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United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP)Division of Technology, Industry and

Economics (DTIE)

Economics and Trade Unit (ETU)

ECONOMICS AND TRADE PROGRAMME

Briefing for Permanent Missions, Geneva,

2 October 2001

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Mission Statement

Improve countries’ understanding of the interlinkages and complementarities between environment, trade and development

Enhance capacities of countries to integrate environmental considerations into macroeconomic policies, including trade policies

Promote and support the implementation of sustainable development policies by the financial services sector

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ETU Objectives Enhance the capacities of countries, particularly developing

countries and countries with economies in transition, in integrating environmental considerations into macroeconomic policies including trade policies;

Strengthen coherence between Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and WTO, including by developing synergies between their respective provisions;

Develop and assist countries in the use and application of assessment and incentive tools, and economic instruments;

Raise awareness of policy and decision makers about the relationship between trade, environment and development;

Identify and promote, via the UNEP Finance Initiatives (FI), best environmental policies and practices within the global finance sector, with specific outreach to financial institutions in the developing world and economies in transition.

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Enhance countries’ understanding of the complementarities between trade,

environment and development

A range of activities: Economic instruments Integrated Assessment (reference manual

and country projects) Strengthening coherence between MEAs

and the WTO Ongoing policy analysis and dialogues UNEP-UNCTAD CBTF UNEP Finance Initiatives

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Tools for integrating environmental considerations into trade policies

Reference Manual on the Integrated Assessment Trade-Related Policies

Country Projects on the impact of trade liberalization on the environment and designing policy responses

Initiating work on application of these methodologies to the agricultural sector, in collaboration with the CBD

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Reference Manual for the Integrated Assessment of Trade-Related Policies

Provides a general approach to integrated assessment (published June 2001);

Comprises a menu of options through which a user can develop assessment methodologies responding to countries’ needs and priorities;

The manual will assist policy makers and practitioners in assessing trade and trade-related policies against widely accepted sustainable development criteria;

Already informing country projects and applicable in CBTF context

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UNEP Country Projectson trade liberalisation

Projects focus on assessment of environmental and developmental impacts of trade policies in specific sectors and the identification of policy responses, including economic instruments;

Argentina – fisheries; China – cotton; Ecuador – bananas; Nigeria – cocoa and rubber; Senegal – fisheries; Tanzania – forestry;

To complete by end of 2001 – synthesis report of main results available in Doha;

In selected countries will move into a second phase of design and implementation of policy packages to maximise net development gains, in 2002;

All have capacity-building elements.

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Strengthen Coherence between MEAs

and the WTO Activities:

Facilitate a process for continuous dialogue between governments, MEAs and the WTO (five meetings to date);

Develop synergies between MEA and WTO provisions, to enhance mutual supportiveness;

Sythesis of analysis and discussions to be published before Doha;

Potential foci include joint capacity-building, assessment to enhance implementation of MEAs, technology transfer and use of economic instruments.

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Develop and assist countries in the use of economic instruments

Working group on Economic Instruments (formed June 2001)• terms of reference

• collation and analysis of existing work

Country Projects on design and implementation of economic instruments

Subsidies• Feb. 2001 workshop on fisheries subsidies

• publication of UNEP paper

• further case studies and workshop in early 2002

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Ongoing policy analysis and dialogues

The Precautionary Approach:

• revising the paper to accommodate comments;

• internal circulation within UNEP (October 2001)

IPRs and the Environment:

• preliminary analysis of the inter-relationships

• experts meeting to discuss that analysis (late 2001)

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Fourth WTO Ministerial Meeting

UNEP’s contribution and input in the Ministerial meeting

Advertising UNEP’s capacity-building activities on trade, environment and development at national, regional and international levels (in collaboration with UNCTAD);

The value of assessments for developing mutually supportive trade and environment policies and maximizing the net development gains of trade and trade liberalization;

Informal discussions between ministers on these and related issues.

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UNEP Finance Initiatives

Conceived at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, UNEP FI has grown from from 6 banks to some 275 financial institutions by 2001.

There are two UNEP FI statements of commitment one each for the banking and insurance sectors. A company joins UNEP FI by signing one of these statements.

UNEP FI builds the case for banks, insurers and asset managers to become sustainability leaders.

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UNEP Finance Initiatives

UNEP FI has new 2001-2002 work programme – deliverables include:

Finance sector report for World Summit for Sustainable Development – the Rio +10 meeting - in South Africa in 2002 plus a joint project with the World Bank to explore Innovative Financing for Sustainability.

5 regional conferences - Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, Economies in Transition and Gulf States – by June 2002. UNEP FI’s regional task forces will be relaunched.

In April 2001 UNEP FI launched the development of Sustainability Performance Professional Development (SPDP) programmes.

Three specialist working groups on Asset Management, Climate Change and Environmental Management and Reporting.

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Economics and Trade Unit

Address:

Economics and Trade Unit

Division of Technology Industry and Economics

15 Chemin des Anemones

CH - 1219 Chatelaine

Geneva

Tel: (4122) 917 82 98/ 917 81 79

Fax:(4122) 917 80 76

E-mail etu@unep.ch

Visit our website: www.unep.ch/etu