Training on Environment Provisions in International Trade Agreements

The Project at A Glance

Trade agreement negotiations have become increasingly complex in the last decades with the addition of new emerging issues, such as the promotion of labour standards, environmental protection, human rights and public health, gender equality and Indigenous People, amongst many other issues.

As Ecuador is highly exposed to the effects of climate change, International Economics supported the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador (MPFTIF) by conducting a capacity building for trade negotiators on environment provisions in trade agreements.

The project was part of the Expert Deployment Mechanism for Trade and Development (EDM) program, funded by GAC and implemented by Cowater International.

What We Found

Ecuador had initiated negotiations with Canada over a potential free trade agreement and one of the areas being covered by the negotiations included environment, a topic which needed a deeper examination of the issues and implications of scope by Ecuador. Though Ecuador has experience in integrating environment provisions in FTAs, but the MPFTIF requested expert assistance to deepen the understanding of Ecuador around negotiating issues on trade and the environment and climate change and strengthen their capacity to implement the obligations of an eventual agreement related to environment and climate change provisions.

International Economics’ team supported Ecuador to understand the implications of applying environment and climate change-related commitments in free trade agreements (FTAs).

Our Strategy and Impact

Our team developed a comprehensive research paper on environment and climate change provisions in FTAs, with case studies to illustrate trends and implications of different provisions, including dispute settlement mechanisms and penalties. In terms of substance, the research paper focused on two distinctive areas of commitments for environment and climate change provisions in trade agreements:
(i) the binding commitments, linked to obligations made by specific FTAs’ signatories in connection to several multilateral environment agreements (MEAs) and
(ii) the commitments that go beyond the minimum requirements in MEAs to promote voluntary mechanisms to enhance environmental performance, such as voluntary auditing and reporting, market-based incentives (e.g., emission trading system and carbon border adjustment mechanism), voluntary sharing of information and expertise, and public-private partnerships.

The team also organised online workshops to discuss the findings of the paper with the MPFTIF, line ministries and other relevant stakeholders.

Our Core Solutions

The cross-cutting nature of trade is such that it requires a comprehensive, integrated, and inclusive framework. While well-designed trade policies are vital to delivering long-term benefits for economies, so is the need for effective implementation.

At International Economics, we support the public and private sectors in navigating the policy and negotiation landscape regarding international trade. This includes establishing robust monitoring and evaluation framework through sophisticated real-time dashboards and reporting systems to ensure the best outcomes. We provide advocacy services to empower delegations and negotiators to participate effectively in trade negotiations and deliberations and advocate for their countries’ interests and positions.