Bridges Trade BioRes Review

Volume 1 • Number 1 October 2007

  • BRIDGES Trade BioRes Review Year 1, Number 1 October 2007
  • US calls on Peru to improve forest management under revised trade deal
    Last May, Congressional Democratic leaders broke new ground for combating illegal logging in bilateral US trade agreements when they reached a compromise deal on US trade policy with the White House. The deal they struck set out specific requirements relating to the environment, as well as to labour and intellectual property, for pending US trade deals…
  • The multilateral energy regime at a cross-roads: responding to the climate change and sustainable energy agendas
    Today, tackling climate change and ensuring energy security have emerged as central policy agendas at the global and national levels. Increasingly, the global trade system is being called upon to be part of the solution. Energy and energy products are central elements of world trade. Presently, such trade is largely dominated by exports and imports of…
  • BioRes interview: energy, trade rules and sustainability
    BioRes Review talked to Olga Nartova, Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute in Bern, Switzerland. BioRes: What are the key problems related to international energy trade, and how could they be addressed? ON: When it comes to energy, the key problems relate to security of supply, efficiency, climate change, and transit issues. I think creating a…
  • The effects of climate change policies on international trade and competitiveness
    Efforts to reduce emissions to meet Kyoto and future climate targets have raised competitiveness concerns in countries implementing these policies, as well as fears that carbon-intensive industries will relocate to non-implementing countries. This article examines the implications of climate change policies on competitiveness across industries, as well as issues related to leakage, if any, of carbon-intensive…
  • Border measures to address climate change-related competitiveness concerns: EU and US interests
    This article describes developments in the EU and US concerning border measures, which could be imposed on imports from countries with policies that are considered insufficiently responsive to the need for climate change mitigation. Abstractly, the underlying problem - in the terminology of political economy - is that there can be “free riders” on international agreements,…
  • Sustainable land management – How can trade help, not hinder?
    The role trade can play in helping address unsustainable practices in drylands is coming increasingly to the fore through its inclusion in a new ten-year plan of action under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Meanwhile, experts are still struggling to fully grasp the linkages between trade and desertification in order to craft policies that…
  • Greening European agriculture: options at the EU and WTO
    The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) significantly impacts both world trade and the environment. With the disbursement of over €58bn in agricultural subsidies each year, the CAP has become a key determinant of farmers’ incomes, and thus of their land-use decisions, with a resounding impact on wildlife and the environment in rural areas. The subsidies…
  • Desertification convention faces uncertain future: what role for trade?
    Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) have adopted a ten-year strategic plan, which refers to trade as a tool to help realise some of its objectives, and also points to the need to consider issues related to sustainable land management in other forums, such as those dedicated to agriculture trade. The UNCCD has…
  • Compliance is a hard nut to crack in the biotech dispute
    With the 21 November deadline rapidly approaching for the implementation of WTO rulings in the biotechnology dispute, the European Union has few options for full compliance with the panel’s findings. Difficulties arise both from the ambiguities left in the September 2006 panel reports, as well as the complex European legal structure governing the approval of genetically…
  • How best to conserve farm animal diversity?
    With global human populations, as well as their appetites for meat, egg and dairy products, growing at rapid rates, a narrow range of farm animal species are becoming more popular — at the expense of traditional breeds. However, the hardy traditional farm animals are often well-adapted to harsh conditions in developing countries. Also, in a…
  • ICTSD in China: Partnerships in pursuit of sustainable development
    China is a key determinant of the global trade dynamic, and also of the future fate of the global environment. ICTSD is working with a wide range of experts and other players in China and elsewhere to address key challenges, taking a multi-stakeholder approach to find new and innovative solutions. Dialogue raises issues related to climate…