Press Release

Trade-based environmental spillovers are significant and must be part of any global andnational strategies to safeguard the Global Commons, says new report released by theCenter for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo, SDSN and Yale University

Tokyo, Paris & New Haven, 22 March 2024: The fourth edition of the Global Commons StewardshipIndex Report presents the most recent data on domestic impacts and transboundary spillovers on theGlobal Commons. Building on the latest research and modelling tools in the field of industrial ecology
and environmental science as well as the recognition that this work has now begun to receive wehope this report can support the efforts made by policymakers at the global and national levels tosafeguard the Global Commons. The report was launched today at the Villars Institute Summit 2024
in Switzerland.
Naoko Ishii, Director of the Center for Global Commons and a lead author of the report, emphasizes
the following: “Current economic system continues to undermine the health of the Global Commons,
to its breaking point. We need to urgently come up with the governing mechanism to safeguard theGlobal Commons, in particular spillover impacts through trade.”Access the report:
The GCS Index report, data platform and databases are downloadable free of charge at:https://cgc.ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/research-en/gcsi-en/ & https://sdgtransformationcenter.org/

We underline three major findings from this year’s GCS Index edition:
1. Global production and consumption systems continue to undermine the stable and resilient
Earth systems, the global commons, which are the foundations of our civilization. We underline inparticular, the impact of G20 countries which are responsible for the lion’s share of global negative
impacts on the Global Commons. In per capita terms, Australia, Canada and the United States are theworst G20 performers according of this year’s GCS Index. In absolute terms, China, the United States
and the European Union are the worst performers globally. G20 countries are not only responsible for
production-based negative impacts on the Global Commons, but also for more than 70% of the GHG
emissions and deforestation in the international trade system. No country has achieved high levels ofhuman development and low impact on the Global Commons.
2. The environmental stress caused and transmitted through trade systems is significant; often
exceeding 30% of countries’ total GHG emissions and 50% of countries’ total impacts ondeforestation and water stress. One-third or more of the total GHG emission footprint of South
Korea, Japan, Italy, the EU, Germany, France and the United Kingdom is embodied into trade. Morethan half of the total deforestation caused by Germany, India, Turkey, France, Italy, China, South
Korea, the United Kingdom, and Japan is generated outside of the borders of these countries. Finally,50% or more of scarce water consumption in the EU, Italy, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, France,Germany, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and Canada happens in the rest of theworld to satisfy consumption in these countries. These findings emphasize that negative trade-based
spillovers are significant and must be part of any strategy to safeguard the Global Commons. Good

Press Releasedata and metrics at all levels (global, national, industry, commodity levels) are critical to address
negative impacts from unsustainable supply chains.
3. The world currently does not have a global governance mechanism to coherently address
spillover impacts associated with unsustainable global supply chains. It is now urgent to come up
with effective governance mechanisms to safeguard the global commons based on sound data andthe latest insights from science. The publication of the Villars Framework for a Sustainable Global
Trade System in 2023, led by the Remaking Trade for a Sustainable Future initiative, is an important
step in this direction. Published ahead of several important international events including theSeptember 2024 UN Summit of the Future, the November 2024 UNFCCC COPs in Azerbaijan and inBrazil in 2025 as well as the CBD COP in Colombia in 2024, the 2024 GCS Index report provides usefuldata and statistics to define pathways and policies to curb domestic and spillover impacts on theGlobal Commons – and sharpen the focus of policymakers on these challenges.
Contact:•Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo, info.cgc@ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp

About:
About the Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo
The Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo was set up in 2020 to promotetransformation of key socio-economic systems in energy, food, resource circulation, and urbanization
through the multi-stakeholder coalition involving variety of partners. The CGC and University of Tokyo
seek to play a key role in catalyzing society transformation by mobilizing decision-makers across a broadspectrum—far beyond academia— in search for fundamental solutions to challenges to humanity.
About SDSN
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has been operating since 2012 under theauspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise topromote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. We aim to accelerate joint
learning and promote integrated approaches that address the interconnected economic, social, andenvironmental challenges confronting the world.
About the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, a joint undertaking between Yale Law School and the
Yale School of the Environment, advances fresh thinking and analytically rigorous approaches toenvironmental decision-making across disciplines, sectors, and scales. In addition to its research
activities, the Center also aims to foster discussion and collaboration across the Yale campus onenvironmental law and policy issues at the local, regional, national, and global levels. The Center has
produced the Environmental Performance Index, a biennial country-scale gauge of sustainability
outcomes covering 11 policy areas based on 33 underlying indicators, since 1999.