Barriers to trade in Environmental Goods (EGs) and Environmental Services (ESs) are documented for a large sample of countries and compared with barriers to trade in other goods and other services. Some progress at reduction in barriers has occurred at the national, regional and sectoral levels but not at the multilateral level where countries have been unable to agree on an approach to reduce barriers to trade. For EGs, tariffs and NTBs are highest for low-income countries and low for high-income countries. First-order estimates of the import response to a 50% reduction in tariffs for low-income countries suggest an increase in imports of around 4%. For ESs, estimates draw on the comparison of an Environment Services Liberalization index calculated across modes and services sub-sectors. The limitations of this ordinal index coupled with the inadequacy of the UN CPC list where services are defined in an exclusionary manner so that they cannot appear on two lists, casts greater uncertainty as to the informational content of the commitment measures presented here which, at best, indicate bindings on market access and national treatment rather than actual policies. It would appear nonetheless that at least as great, and probably greater commitments took place in the environmental sectors (as defined by the CPC) both multilaterally and regionally than for 'other' services with the same pattern across income groups: greater commitments observed for HIC than for MICs and LICs although it is widely recognized that GATS commitments by HICs largely amounted to consolidated members' unilateral services policies. North-South Regional Trade Agreements resulted mostly in commitments by the Southern partners indicating greater prospects for reducing barriers to trade in a regional than in a multilateral context.

Environmental goods and services have been identified as key sectors where the potential is fairly high for 'win-win-win' outcomes from trade liberalisation for the promotion of environmental protection and economic development. It is considered that expansion of trade liberalisation in environmental goods and services could help address acute environmental problems and resource efficiency in many countries, particularly the developing countries. The global market in environmental goods and services shows rapid growth potential and this may economically benefit both developed and developing countries.At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at Doha in November 2001, WTO members agreed in Paragraph 31 (iii) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration (DMD) as follows: '31. With a view to enhancing the mutual supportiveness of trade and environment, we agree to negotiations, without prejudging their outcome, on...(iii) the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services.'The DMD further states that the elimination of trade barriers would lead to 'win-win-win' situations, as it would have beneficial effects on trade, the environment and development. Questions arise (a) what are environmental goods and services, (b) what kind of 'win-win-win' situations may emerge from their further liberalisation, and (c) what specific trade and environmental interests can WTO members identify from the 'win-win-win' scenarios?This research considers the issues raised by the call for trade liberalisation in environmental goods and services sector. Chapter 2 examines the environment industry and Chapter 3 provides various definitions of environmental goods and services by international organisations and WTO developed and developing members. It outlines the definitional challenges and briefly explores some post-Doha developments. Chapter 4 and 5 analyse the mandate under the DMD and the implications for trade. Chapter 6 identifies and examines the environmental regulatory framework required to address the increasing demand for environmental goods and services.Chapter 7 explores various challenges related to the market structure and Chapter 8 provides conclusion and policy recommendations.

To what extent are there trade impediments to the transfer and adoption of environmental goods and services? How can these be addressed by global trade negotiations? What is the role of complementary measures in order to ensure "win-win" benefits -- that is promoting both environmental protection and economic growth? And how can developing countries also benefit to ensure a triple -- "win-win-win" -- situation? This book addresses these questions. A key conclusion of the research is the need for policy settings to address both supply and demand-side factors. Indeed supply-side factors, including a diverse and cumulative range of trade barriers are more significant inhibitors of the deployment of technology and service-based solutions to global environmental challenges than has been assumed heretofore. As a new round of services trade negotiations gathers momentum at the World Trade Organisation, and efforts continue to launch a broader WTO Round encompassing tariff negotiations, it is hoped this volume makes a timely contribution to debate on how trade liberalisation can yield concrete results on the journey to sustainable development.