Resources

If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the Bridges staff to Malena Sell at msell@ictsd.ch.

THE LEGALITY OF PPMs UNDER THE GATT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRADE POLICY. By Jason Potts, IISD, 2008. Since the Tuna-Dolphin cases in the mid-'90s, the treatment of process and production methods (PPMs) under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and subsequently the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been a pivotal point of debate and controversy for environmentalists, policy-makers and industry alike. And while governments and other stakeholders have since openly recognized the importance of policy which takes into account the nature of the processing and production methods, a general myth on the illegality of PPM-based policies within the WTO has persisted. Following an examination of the alleged grounds for this conclusion, as well as recent decisions by the WTO Appellate Body, the paper concludes not only that there is no basis for the assumption that PPM-based policy is a priori illegal under the WTO, but also that the legality of any given measure is favoured by taking guidance from basic principles of sustainable development such as economic efficiency, science-based decision-making and international cooperation. Building from this observation, the paper concludes by outlining a series of targeted strategies for the design of WTO-compliant PPM policy. The book is available online at http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=950

CLIMATE CHANGE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY; LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INVESTMENT AND THE CARBON MARKET. A Special issue of the Carbon and Climate Law Review (1, 2008). While trade ministers engage in a debate on the relationship of climate change and trade liberalization, and border adjustments for carbon-intensive products are discussed in Brussels and Washington, questions of international economic law, investment regulation and free trade are rapidly gaining currency. Featuring a group of recognized experts and a preface by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, this special issue of the Carbon and Climate Law Review provides an analysis of the challenging nexus between international trade law and climate regime. For further information on this journal and online access to sample content, visit http://www.lexxion.eu/cclr

THE WORLD OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2008. By Helga Willer, Minou Yussefi-Menzler and Neil Sorensen (Earthscan, 2008). The new edition of this annual publication (previously published solely by IFOAM and FiBL) documents recent developments in global organic agriculture. It includes contributions from representatives of the organic sector from throughout the world and provides comprehensive organic farming statistics that cover surface area under organic management, numbers of farms and specific information about commodities and land use in organic systems. The book also contains information on the global market of the burgeoning organic sector, the latest developments in organic certification, standards and regulations, and insights into current status and emerging trends for organic agriculture by continent from the world's foremost experts. For further information see http://www.earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=4848

FROM DECLARATIONS TO ACTIONS ON COMMODITIES: MAKING THE TURNING POINT AT UNCTAD XII. South Centre Policy Brief, March 2008. With the multilateral trade negotiations at an impasse, with the rising concern on climate change and energy insecurity, rising international food prices which disproportionately affect the poor, the time is ripe for all concerned on development to start taking concrete actions to address the plight of the commodity crisis. This paper sets out a number of goals for UNCTAD XII delegates to consider before the meeting later this month. The time is high for translating pledges and action plans on commodities into concrete actions. Given UNCTAD's historical role, there is no better framework other than UNCTAD XII for gathering the steam for this. The brief is available online at http://www.southcentre.org/info/policybrief/14UNCTAD_Commodities.pdf

REDUCING DEFORESTATION AND TRADING EMISSIONS: ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POST-KYOTO CARBON MARKET. By Niels Anger and Jayant Sathaye (Centre for European Economic Research, 2008). This paper quantitatively assesses the economic implications of crediting carbon abatement from reduced deforestation for the emissions market in 2020 by linking a numerical equilibrium model of the global carbon market with a dynamic partial equilibrium model of the forestry sector. The authors find that integrating avoided deforestation in international emissions trading considerably decreases the costs of post-Kyoto climate policy - even when accounting for conventional abatement options of developing countries under the CDM. At the same time, tropical rainforest regions receive substantial net revenues from exporting carbon-offset credits to the industrialized world. Moreover, reduced deforestation can increase environmental effectiveness by enabling industrialized countries to tighten their carbon constraints without increasing mitigation costs. Regarding uncertainties of this future carbon abatement option, we find both forestry transaction costs and deforestation ba selines to play an important role for the post-Kyoto carbon market. To access the paper, go to ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp08016.pdf