sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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(18.9%). 11 Fishery subsidies have contributed to an excess fishing capacity in the world, which has led in
turn to overfishing. In this context, the ongoing Doha negotiations have given majority support to
prohibiting certain forms of subsidy that promote excess capacity and consequent overfishing, as well as
ensuring special and differential, appropriate and effective, treatment, for developing and least developed
countries. The latter is important, given the importance of fisheries, including small-scale non-industrial
fishing, as a source of employment and means of subsistence in many developing countries.
There are several issues that have important implications for <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> in the next
few <strong>years</strong>. These include the treatment of fossil-fuel subsidies; prohibitions and restrictions on exports of
agricultural products and other raw materials; and the different policy instruments that countries and firms
can use to combat climate change which have an impact on trade.
5. Negotiations on climate change and international trade
The ongoing negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), aim to define a new regime for reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) when the first period of
implementation of the Kyoto Protocol expires in <strong>20</strong>12. As industrialized and developing countries approach
the issue of climate change from different standpoints, there are major difficulties in the negotiations. It is a
challenge to secure effective commitments from all of the members of the Convention that take their special
situations into account by granting special and differential treatment, including appropriate and timely
access to financial and technological resources to enable them to contribute to the reduction of global
warming, without compromising their <strong>development</strong> strategies, and without suffering the effects of
environmental protection policies based on protectionist elements. 12
In relation to international trade, the current UNFCCC negotiations aim to define clear policies
that are consistent with the basic principles of international trade, in particular non-discrimination. As
mitigation and adaptation measures would be applied in sectors open to international trade, the rules of
the multilateral trading system will need to be adjusted; and this will generate tensions between the rules
of the multilateral trading system and climate change mitigation measures that have an impact on trade
—for example, “production and processing methods” (PPMs) and the implementation of trade measures
based on a product’s carbon footprint. 13
Latin American and Caribbean exports would be vulnerable to adaptation and mitigation
measures adopted in industrialized countries if they included trade restrictions, owing to the distances and
prevailing export structure with industries that make intensive use of energy and capital and are highly
polluting. Up to 17% of the region’s exports consist of products considered “environmentally sensitive”,
such as commodities and natural resource-based manufactures, 14 which have a greater impact on the
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According to WTO estimates, these subsidies fluctuate between US$ 14 billion and US$ <strong>20</strong>.5 billion per year
(WTO, <strong>20</strong>11).
OECD countries currently emit 77% of total GHGs, but emissions by developing countries are growing. For
example, it is forecast that, for the period <strong>20</strong>05 to <strong>20</strong>30, while the volumes of greenhouse gases emitted by
OECD countries will grow by an annual average of 0.5%, emissions by developing countries are expected to
increase by 2.5% per year (WTO/UNEP, <strong>20</strong>09).
Current GATT regulations (which mostly date back to the late 1940s) and those of the WTO, were not designed
to address problems related to climate change (Low, Marceau and Reinaud, <strong>20</strong>11).
Environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs) —a classification used in some studies— are defined as: (a) those
that have spent most on controlling and reducing pollution; and (b) those with the highest intensities of emissions
into different media (air, water, soil). There are 40 industries (Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)