The European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) questioned the European Commission's Director General for Trade, Sabine Weyand, on Tuesday 9 November, on the integration of environmental and sustainable development goals into the EU’s trade policy.
The Greens/EFA group, The Left, and even Poland’s Danuta Hübner of the EPP group, asked how the European Commission and the World Trade Organization (WTO) intend to address environmental challenges in the coming years.
“I would like to hear from the European Commission that climate change is not just one dimension to be taken into account among others, but the key dimension to be included in our work at trade level. I don’t hear today about the need, through trade policy, to tackle biodiversity, for example”, said Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA, Belgium).
For Sabine Weyand, however, free trade agreements do not have to solve everything. “We have just had a COP on biodiversity. I’m sorry if the international community is not able to land on binding commitments. Don’t ask trade agreements to fill that gap, that doesn’t work”, the European official said.
She highlighted that European trade policy incorporates tools to push for greater compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals, mentioning future legislation on due diligence for companies or on imported deforestation.
The EU can engage with partners in certain sectors that suit it, according to Ms Weyand. It can also use the sanctions regime and its autonomous tools to ensure a coherent policy.
Also present and questioned on this topic during the exchange, WTO Deputy Director General Jean-Marie Paugam promoted the trade and sustainability initiative at the Geneva-based organisation and the fact that the United States and China have recently joined it (see EUROPE 12828/24).
Carbon price
On the other hand, when asked about carbon pricing, Mr Paugam noted that, for the WTO, “the first best solution would be global carbon pricing”. “This does not necessarily mean a single carbon price”, he said.
The proposed EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a step in the right direction. Contrary to the fears expressed on several occasions by observers, Jean-Marie Paugam believes that the legislative proposal establishing the CBAM “is quite well thought out to be compatible with WTO rules” (see EUROPE 12762/5).
However, he echoed the WTO Director General’s calls for members to consult each other as much as possible on this issue. “We say to our members ‘Please come and talk about that, check the details, rather than go first to litigation’. We are positive it can be discussed positively”, he commented. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)