Increased trade in environmental goods and services (EGS) is a global climate change mitigation strategy. This is because use of these goods can result in more environmentally friendly outcomes compared to alternatives. Hence, reducing their costs, including through tariff reductions, can incentivise their use over conventional alternatives therefore improving global environmental outcomes.

Efforts to conclude on a list of EGS at different levels, multilateral as well as regional, have been underway for some time, but lately have received a renewed impetus. Since the Doha round of multilateral negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) stalled, plurilateral negotiations have commenced between likeminded countries under the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA). Regional efforts among members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to liberalise EGS have also accelerated. Negotiations for a new global climate change framework to be agreed under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are ramping up in time for the next decisive round of negotiations for a new international climate change agreement to be held in Paris in December 2015. Although the liberalisation agenda of EGS negotiated under the auspices of the WTO is not directly related to the UNFCCC process, an agreement by members could provide an important signal of intent towards the mitigation of global climate change.

This issue of Commonwealth Trade Hot Topics takes stock of negotiations for the liberalisation of environmental goods and services, and outlines the major issues for consideration by Commonwealth small states (CSS). The methodological approach undertaken here confirms the relevance of the list approach for CCS, and based on this assessment potential negotiation approaches have been identified. The paper is concluded with discussion as to the potential synergies between the trade and climate change regimes that could be sought within a liberalisation agenda, which promotes the mitigation of climate change and global public environmental goods.