WTO can’t solve climate change – policies don’t prioritize it and negotiating changes takes years

The WTO’s existing rules and policies do not sufficiently take into account the environmental externalities of trade, which has become a significant point of contention, especially as the impacts of climate change become more pronounced and widespread. In a 2023 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the risk that the impacts of climate change may soon become unavoidable and irreversible. This is compounded by alarming findings from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and partners, showing governments plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 relative to 2021, which would be inconsistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Saner’s recent article critically examines the WTO’s current trade policies, which promise to decrease environmental risks linked to globalization. It raises concerns about the effectiveness of these policies in mitigating climate change, especially in the absence of regulatory measures. Its main findings are summarized below. Critical examination of WTO’s current framework There is a fundamental misalignment between global trade policies and the urgent need for environmental sustainability. The WTO, designed to promote liberalized trade, has often sidelined environmental considerations, thereby exacerbating the challenges of climate change. In addition, there is no coherent policy that integrates trade with the imperative of sustainable development, and the WTO’s approach has been inadequate in fostering an environment conducive to tackling global warming and achieving the SDGs. WTO member countries may need to give up some of their sovereignty to enhance the trade and environment (T&E) space and align more closely with environmental objectives. This could involve broadening WTO T&E rules to better integrate with the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The urgency of this integration is emphasized by the fast-paced destruction caused by climate change compared to the slow progress of WTO negotiations on environmental goods and services.