, through presentations, workshops and other exchanges of information.  Carbon 
footprinting should be seen as an indispensable tool to increase knowledge on sources of emissions throughout the lifecycle, and to identify hotspots.  The discussion on carbon footprinting should not be reduced to the topic of carbon labelling, as they were different issues.  The European Union would 
not be comfortable with attempts to focus only on labelling issues.  Carbon footprinting and other 
initiatives existed in many different countries, incl uding developing countries.  For example, Mexico 
faced some of the same challenges raised today by delegations with regard to developing countries' 
concerns.  The European Commission was studyi ng carbon footprinting initiatives across Europe to 
assess the need for guidance on methodologies, quality control, verification and other issues.  Also, 
the European Eco-label was considering how carbon foot printing could be included within its criteria.  
He noted that the Marine Stewardship Council eco-l abel had been awarded to Argentina's Patagonia 
Scallop Fishery, and wondered whether Argentina could share some experiences on the operation of 
this label.  He requested that the discussions on carbon footprinting in the CTE not be dominated by criticism of domestic environmental measures on the b asis of Member's interpretations of WTO rules, 
to ensure that the Committee can  add value to the discussion. 
52. The representative of the United States
 noted the interesting deba te that was taking place 
under paragraph 32(i) but wondered whether some of the discussion was appropriate to the mandate.  
She reiterated the point made by the European Un ion about the distinction between eco-labelling and 
GHG footprinting.  New Zealand's presentation descr ibed GHG footprinting, but not within the 
context of labels or standards.  Private sector standards were not an environmental measure in 
WTO jargon under paragraph 32(i).  She recognized the interest in GHG footprinting methodologies, 
standards and labelling, but not all of these aspec ts fell under this part of the CTE mandate. 
53. The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  raised another issue under paragraph 32(i) 
of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  The Ki ngdom of Saudi Arabia considered the issue of 
technology to be a fourth pillar of the triple win of development, trade and environment.  Following 
the July 2010 invitation by the Chair for proposal s on discussion topics for future CTE meetings, the 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had proposed an item on technology dissemination.  Technology 
dissemination concerned commercialization of key environmental technologies such as energy 
efficiency and carbon capture and storage.  The iden tification and removal of trade barriers for these 
technologies would lower their cost and enable broader dissemination.  Obstacles to technology dissemination fell within the mandate of paragr aph 32(i), which referred to the effect of 
environmental measures on market access, especi ally in relation to developing countries and 
situations where removal of trade restrictions woul d benefit trade, environment and development.  He 
expressed the view that the CTE had yet to adequa tely address the concerns of WTO Members, in 
particular developing countries Members, with resp ect to the commercialization and dissemination of 
environmental technologies.  Such discussion would e nhance the understanding of relevant barriers to 
dissemination for developing countries and would bri ng clarity to the environment and development 
dimensions of environmen tal technologies generally. 
54. The representative of the European Union
 recalled that the Working Group on Transfer of 
Technology might have a role to play in the discu ssions that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia envisioned 
in the CTE. 
55. The representative of India  stated that his delegation would give thought to the proposal from 
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on technology dissem ination.  He requested clarification on the 
difference between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's  view on technology dissemination and technology 
transfer, especially in relation to  developing countries and LDCs. 
56. The representative of Turkey  emphasized the importance of technology dissemination to 
LDCs and developing countries,  as well as developed countries.  WT/CTE/M/50 
 Page 11 
 
 
  57. The representative of the United States  was interested in hearing more about the Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia's ideas, and awaited a detailed written submission prior to making a determination about 
where this item might fit into the CTE agenda. 
58. The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  thanked delegates a nd explained that his 
delegation was preparing the submission in terms of aims, benefits and ways to proceed.  He 
responded to India's comment that the differenc e between technology disse mination and technology 
transfer was in commercialization.  Minimizing non-tariff barriers to enable use of technology by 
developing countries was a key part of this differe nce.  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would make a 
submission to the CTE in due course.  
59. The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
2. Second part of Paragraph 32(i) on "Sectoral Analysis" 
60. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
B. PARAGRAPH 32(II) (TRIPS) 
The relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights (TRIPS)   
61. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
C. PARAGRAPH 32(III) (LABELLING ) 
Labelling for Environmental Purposes 
62. The Chairman  recalled that at the February 2010 m eeting of the CTE the representative of the 
European Union had suggested looking into the ma rket opportunities that eco-labelling schemes could 
create.  It was also pointed out that specifics of how producers and exporters can actually seize these opportunities could be identified.  In this context, the United Nations Environment Programme 
(UNEP) had briefed the CTE on an implementati on project they had undertaken to improve 
understanding and knowledge about labels, as we ll as the opportunities and barriers for their 
diffusion.
3   
63. In 9 July fax to Members concerning the work programme of the CTE in the second half of 
2010, the Chairman had invited both:  (i) those Members who have environment-related labelling 
schemes in different products and sectors to share their experience with the CTE, and (ii) other 
Members to share the experience of their producer s in meeting the requirements of environment-
related labelling schemes in order to access export ma rkets.  Chile had replied to this invitation and 
therefore would make a presentation.  The Chair noted that the Secretariat had prepared two 
documents that provided backgr ound information for the discussion on eco-labelling, "Environmental 
Labelling related Specific Trade Concerns and No tifications in the TBT Committee" (JOB/TE/7, 
17 September 2010); and, "Labe lling Requirements for Environmental Purposes:  Overview of 
Current Work in Various International Bodies" (JOB/TE/9, 28 September 2010).  
(a) Chile's experience in environment-related labe ling schemes in different products and sectors 
64. The representative of Chile  made a presentation on Chile's experience with environment-
related labelling schemes in di fferent products and sectors.  There was no general policy on 
                                                      
3  This briefing is contained in document WT/CTE/M/49. WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 12  
 
  environmental labelling in Chile but some individua l initiatives had been developed.  Environmental 
labelling schemes had been studied since the mid-1990's, but most of the schemes today were recent.  The majority of the schemes were voluntary and had b een developed by the private sector in order to 
respond to consumers' environmenta l concerns, such as carbon and water footprints.  Chile had started 
(i) public policy initiatives for all sect ors, such as energy efficiency la belling;  (ii) initiatives inside the 
public administration itself, such as sustainable government procurement;  and (iii) initiatives aimed 
at export markets, such as organic labelling for agricultural products.  
65. First, Chile had launched a national energy e fficiency labelling program in 2005.  This 
initiative was driven by the Ministry of Energy with the support of the Superintendence of Electricity and Fuels (SEC), the National Consumer Servi ce (SERNAC) and the National Standards Institute 
(INN), which certified energy-efficient appliances.  The implementation of these policies had been 
gradual and it had begun with light bulbs and refrigerators;  microw aves and TVs were next to be 
incorporated.  This labelling scheme was based on international standards by the International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the ISO, Eur opean Union standards and by the Comisión 
Panamericana de Normas Técnicas (COPANT).  In 201 0, the Ministry of Energy was created and a 
Chilean Energy Efficiency Agency would be established in December 2010 to lead the 
implementation of energy efficiency programs accord ing to the policy of the Ministry.  In May 2010, 
Chile received the "Energy Efficiency Visionary Award" by the Energy Efficiency Global Forum in 
Washington, DC.  Chile was the first country in  South America to estab lish thermal insulation 
standards for housing and had created programs fo r energy efficiency, such as labelling for 
appliances.  Moreover, in 2010, Chile had launched the National A ssociation on Energy Services 
Companies (ANESCO Chile), as part of the Clean Energy Program of the Fundación Chile, with 
support from the Multilateral Investment Fund (M IF) and the Inter-American Development Bank 
(IDB) and the Corporación de Fomento de la Pr oducción (CORFO).  In November 2010, the Energy 
Efficiency Strategy ("E3 Chile") would be deve loped to guide the policy and action of both the 
Ministry of Energy and the Chilean Energy Effi ciency Agency in the period 2010 to 2020.  
66. Second, Chile was gradually developing a sustainable government procurement policy 
initiative.  Chile had been participating in the proj ect "Strengthening Capacities for Sustainable Public 
Procurement in Chile" with the support of UNEP an d in collaboration with the national counterpart 
ChileCompra and the National Environment Commi ssion (CONAMA).  The first outcome of this 
project was a manual on energy efficient government procurement.
4 
67. Third, regarding initiatives aimed at export ma rkets, small producers started to develop an 
organic sector in the 1980's.  Today, medium and large producers were also active in organic farming.  
Since 2006 Chile had a national certification system  for organic agricultural products (National 
Organic Agriculture Act No. 20.089, 2006).  Only t hose producers that participated in the national 
certification system were allowed to name or labe l their products as organic, biological or ecological, 
and to use the official seal.  This system a llowed small organic farmers to commercialize their 
products directly at fairs, shops and local markets with their own control systems to demonstrate the 
organic quality.  Chile had also established clear sanct ions for those not complying with the law, or by 
committing fraud or not using the label properly.  In or der to better cope with regulatory requirements 
and economic costs of certification, small organi c farmers had grouped together in associations.  
Finally, to support the penetration of the organi c sector into international markets, the Chilean 
government had tried to negotiate equivale nce agreements with other countries.   
68. The representative of the European Union  asked whether during the process of 
implementation Chile had received any reaction from other countries regarding their difficulties with 
these requirements in terms of market access;  also whether Chile had experienced any improvement 
                                                      
4  See www.comprassustentables.cl .  WT/CTE/M/50 
 Page 13 
 
 
  in market access or the creation of better market opportunities because the premium, usually paid by 
consumers for products with these labels, including for example organic products.   
69. The representative of Chile  replied that while the Trade and Sustainable Department 
developed the scheme, it was the TBT Department wh ich made and received notifications and was in 
charge of receiving and answeri ng questions or comments received by other countries.  She was not 
aware of any comments received so far.   
(b) Other statements 
70. The representative of the European Union  stated that it had tried to promote a positive agenda 
on eco-labelling within the CTE for a number of years.  The European Union had previously expressed its interest in discussing the emergenc e of labelling initiatives by both developed and 
developing country Members, the international sta ndardization and public or independent certification 
and verification schemes, the instruments to facilitate  the application for eco-labelling in jurisdictions 
where there was an eco-labelling system and way to support access of developing countries.  Eco-labelling was a global reality and not  a north/south debate.  Eco-labels  of different types existed in 
many countries, including developing countries, such as:  the label Qualidade Ambiental by the 
Brazilian Standardization Body;  the Eco-Mark labe l established by the Ministry of Environment of 
India;  the Thai Green Label scheme launched by the Thailand Environment Institute in association 
with the Ministry of Industry;  China Environmental Labelling Program under the Environmental United Certification Centre the Green Label in Sing apore;  or the Green Mark in Chinese Taipei.   
71. The European Union was willing to promote fu rther discussions in the CTE and hoped that 
the engagement by other Members in this area was forthcoming and meaningful.  The 
European Union supported activities and initiatives in the CTE to the extent that other Members, in 
particular developing countries, that had deve loped national schemes, or whose companies and 
exporters were major users of exis ting schemes, were ready to shar e experiences and to discuss trade 
relevant issues, such as the convergence between di fferent schemes in order to facilitate market access 
for foreign companies.  The European Union was di sappointed with the lack of engagement by some 
Members in sharing their relevant experiences.  
72. The European Union noted that the WTO Secret ariat paper regarding TBT notifications was 
particularly useful as it showed how various countries adopted labelling regulations pursuing 
environmental goals.  However, th e CTE was expected to have discu ssions of a nature different from 
other Committees and should not be a forum to dupli cate the work of the TBT Committee.  In the 
view of the European Union, an exclusive focus on the consistency of domes tic measures with various 
WTO Agreements would deprive the CTE of the po ssibility to make a useful contribution to the 
interface between trade and environmental measures.   
73. The representative of Argentina
 stated that the work of the CTE had benefited from the 
presentation on specific cases and from the discussion of the criteria governing the way in which the WTO should be approaching this topic.  Today, e nvironmental protection and trade had to go hand-in-
hand.  Labelling schemes had to take into account  the TBT Code of Good Practice and all rules 
governing international trade.  Various private standards co-existed without being harmonized.  
National, regional and international labels were proliferating and it w as important to ensure that these 
schemes did not become confusing for consumers and at the same time achieve certain environmental goals.  The multiplicity of labels obliged exporters to provide various types of evidence for different 
markets.  As a consequence, la rge numbers of labels could creat e problems for exporting countries, 
particularly for developing countries.  It was th erefore important to ensure the participation of 
developing countries in establishing these labelling sc hemes.  Regarding the scientific evidence for 
the labels and the environmental goals being pursu ed, various studies had shown that local suppliers WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 14  
 
  did not necessarily imply lower emissions.  Carbon  footprinting or local purchasing labels had the 
potential to penalize exporters from relatively distant countries.  
74. He concluded by presenting four general princi ples that Argentina considered essential with 
respect to eco-labelling:  (i) eco-labels had to be co mpatible with WTO rules;  (ii) the requirements 
should not cause any distortion and had to show a be nefit;  (iii) the devel opment and implementation 
of eco-labels had to be carried out in a transp arent and inclusive manner, bearing in mind all 
participants who might be affected,  and (iv) th e capacities and needs of developing countries had to 
be taken into account.  Argentina was committed to  work in the CTE on sharing experiences, taking 
into account at least three questions:  (i) how would labelling schemes contribute to sustainable 
development and how would they benefit both trade and the environment;  (ii) how would they avoid 
discrimination and negative impacts on market access,  particularly in developing countries;  and 
(iii) how could technical assistance and capacity -building for developing countries include eco-
labelling and whether it would be possible to ex change experience within that framework.  
75. The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 echoed the view that labelling 
requirements for environmental purposes had to be consistent with the TBT Agreement and should 
not be used in a protectionist manner. 
76. The WTO Secretariat  stated that as foreseen in the 9 July fax sent by the Chair, the Secretariat 
had prepared two documents.  The first document5 was a note that provided an overview of both 
specific trade concerns (STCs) raised in the TBT Committee related to eco-labelling and notifications 
submitted in the TBT Committee relating to labelli ng requirements that contained environmental 
protection objectives.  Since 1995, 273 STCs had been  raised and of these 25 concerns (approximately 
nine per cent) related to environmental labelli ng requirements or other labelling-related measures 
that contained environmental protection obj ectives.  Also, in 2000-2008, out of the 
8,304 TBT notifications submitted, 210 (approximatel y 2.5 per cent) were re lated to environmental 
labelling.   
77. The second document6 prepared by the Secretariat provided an update of an overview note 
circulated in 1997 on the work being undertaken in  various international fora in the field of eco-
labelling.  It contained information from the fo llowing international bodies:  Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO), ISO, Organisation for Eco nomic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 
United Nations Conference on Trade and Developmen t (UNCTAD), and UNEP.  The scope of this 
background document was limited to agencies' work which was directly related to labelling, since 
other international bodies carried out a whole range of activities that were not specifically dealing 
with labelling but that were also relevant to th e development and implemen tation of labelling schemes 
and these activities were not covered in this document.   In addition, the Secretariat had prepared, for 
Members' information, a short room document on the existing databases on eco-labelling schemes, 
which was available at the back of the room. 
78. The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
D. OTHER ITEMS OF THE CTE  WORK PROGRAMME  
79. There were no statements from delegations under these items.  
                                                      
5 "Environmental Labelling related Specific Trade Concerns and Notifications in the TBT Committee", 
JOB/TE/7, 17 September 2010. 
6 "Labelling Requirements for Environmental Purposes:  Overview of Current Work in Various 
International Bodies", JOB/TE/9, 28 September 2010.  WT/CTE/M/50 
 Page 15 
 
 
  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.   
80. The representative of the Dominican Republic  raised the issue of national coordination.  The 
Dominican Republic was currently reviewing and re vising its environment and trade legislation, 
within the framework of a roundtable on environm ent and trade.  A multisectoral group, made up of 
more than ten relevant institutions, had raised  the importance of technical assistance from 
international bodies to enhance national capacity on these issues, in particular, when issues were 
linked to topics discussed in the CT E and issues such as trade in environmental goods and services.  
She hoped that the WTO, in cooperation with other in ternational institutions, wo uld take this growing 
need for technical assistance and capacity-build ing for developing countries into account.  
81. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
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. 
82. There were no statements from delegations under this item.  
IV. OTHER BUSINESS 
83. The representative of the UNFCCC  stated that urgent progr ess was needed in the climate 
change negotiations.  Recent climate-related disast ers such as the floods in Pakistan and Niger, 
wildfires in the Russian Federation, or mudslides in China could become more frequent and more 
intense if global cooperation on clim ate change did not advance rapi dly.  While Copenhagen did not 
result in a legally binding agreement, it laid some  important groundwork for the Cancún negotiations:  
(i) the broad outline of an operational implementation architecture had been generally agreed, and (ii) 
the Copenhagen Accord had provided important political signals.  For instance, the Copenhagen 
Accord had recognized the need to  reduce global GHG emissions so as to hold the increase in global 
mean temperature below 2 degrees Celsius and to take  action to meet this objective consistent with 
science and on the basis of equity.  It had also pr ovided a signal on finance by registering firm pledges 
to scale up finance in order to advance action.  Further progress on these issues could be made in Cancún if negotiators were to  focus on concrete actions.  
84. Three negotiating sessions had taken place since C openhagen.  One last round, in Tianjin, 
China, in October, would be the last opportunity  to negotiate prior to Cancún.  All negotiating 
meetings to date had shown that parties were keen to move forward, although key divisions remained.  
Negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol had focused on a negotiating text tabled by the Ad Hoc  
Working Group's Chair.  This text was expected to  form the basis for negotiations in Tianjin, with 
Parties working to define the necessary elements  of the next commitment period under the Kyoto 
Protocol.  Negotiations under the Convention had also  advanced over the last year, with elements of 
the Copenhagen Accord being integrated into th e negotiating text.  However, parties had also 
reintroduced old positions in the text.  While this w as constructive in turning the negotiating text into 
a party-driven text, it highlighted remaining challe nges and underlined that parties needed to show 
flexibility to move beyond national positions.  Nego tiations in Tianjin would provide parties with the WT/CTE/M/50 
Page 16  
 
  opportunity to identify what could be achievable in  Cancún and what would require further work.  
Elements that could be achieved would need to be elaborated upon in a politically balanced way.   
85. Broad convergence had emerged among parties that a set of decisions by the Conference of 
Parties could be achievable as an outcome in Canc ún.  Such a package could set the base for the 
implementation of actions in specific areas of co operation.  He outlined seven areas where such 
decisions could be achievable in Cancún.  The firs t area involved an adaptation framework to boost all 
aspects necessary for implementation, including a ssessments, planning and support.  This could 
comprise an institutional structure to support the im plementation of adaptati on action at national and 
regional levels, including the establishment of regi onal centres and networks for adaptation and an 
international centre to enhance ad aptation research and coordination. 
86. The second area was a technology mechanism to  boost all aspects of technology cooperation 
and sharing between parties.  Under this tec hnology mechanism, parties were discussing the 
establishment of a Climate Technology Centre a nd a network to support and accelerate the diffusion 
and transfer of environmentally sound technologi es for mitigation and adaptation to developing 
country parties through the provision of technical assistance and training. 
87. The third area involved finance, with negotiations  on track towards the creation of a new fund 
as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention.  Parties were also discussing the 
creation of a new body to oversee the financial mechan ism or the strengthening of existing institutions 
to ensure coherence and coordination in the deli very of financial resources.  Additionally, in 
Copenhagen, developed countries ha d pledged $30 billion as fast-start finance to be disbursed 
between 2010-2012.  Such funding was urgently n eeded for mitigation and adaptation action in 
developing countries.  Successful delivery on this pledge, prior to Cancún, was seen as key to success 
in the negotiations.  Encouraging signs existed that this funding was indeed moving forward.  For the 
long term, developed countries pledged to increase ov erall climate finance to US$100 billion by 2020.  
It was expected that work on the sources of this  long-term funding would need to continue after 
Cancún. 
88. The fourth area involved enhanced capacity -building through the empowerment and 
strengthening of relevant institu tions at various levels, including the development and strengthening 
of national and regional networks for the genera tion, sharing and management of information and 
knowledge.  The fifth area was forestry-related action,  including defining the scope and objectives of 
REDD-plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestati on and Forest Degradation) activities, including 
definitions of reference levels and safeguards.  
89. The implementation of these first five elements would yield tangible benefits, especially for 
developing countries.  While parties were mostly in agreement on these elements, a balanced package 
would require other important issues, which were pol itically more difficult.  Governments would need 
to build on progress already made, in order to build an acceptable balanced package. 
90. The sixth area where progress in Cancún was envisaged, was mitigation, in particular, the 
formalization of mitigation pledges put forth in Copenhagen.  Industrialized countries had submitted 
national emission reduction target s and 38 developing countries had put forward so-called NAMAs 
(nationally appropriate mitigati on actions) to limit emissions.  Together, these pledges represented 
over 80 per cent of global emissions.  While these pl edges had not been enough to ensure that mean 
global temperature would not increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius, they still represented 
important progress that needed to be formalized.   
91.
 The seventh and final area concerned the estab lishment of a system for measuring, reporting 
and verification (so-called MRV) of mitigation ac tion and support.  This  would include MRV for 
developed country action to meet their mitigat ion targets and provide the support they have  WT/CTE/M/50 
 Page 17 
 
 
  committed to, including looking at the comparability of effort; and transparency of implementation of 
developing country action and the in ternational consultation and analys is related to this.  These seven 
elements would be the focus of parties at Tianjin and beyond.  Parties were determined to reach an 
outcome in Cancún that would show the world that  the global climate change process was functioning 
and could deliver a global solution to advance the world towards a climate-resilient, low-carbon 
future.   
92. Finally, he explained how these efforts related to trade issues.  First, trade had not been very 
prominent in the potential Cancún package.  While  there were some underlying issues where trade 
aspects were important, they were not critical for achievements in Cancún.  The basic link between 
trade and climate change was found in Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC.7  Moreover, in his view, progress 
on the environmental goods agenda of the WTO w ould have a positive contribution in advancing 
global cooperation on climate change.  Trade liberali zation would play an important role in supporting 
and fostering action against climate change and be a powerful ally in efforts to spur global green 
growth.   
93. While obvious concerns remained for certain  industries over competitiveness distortions, 
threats of trade protectionist measures were not  a useful ingredient for the climate change 
negotiations.  Many studies had indicated that su ch measures would not be effective in addressing 
competitiveness concerns, furthermore, they would da mage trust between countries.  Alternatively, 
the elimination or reduction of tariffs or other trad e barriers for goods used to raise energy efficiency 
and to capture renewable energies could be very  helpful to UNFCCC efforts on technology transfer, 
enhancing climate change mitigati on.  Goods or services that are needed for adaptation to climate 
change impacts could also be considered.  The work done by the UNFCCC Expert Group on 
Technology Transfer, looking specifically at adaptation technologies and techniques, could be of use to the CTE in Special Session. 
94. Two additional aspects of the climate change nego tiations were relevant to the WTO.  First, 
negotiations on technology transfer were related to intellectual prope rty rights, an issue also on the 
CTE agenda.  In 2007, parties to the UNFCCC had agreed to avoid trade and intellectual property 
rights policies, or lack thereof, restricting transfer of technology.  Negotiations at this stage would not likely be able to advance much beyond that.  S econd, the negotiations on the economic and social 
impacts of measures taken to address climate change  were also relevant.  Such negotiations could 
cover measures adopted by industrialized countries that could have a trade impact on developing 
countries.  One option that was under consideration was to establish a forum to identify actions to 
address the potential impacts of response measures.  Progress in this area was clearly needed and 
could greatly help negotiations on other issues.  He concluded by reaffirming the constructive 
dialogue that had occurred over the years between  the trade and climate change communities and 
expressed hope that it would continue into the future. 
95. The Committee took note
 of the statement made. 
V. DATE OF NEXT MEETING 
96. The next meeting of the Committee was set for 9 November 2010 .  
__________  
                                                      
7 Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC reads:  "The Parties should cooperate to promote a supportive and open 
international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties, 
particularly developing country Parties, thus enabling them better to address the problems of climate change. Measures taken to combat climate change, including unila teral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary 
or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade."