28 April 2015: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) launched a handbook for policy makers on harnessing the power of trade to drive sustainable development. ‘Trade and Green Economy: A Handbook’ discusses global trends in international trade law and international environmental governance, focusing on specific environmental provisions in international trade agreements.

UNEP and IISD launched the publication at a high-level event in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28 April 2015.

Earlier versions of the handbook were published in 2001 and 2005 under the name ‘Environment and Trade: A Handbook.’ The renaming of the 2015 edition reflects the emergence of the green economy concept as an important tool for achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The 2015 publication also reflects recent World Trade Organization (WTO) jurisprudence, and the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and preferential trade agreements.

Scott Vaughan, IISD President and CEO, said trade and investment flows, policies and laws have enormous potential to transform economies and societies, and the challenge is to direct that power toward sustainable development outcomes. In the foreword to the publication, Vaughan notes that a number of multilateral agendas are making only slow progress, and are “unable to articulate what is needed from the trading system.” He adds that while regional trade approaches show some promise for progress outside the multilateral setting, they pose their own set of risks.

The Handbook authors argue that trade-environment linkages are complex and wide-ranging, and a multilateral approach to investment governance could potentially overcome the issues of fragmentation of current regimes.

Vaughan, with UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and International Trade Centre (ITC) Executive Dirctor Arancha González, addressed participants at the launch event at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Steiner noted that the Handbook supplements the ‘Green Economy and Trade Opportunities Report’ produced by UNEP. [Publication: Trade and Green Economy: A Handbook] [UNEP Press Release] [IISD Press Release]