Sustainable Trade and Environment

Over the past few decades, the world has experienced unprecedented expansion in international trade. This poses both opportunities and challenges for environmental protection and sustainable development.

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, governments identified trade as an important driver of sustainable development. Well-designed trade policies can promote economic growth, help reduce poverty and encourage sound environmental management. However, as demonstrated in the UNEP-ETB country projects, poorly designed trade policies can contribute to environmental damage and depletion of natural resources leading to a reduction in welfare gains. The challenge facing policymakers is how to undertake trade liberalization and design related policies in a way that achieves broad and integrated environmental, economic and social objectives.

UNEP-ETB works in a number of key areas aimed at promoting the development of balanced and integrated trade and environmental policies.

Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Fisheries

Sustainable Forests

MEA Implementation

Environmental Goods and Services

Regional Trade Agreements

Intellectual Property Rights

UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (CBTF)

For further information on these and other related areas of activity, please contact Benjamin Simmons at benjamin.simmons@unep.ch.