Title: Building the institutional capacity for trade and the environment

Authors: Takashi Hattori

Addresses: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

Abstract: Institutions that deal with issues concerning trade and the environment have developed over the past several decades, but the capacity of such organisations and international treaties to handle the various issues has been limited. WTO/GATT has been the core institution for establishing the rules for trade and the environment, but it has not succeeded in reaching consensus on further developing those rules. Some recent free trade agreements have also included clauses related to trade and the environment. The United Nations has also attempted to gain a wider understanding of the issue. This paper examines how differences in the signatories to various international agreements, and how a lack of clarity in which agreements take precedence, creates confusion and prevents consensus. It also considers how to increase the institutional capacity of international organisations regarding the issue.

Keywords: institutional capacity; trade agreements; international trade; environment; environmental impact.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2006.053957

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2006 Vol.8 No.2, pp.70 - 77

Published online: 13 May 2013 *

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