Author: Clive George

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 41

ISBN-13:

Countries increasingly use trade agreements to co-operate on environmental matters by including environmental provisions or entire environment chapters in regional trade agreements (RTAs). Some countries also adopt environmental side agreements in addition to their trade pacts. While adopting environmental provisions in RTAs is an important step towards promoting environmental protection on an international scale, the success of such measures depends on how governments implement the environmental provisions contained within their trade agreements. This report assesses the progress of the implementation of environmental provisions in RTAs. It focuses on the extent to which governments have complied with the environmental commitments made in the trade agreements to which they are a Party. The report takes a two track approach. First, a review of implementation and evaluation reports associated with environmental provisions in such agreements is performed. Second, a survey of government officials, trade negotiators and other experts is carried out. The exercise reveals a considerable lack of knowledge on the implementation of environmental provisions in RTAs. Nevertheless, the results highlight that good progress has been made in implementing environmental provisions in some RTAs. In particular, the United States and the European Union have made significant steps towards setting what may be regarded as a benchmark for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of environmental provisions in RTAs. While countries with a less stringent political mandate may find it harder to obtain the necessary resources to follow these examples, all countries that promote the inclusion of environmental provisions in RTAs could benefit from strengthening their processes of monitoring, reporting and review as far as they reasonably can. In this regard, further analysis and discussion is necessary on how the process of monitoring, reporting and review can be developed.