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Trade, Globalization and the GEG System

Trade, Globalization and the GEG System. Ambassadors’ Seminar on Global Environmental Governance New York, 16 October 2007. Environment is not self-contained. Most of the decisions affecting the environment are taken outside the GEG system Trade rules and dispute settlement

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Trade, Globalization and the GEG System

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  1. Trade, Globalization and the GEG System Ambassadors’ Seminar on Global Environmental Governance New York, 16 October 2007

  2. Environment is not self-contained • Most of the decisions affecting the environment are taken outside the GEG system • Trade rules and dispute settlement • Investment agreements and arbitration • Security • How to mainstream and is mainstreaming the answer?

  3. Trade • The environment is reflected in the WTO preamble • Environment is all over the WTO negotiation agenda • MEAs use trade measures for compliance and enforcement • Environmental regulations, standards and norms affect trade

  4. Investment • No international investment regime • But the 2600+ bilateral investment agreements can affect the scope for environmental action • Massive investment is required for the transition to sustainable development • The conditions governing that investment are key to success

  5. Security • The link between environment and security is increasingly well established • Stability is the precondition for sustainable development • The absence of stability undermines environmental action: illegal trade, refugee movement, spread of disease, etc.

  6. GEG reform challenges • Whatever deeply affects the environment is a legitimate environmental concern • The world can no longer afford for environment to be an afterthought • The environmental community must organize so that it can interact more positively with, and participate more effectively in, other policy communities and processes

  7. What might we do now? • Establish a process to make operational the call in the WTO Preamble to align trade liberalization with sustainable development • Ask UNEP to lead a serious campaign for harmonization of environmental standards that affect trade, including accelerating technical equivalence and mutual recognition

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