Bridges Trade BioRes Review • Volume 4 • Number 1 • March 2010

ICTSD update: EGS Work under ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change

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The world left the Copenhagen conference on climate change in December 2009 in a quandary and questioning the path forward. Among other things, negotiators and advocates who sought to influence a climate agreement have had to face the fact that trade and competitiveness concerns now act as a major driver in determining the outcomes of a climate deal. Indeed, many of the dynamics-and specific issues-are those confronted in the context of negotiations at the WTO. Beyond this however, these actors face decisions that involve developmental, environmental, and economic aspects of climate change on trade and production patterns as well as the possible impact of climate-related measures on the livelihoods of those who are already marginalised.

While Copenhagen did not result in the expected outcomes, there are elements in the Copenhagen Accord that provide useful guidance for further work on trade in climate-friendly technologies. ICTSD’s research findings on climate-friendly environmental goods, namely that additional market-creating and supportive measures for developing countries will enhance trade in these goods and meaningfully enhance the benefits from an environmental goods and services (EGS) trade-liberalisation process at the WTO, closely mesh with the Accord’s recommendations. The Accord also has a strong significance for discussions on technology-transfer in climate-friendly goods including those that have been taking place in the context of the WTO EGS negotiations.

ICTSD’s activities on EGS in 2009 focused on advancing the understanding of and negotiations on climate-friendly goods - both in the context of the WTO, UNFCCC, and regional trade (APEC) - and on strengthening the capacity of developing countries in the area of EGS and sustainability, specifically in terms of identifying and articulating their interests.

On the climate front, ICTSD’s research on trade flows, barriers and market drivers for climate-friendly goods in the renewable energy supply and building sectors formed the core of the focus on 2009. A similar study on the transport sector is underway. These climate-technology mapping studies were part of a pioneering initiative undertaken under ICTSD’s EGS project and also formed the basis of other initiatives undertaken by ICTSD’s programme on intellectual property rights (IPRs) in collaboration with UNEP and the European Patents Office - notably the patent-landscaping exercise for climate-friendly technologies.

Outcomes were presented at informal dialogues in Geneva (in April and September of 2009), at regional and APEC dialogues (where they formed part of the wider trade and climate change agenda) and at a side event at the UNEP Governing Council on diffusion of climate-change friendly technology - “The potential of trade policies in the transition towards a green economy.” They were also presented to stakeholders in conjunction with the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009.

Thus far, ICTSD’s emphasis has been on goods. Identifying the potential of trade in climate-friendly environmental services is imperative for effective and lasting solutions for climate change. ICTSD will now consult with relevant stakeholders to ascertain the most useful areas of research on climate-friendly environmental services. The issues and challenges involved in the design of sound climate policy to enable better diffusion of climate-friendly technologies and trade policy that can accelerate such diffusion requires more sophisticated ongoing research. It also involves reaching out to new stakeholders such as domestic and international regulatory agencies and private-sector stakeholders at various levels of the EGS value chain. Developments in regional negotiating and standard-setting bodies outside WTO and UNFCCC could also have implications for trade in climate-friendly EGS.

Related papers

ICTSD papers relevant to trade in climate-friendly goods and services can be accessed on ICTSD’s web-portal- http://ictsd.org/climate-change/accelerating-trade-and-diffusion-of-climate-friendly-goods-and-services/

For further information, please contact Joachim Monkelbaan. Email: jmonkelbaan@ictsd.ch