世界经济论坛-提供气候贸易议程：行业洞察（英）-2021.9-34页_11mb

Summary of "Delivering a Climate Trade Agenda"

Core Content

This World Economic Forum white paper explores the intersection of trade policy and climate action, emphasizing the need for a coordinated approach to accelerate decarbonization and support the global transition to sustainable economies. It highlights the growing recognition that trade policy can play a pivotal role in enabling climate action, not only by reducing emissions but also by fostering economic growth and job creation.

Main Views

The report identifies several key areas where trade policy can support the climate agenda:

• Trade Policy Stability and Openness: A stable, rules-based, and open global trading environment is essential for the green transition. Trade barriers and policy instability increase the cost and slow down investment in decarbonization efforts.
• Level Playing Field: Ensuring a level playing field is crucial for enabling high-ambition emissions reductions. Divergent regulations and subsidies between countries can undermine domestic climate efforts.
• Price Signals for Emissions Reductions: Businesses are ready to scale up decarbonization, but higher costs of low-emission production and limited ability to pass these costs through supply chains remain a barrier.
• Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs): NTBs, especially local content requirements (LCRs), can hinder the adoption of climate-friendly technologies and services. LCRs are often inconsistent with WTO obligations and can create additional costs and complexity.
• Regulatory Fragmentation: Divergent technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures can disrupt the transition to low-carbon industries.
• Circular Economy and Raw Materials: Scaling circular solutions and ensuring the flow of raw materials for green technologies remains a challenge.
• Enabling Technology and Services: A robust technology environment and access to services are critical for the decarbonization of industries.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture: Trade policies should support the development and dissemination of climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Trade Agreements and Climate Action: Trade agreements can be leveraged to align with climate objectives, promoting green investment and innovation.

Key Recommendations

The paper recommends the following actions for trade policy-makers:

• Reduce Tariffs on Climate-Friendly Goods: Lowering tariffs on green technologies and services can reduce costs and increase accessibility.
• Reduce Non-Tariff Distortions: Addressing NTBs, particularly LCRs, can help facilitate the flow of green goods and technologies.
• Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Removing subsidies for fossil fuels is essential to align with the Paris Agreement and promote clean energy.
• Align on Carbon-Based Trade Policies: Harmonizing methodologies for carbon-based trade policies, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), is important to ensure consistency and fairness.
• Unpack Digital and Services-Related Trade: The role of digital services and the technology sector in supporting decarbonization should be emphasized.
• Support Climate-Smart Agriculture: Trade policies should include mechanisms to support sustainable agricultural practices.
• Leverage Trade Agreements for Climate Action: Trade agreements should be used to advance climate objectives, including the promotion of green investment.
• Facilitate Green Investment: Encouraging investment in climate-friendly technologies and services is critical to achieving net-zero goals.

Key Insights from Interviews

• Over 75% of the companies interviewed have committed to net-zero emissions or have set reduction targets aligned with a 1.5°C scenario.
• 20% of the world's largest public companies, representing $14 trillion in sales, have committed to net-zero emissions.
• Interviewees highlighted the importance of a predictable and rules-based trading environment for enabling climate action.
• The Harmonized Commodity Classification and Coding System (HS) can be used to better identify and facilitate trade in environmental goods.
• Plant-based meat substitutes face significant trade barriers due to lack of specific HS classifications and labelling restrictions.
• Fossil fuel subsidies can distort markets and hinder the adoption of low-emission technologies. Their removal should be done fairly, especially where they serve social purposes.
• Emerging technologies such as hydrogen, ammonia, and energy-efficient electric motors are critical for decarbonization but require supportive trade policies and investment.

Conclusion

The report concludes that trade policy must be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. It emphasizes the importance of international dialogue and cooperation, particularly between the WTO and UNFCCC, to ensure that trade and climate policies work together effectively. The report serves as a foundation for further discussion and policy development to facilitate climate action through trade mechanisms.

Glossary and Contributors

• NTBs (Non-Tariff Barriers): Trade measures other than tariffs that can impede the flow of goods and services.
• LCRs (Local Content Requirements): Rules that require a certain percentage of goods or services to be locally produced.
• CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism): A policy tool that aims to prevent carbon leakage by adjusting the price of imported goods based on their carbon content.
• EGA (Environmental Goods Agreement): A proposed WTO agreement to reduce tariffs on environmental goods.
• ACCTS (Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability): A plurilateral trade agreement aimed at promoting climate action through trade policy.

The report was authored with contributions from over 30 companies across various sectors, including transport, energy, manufacturing, and food and beverages.