Export restrictions can be problematic if trading partners question either their conformity with international obligations or their possibly unintended negative impacts on others. Regulatory transparency can help. This paper examines how three multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)...

Governments appear increasingly inclined to resort to border and domestic measures that restrict the export of raw materials. For industrial raw materials, the OECD is constructing an Inventory of measures that have been applied since 2009. The underlying survey covers some 100 countries, some...

Societal concerns as they pertain to farming activities play an important role today in the development of national policies. How such concerns are perceived varies from one society to another as do the policy responses (economic instruments and regulations) that governments put in place. These...

This report provides an update on recent developments in the field of Regional Trade Agreements and the environment. Issues arising in the implementation of RTAs with environmental considerations are examined as well as experience in assessing their environmental impacts. It is the fourth update...

How are environmental provisions incorporated in regional trade agreements (RTAs)? What are the environmental impacts of RTAs? How can RTAs contribute to green growth? These questions were discussed at the fourth OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment, held by the OECD...

The deployment of technologies for the mitigation of greenhouse-gases (GHGs) is dependent on a wide range of services, including those that are imported. Business services, telecommunications services, and construction and related engineering services figure prominently. This paper aims to...

This paper provides an overview of existing measures relating to non-product-related processes and production methods (PPMs) adopted in the context of climate-change-mitigation policies, especially those linked to the life-cycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions of particular products. Such...

This document sets out a framework for evaluating the implementation of environmental provisions in Regional Trade Agreements. The checklist approach to the evaluation of countries‘ experience of implementation complements the OECD‘s Checklist for Negotiators (2008). Among the issues...

Quoting a joint analysis undertaken by the OECD and the IEA, G-20 leaders committed in September 2009 to “rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption.” This report draws on previous OECD work to assess the impact on...

In recent years the manufacturing of renewable-energy technologies has become truly global. The associated rise in international investment and trade in goods and services related to renewable energy has been rapid, but it has not always been smooth. Already there have been challenges at the...