1.
The WTO's
Committee on Trade and Environment
(CTE) met on 1
and 5 June 2026, marking the opening and closing of the 7th WTO Trade and Environment Week.
2.
Members
reaffirmed the importance of the CTE as a platform for dialogue and cooperation
on trade and environmental issues.
3.
The meeting
was chaired by Ambassador Ram
Prasad Subedi of Nepal, the new Chair of the CTE.
4.
The event
was opened by WTO Director-General Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala and featured 16 member-led sessions.
5.
Participation
was exceptionally high, with:
o Nearly 800 in-person attendances
o Around 600 online connections
o Approximately 163,000 social media impressions
6.
Members
welcomed the broad range of topics discussed and expressed support for continuing
the event in 2027.
7.
Members
launched a pilot voluntary
information-sharing initiative on trade and climate measures (TrCMs), including carbon-emissions measurement methodologies.
8.
Japan presented its Basic Policy on Promoting Green Procurement,
which includes lifecycle greenhouse-gas emission criteria for iron and steel procurement.
9.
Australia shared information on its New Vehicle Efficiency Standard,
aimed at helping meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
10. Members welcomed these submissions as a step
toward greater transparency and mutual understanding of trade-related climate measures.
11. Many members emphasized the need for:
·
Interoperability
between national and international standards.
·
Consistency
with standards developed by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
·
International
Organization for Standardization
12. Members stressed the importance of considering:
·
Development
concerns of developing countries.
·
Potential
impacts of climate-related trade measures on market access.
13. Several members indicated they would soon submit
information on their own climate-related trade measures.
14. Members supported deeper discussions on:
·
Trade and
climate measures
·
Interoperability
of standards
·
Development
implications
15. Additional topics proposed for future sessions
include:
·
Circular
economy
·
Environmental
goods and services
·
Green technology
transfer
·
Bio-inputs
·
Sustainable
agriculture
16. The next thematic session in September 2026 will focus
on:
·
Trade and
climate-related measures
·
Methodology
interoperability
·
Development
dimensions of climate policies
17. Members received a briefing from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) on preparations for COP31, scheduled in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026.
18. New Zealand and Ecuador updated members on the activities of
the Coalition of Trade Ministers
on Climate.
19. Members were also briefed on outcomes from
MC14 and the
work of:
·
Dialogue
on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP)
·
Trade and
Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD)
·
Fossil
Fuels Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative
·
14th WTO
Ministerial Conference
20. The WTO Secretariat presented updates from
the WTO Environmental Database and trade-policy review findings.
21. Observer organizations ISO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) also shared updates on their environmental activities.
22. The next meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment
is scheduled for 2829 September
2026.
WTO members
launched a new voluntary transparency initiative on trade and climate measures,
while emphasizing interoperability of standards, development concerns, and international
cooperation. The discussions highlighted growing global efforts to align trade policies
with climate objectives while ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development.
The
Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) met on 1 and 5 June - marking the start
and the conclusion of the seventh edition of WTO Trade and Environment Week - with
members reaffirming the significance of this platform for dialogue and cooperation
on trade and environment issues. Members launched a new exercise to share information
on their trade and climate measures on a voluntary basis and discussed plans for
future thematic sessions.
Ambassador
Ram Prasad Subedi of Nepal, the new CTE Chair, facilitated the discussions.
WTO Trade and Environment Week
2026
The
seventh WTO Trade and Environment Week, opened by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
comprised 16 sessions, all organized by WTO members, with the event attracting particularly
high levels of participation. Adding together participation at each session, the
Week recorded close to 800 in-person attendances and nearly 600 online connections.
Social media outreach generated approximately 163,000 impressions during the Week.
The
WTO Secretariat's report on the event highlighted strong engagement and rich discussions
throughout the Week, with members and stakeholders exchanging views and building
understanding on the trade and environment nexus.
Members
welcomed the success of the Week, especially the diverse range of topics covered
and the quality of the panel discussions, which enabled broad and in-depth information-sharing.
Members expressed a desire to continue the event next year.
New information-sharing exercise
As
agreed by members at the last meeting of the CTE in February, members initiated,
on a pilot basis, a voluntary sharing of information on their trade and climate
measures, including in relation to embedded carbon emissions measurement. Japan and Australia shared information on their
domestic trade-related climate measures (TrCMs) using
the template tables in WT/CTE/W/271.
Japan
outlined its "Basic Policy on Promoting Green Procurement" (WT/CTE/INF/7),
which establishes specific environmental performance criteria for public procurement
of designated items. Under the policy, iron and steel are subject to additional
criteria for calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. Australia highlighted its "New Vehicle Efficiency
Standard" (WT/CTE/INF/8), first presented at the CTE interactive session in
January 2026. Australia's greenhouse gas emissions standards for commercial vehicles
are intended to support the achievement of its updated Nationally Determined Contribution
under the Paris Agreement.
Members
welcomed the valuable contributions of Japan and Australia in enhancing transparency
on TRCMs and exchanged views on the information shared. Many members stressed the
importance of ensuring interoperability between national standards and internationally
agreed standards, such as those developed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO). The need to take into account the development dimension when
deploying TrCMs, as well as the importance of assessing
their impact on market access for developing economies, was also emphasized.
A
call was made for more members to volunteer and submit information so that the exercise
can reach sufficient scale and facilitate mutual understanding. A few members indicated
their intention to make submissions and share information on their trade and climate
measures in the near future.
Next thematic sessions
The
Chair reported on members' suggestions for CTE thematic sessions to be organized
in the remainder of 2026 and in 2027.
Members
supported a deeper examination of trade and climate measures, with a particular
focus on interoperability and development aspects. In addition to "deep-dives"
of previously covered topics, members highlighted the need to address new topics,
including the circular economy, environmental goods and services, green technology
transfer, bio-inputs and sustainable agriculture.
The
Chair noted that, in light of the broad interest, the next thematic session to be
held in September 2026 will focus on trade and climate-related measures, in particular
the interoperability and coherence of different methodologies, as well as the development
dimension of the issue. Regarding future thematic sessions beyond September, the
Chair indicated that an informal meeting will be organized in due course to discuss
the timeline and content of the proposed topics.
Updates and briefings
Members
heard a presentation from the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on upcoming meetings as well as its preliminary plans
for the 2026 Climate Change Conference (COP31) to be held in Antalya, Türkiye in
November 2026. The WTO Secretariat also provided an update.
New
Zealand and Ecuador, on behalf of the co-leads, briefed members on the latest activities
of the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, including their Communique at the
14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) (WT/MIN(26)/41).
The
CTE was also briefed on MC14 outcomes by the co-sponsors of the member-led Dialogue
on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP), the
Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), and the Fossil
Fuels Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative.
The
WTO Secretariat presented the latest information in the WTO Environmental Database
(EDB), including information drawn from the 2025 WTO Trade Policy Review reports.
At the request of members, the Secretariat also provided an update on the WTO Secretariat's
ongoing and planned activities related to trade and the environment. ISO and the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as observer organizations,
also updated members on their respective activities relevant to the work of the
Committee.
Next meeting
The
next meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment is scheduled for 28-29 September.