WTO Trade and Environment Committee Advances Climate-Trade
Discussions
The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) met on 28-29 September to advance
its discussions on the trade and environment nexus, focusing on interoperability
and development aspects of trade-related climate measures. Members also built on
the voluntary information sharing exercise launched earlier this year with a view
to enhancing transparency of trade and climate measures in the Committee. In addition,
they were briefed on work undertaken in other international fora and on developments
in several member-led environmental initiatives at the WTO.
Meeting
Context
·
Dates:
2829 September 2026.
·
Chair:
Ambassador Ram Prasad Subedi (Nepal).
·
Format:
Thematic session (28 Sept) + regular meeting (29 Sept).
Thematic
Session
·
Focus: Trade-related climate measures
(TrCMs),
interoperability, and development aspects.
·
Co-moderators: Norway
& Türkiye.
·
Key issues: Compliance challenges (esp. in
steel), cooperative solutions, MRV systems.
·
Australia
& China circulated informal ideas on interoperability.
·
Builds on earlier thematic sessions (clean
energy, sustainable agriculture, technology transfer).
·
Next sessions:
o
Dec
2026: Environmental goods & services (bio-inputs).
o
Feb
2027: Circular economy.
Member
Proposals & Transparency
·
Joint submission (Australia, Canada, Chile,
Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Korea, NZ, UK): Non-binding guidance on carbon
measurement in traded goods (WT/CTE/W/269/Rev.6).
·
UK shared info on UK CBAM MRV system,
entering into force Jan 1, 2027.
·
Concerns raised: compliance burdens for developing countries & SMEs.
·
Colombia provided oral update on its own measure.
Updates
from Other Fora
·
UNFCCC:
Preparations for COP31
(Antalya, Türkiye, Nov 2026);
Finance & Trade Day on 13 Nov.
·
CBD:
Preparations for COP17
(Yerevan, Armenia, Oct 2026).
·
CITES:
Outcomes from COP20
(Samarkand, Uzbekistan, NovDec 2025).
·
Member-led initiatives briefed: Dialogue on Plastics Pollution
(DPP), TESSD,
FFSR.
·
WTO Secretariat updated on Environmental Database (EDB).
Next
Meeting
·
Scheduled for 45 February 2027.
[ABS News Service/01.10.2026]
The Chair of the CTE, Ambassador
Ram Prasad Subedi of Nepal, facilitated the regular meeting on 29 September, which
was preceded by a thematic session on 28 September.
The CTE's thematic session on
"trade-related climate measures, including interoperability and development
aspects" was co-moderated by Mr Hċvard Hugċs of Norway and Ms Nur Karabag of Türkiye.
The session sought to move the
discussions beyond a general mapping of trade-related climate measures (TrCMs) towards a more operational examination of what interoperability
means in practice. The discussion sought to identify where compliance challenges
arise for governments and businesses, with a focus on steel, while exploring cooperative
solutions and integrating development considerations in regulatory design choices,
implementation, and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems.
Through expert panel discussions,
the session examined the issues and discussed tools, mechanisms and frameworks that
could address compliance challenges and increase cooperation, including at the WTO.
The subsequent discussion among
members reinforced these themes. Australia
and China circulated an informal, non-official document for discussion, putting
forward some ideas on interoperability and possible follow-up in the CTE.
Since November 2023, the CTE
has held thematic and interactive sessions on topics of interest to the membership.
Previous sessions have addressed topics such as the clean energy transition, sustainable
agriculture, trade-related climate measures, and technology transfer.
Based on the CTE Chair's proposal,
the next CTE thematic session will be held in December 2026 with a focus on environmental
goods and services, including bio-inputs. This will be followed by a session on
the circular economy in February 2027. Co-moderators
will help shape these sessions.
Members heard an update from
co-sponsors on a joint submission, titled "Non-binding Guidance on Measures
Requiring Measurement of Emissions of Goods Traded Across Borders," submitted
by Australia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New
Zealand and the United Kingdom (WT/CTE/W/269/Rev.6).
Co-sponsors emphasized the importance
of enhancing transparency and fostering a shared understanding of good practices
and methodologies for measuring embedded carbon emissions in traded goods.
The United Kingdom shared information
on its "UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM): Monitoring, Reporting
and Verification" (WT/CTE/INF/9). The UK CBAM is scheduled to enter into force
on 1 January 2027.
The information was shared on
a voluntary basis using the standardized template in document WT/CTE/W/271. At the
June CTE meeting, Japan and Australia became the first two members to use the template
to share information of their domestic trade-related climate measures (TrCMs).
Members welcomed the UK's submission
as a practical means of enhancing transparency in the Committee. Many sought clarifications or further information
while others expressed concerns about the measure's potential impact on market access
and the compliance burdens it could impose on developing and least-developed countries,
as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Colombia also provided an
oral update on its own measure.
Members were briefed by the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat on preparations
for the upcoming Climate Change Conference (COP31), to be held in Antalya, Türkiye,
in November 2026. The COP31 Presidency (Türkiye) also updated members on plans for
the conference, including a Finance and Trade Day scheduled for 13 November. The
WTO Secretariat reported on its preparations and participation at COP31.
The Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) presented recent developments and preparations for
the CBD's 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17), to be held in Yerevan, Armenia,
in October 2026. The delegation of Armenia, as hosts of COP17, supplemented this
briefing, highlighting its priorities and seeking members' active engagement at
COP17.
The Secretariat of the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) briefed
members on recent developments and main outcomes from the CITES' 20th Conference
of the Parties (COP20), that was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 24 November
to 5 December 2025.
The CTE was briefed 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 on their recent activities
and planned work.
The WTO Secretariat also presented
an update on the WTO Environmental Database (EDB).
The next meeting of the Committee
is scheduled for 4-5 February 2027.