You are reading the 14th edition of the Green Trade Network's newsletter, coordinated by IEEP; this monthly digest acts as a nexus for information and key happenings within the world of Green Trade. If this is your first time receiving it, you can find out more here and follow us on Twitter.
The conclusion of UVDL's first term saw the implementation of tariffs at an unprecedented scale on Chinese BEVs, marking a genuine shift in the European Union's strategy towards Beijing's market practices. This new approach was later complemented by the re-elected Commission President's political guidelines, presented on July 18, which confirmed the expected reconciliation of economic security and sustainability agendas in the upcoming work programme. The Clean Industrial Act, a continuation (and extension) of the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), will play a pivotal role in redefining the Green Deal (EGD) within this new political and geopolitical landscape, focusing on ensuring the resilience of supplies and the rapid deployment of clean techs. But as we look ahead to the next mandate’s priorities, a critical question emerges: what will become of the EGD’s goals in areas such as biodiversity restoration, soil protection, pesticide phase-out, and the ecological transition of the agri-food sector, areas which Von der Leyen’s speech and guidelines only addressed tangentially.
The EU must strategically reinvent itself to avoid constantly reacting to Chinese and American initiatives. UVDL's second term will need to connect the push for clean tech deployment in Europe with a pragmatic and more assertive foreign climate policy. This involves ensuring coherence between European public policy objectives and foreign policy goals. Over the past five years, the EU has introduced various unilateral and bilateral instruments aimed at enhancing sustainability in European consumption. The European Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), adopted in 2023, and for which delegated acts, are still to be published, remain the largest part of the equation, exemplifies the technical work ahead under UVDL2, as highlighted by my colleague Éline Blot in a recent blog. While some measures such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are already in place and others like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will be phased in over the coming years, it is crucial to prevent circumventions and social spillovers that could undermine the EU's international standing, and diplomatic voice. A priority for the new Commission should be developing and announcing as soon as possible a mechanism to recycle CBAM revenues, as we called for recently in a petition launched by ERCST and signed by tens of colleagues from Civil Society Organisations.
The UVDL2 Commission must learn from past experiences with designing trade-impacting and geopolitically sensitive EU legislations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Efforts should be better systematized to align public policy objectives with foreign policy tools, including partnerships and development programs. The Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships announced by the Presidency should reflect the dynamic initiated under UVDL1, focusing on securing the EU's supply chains, especially of CRMs and strategic industrial sectors, but with financial and tech transfers pledges and provisions to ensure a fair allocation of value throughout the chain.
These are key issues that our network will closely monitor starting this autumn, especially during the hearings of the next Commissioners in charge of trade, the single market and environmental policies. We are excited to meet some of our readers in September in Geneva at the annual WTO Public Forum, where several of our members will be hosting panels.
In this monthly newsletter, you will find a summary of our members' latest activities and publications. See you in September in Geneva, and until then, have a wonderful summer!
Pierre Leturcq, Coordinator of the Green Trade Network.
News from GTN Members
Institute for European Environmental Policy - IEEP
Briefing | A deep dive into the programme of the new President of the European Commission for 2024-2029
Author: Antoine Oger
Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as president of the European Commission for 2024-2029 by the European Parliament on 18 July. Antoine Oger, IEEP’s Research Director, looks in detail at the political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029 that were published at this occasion.
Read the full analysis of our Research Director, Antoine Oger, on President Von der Leyen political guidelines.
Blog | More standards for more circular products? Navigating the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation
Author: Eline Blot
The European Commission proposed the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) in March 2022, as a key element in achieving the EU Green Deal’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). The Regulation would establish a framework for Eco-design requirements, including performance requirements such as but not limited to a product’s durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability, upgradability, and environmental impact, for products sold in the EU. A fundamental element of the ESPR is the introduction of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) which would carry a product’s information requirements, providing information on performance, traceability, technical documentation, harmful chemicals, user manuals and facilitating the repair and recycling of products.
Expert View | Unlocking the Potential of International Trade to Promote a Global Secondary Market and the Transition to a Circular Economy: What Role for the WTO?
Authors: Antoine Oger & Pierre Leturcq
The transition to a global circular economy supported by a clear and transparent rules-based trading system is a key solution to address the unfolding triple planetary crisis. The WTO has the potential to be central in this process of regulatory alignment by ensuring a flexible application of common circular economy principles globally and avoiding costly market fragmentation.
As the application of the EUDR’s main provisions is scheduled for 30 December 2024, voices calling to delay its implementation are growing louder. In this context, policy analyst Cláudia Azevedo takes stock of the stakes surrounding the application of the regulation’s central rules in her newest blog post. While unpacking member states’ concerns, she also provides key insight into both existing challenges and new issues that could arise from postponing the implementation of the EUDR. Thus, she illustrates the tricky puzzle faced by the European Commission, torn between its environmental commitments and the necessity to deal with the regulation’s shortcomings.
In the podcast’s 5th episode, the EJD team is joined by guests Monica Frassoni, President of the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE), and Koen Doens, Director-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) at the European Commission, to discuss the European Green Deal’s international dimension. What did the EU do to promote the green transition globally during the past legislative term? Which policies and initiatives have worked, and which haven’t? What lessons can be drawn for the next mandate?
Past Event
Event | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Last month, Pierre Leturcq, Head of the Global programme and Coordinator of the Green Trade Network, was in Beijing to provide a 2-day training course to Chinese officials from the Ministry of Commerce, China (MOFCOM) on the latest evolutions in the EU’s approach to trade and sustainability. Discussions focused on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters, EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and Corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDDD), as well as providing valuable insights into how the EU is leading the way in promoting green trade practices.
The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest outreach event, providing a unique platform for interested stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest developments in global trade and to propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system. The event attracts over 2,000 representatives each year from civil society, academia, business, government, international organisations and the media.
This year's Public Forum theme is entitled, ‘Re-globalisation: Better Trade for a Better World’.
The sub-themes of the Forum are:
Green policies to maximise the benefits of trade
Services trade to build progress and enhance welfare
Event | OECD - “The role of international trade and investment for the green transition”
2024 Green Growth Sustainable Development Forum & Global Forum on Trade joint event : Scene setting by GTN member and ODI's David Kleimann
10-11 October, Paris
OECD Conference Centre, Auditorium, Paris
Addressing the triple planetary crisis (i.e. climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution) requires the adoption of ambitious policies. It is now widely acknowledged that international trade and investment can accelerate the low-carbon transition by, for instance, speeding up the diffusion of green technologies and enabling economies of scale and specialisation. At the same time, non-coordination of ambitious environmental policies raise concerns about their possible impact on the competitiveness of trade-exposed sectors and often hinders policy action. Furthermore, the widely divergent national strategies to address climate change, including the return of industrial policies, pose new questions on how to align trade rules and ambitious climate policies.
This year, joint event of Green Growth and Sustainable Development (or GGSD) Forum and Global Forum on Trade will explore the interplay between trade, investment and environmental outcomes. The conference will address how trade policies can help address the triple planetary crisis by supporting the adoption of environmental goods and services and closing the material loop for a more circular, low-carbon economy. The conference will also discuss latest developments in measuring carbon footprints along supply chains and their policy implications, how to promote cross-border investments into low-carbon assets, the potential of trade-based measures to enhance environmental sustainability, and the implications of green industrial policies for international trade and investment. With shipping accounting for around 80% of the volume of international trade in goods, the Forum will also explore the best practises and challenges for greening maritime transport.
World Trade Institute
Event | WTI
WTI's annual flagship conference
6-7 September 2024
World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland
The WTI's annual flagship conference, co-organised with the Global Governance Programme at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Sciences (European University Institute), brings together researchers and practitioners working in the area of trade and development. GTN members Ilaria Espa and David Kleimann are among the exceptional list of panelists of this conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the WTI. Join us in Bern!
Other News
Job Offer | ODI
Our team is growing and we are looking for passionate individuals to join us in three exciting research roles – Principal/Senior Research Fellow, Research Fellow and Senior Research Officer. These roles will be supporting or leading key projects within our programme, undertaking innovative research and analysis, and influencing the international debate on trade and investment (including supporting the AfCFTA and Aid for Trade), trade and environment, international macroeconomics and finance, economic transformation and economic crises, and more. Visit our website for more information and to apply by 31 July 2024.
About the Green Trade Network
The Green Trade Network (GTN) is a group of policy experts from 25 research organisations, ranging from think tanks to NGOs and academia, conducting evidence-based research and outreach activities on the trade and environment nexus. GTN member organisations are based in 9 EU Member States and the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The GTN aims to collectively promote a European agenda for a better alignment of trade policies and trade-impacting measures with critical environmental and climate objectives.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them
The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) is an independent sustainability think tank with offices in Brussels. As a not-for-profit organisation with over 40 years of experience, we are committed to advancing impact-driven sustainability policy across the EU and the world.
Institute for European Environmental Policy, Rue Joseph II 36-38, 1000, Brussels, Belgium, 022111097
