The European Commission published on Wednesday 19 May a methodology for assessing the impacts of trade liberalisation on biodiversity and ecosystems to improve sustainability impact assessments and ex-post evaluations of EU trade agreements.
The methodology is based on the identification and application of a set of indicators of changes in the status and trends of biodiversity.
Among them are: – drivers for change (such as changes in certain economic sectors); – pressure on biodiversity (e.g. land/resource use or changes in resource quality due to economic changes); – impact on biodiversity (e.g. change in biodiversity and ecosystems due to pressure); – response to address change (such as new safeguards to prevent negative impacts or measures to amplify positive impacts).
These impacts will need to be comprehensively assessed using data, research, case studies, expert knowledge, and stakeholder interviews. For the most significant impacts on biodiversity, a quantified analysis is recommended.
“We have committed in our new trade strategy to prioritising the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in trade and investment agreements”, says Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)