Negotiations on environmental goods and services (EGS) raise important questions about sectoral liberalization, which implies finding ways to interlace goods, services and technology. Trade liberalization may contribute to increased investment and capital formation, improvements in the coverage and quality of environmental services and the transfer of environmental technology, know-how and best practices. It may also lead to increased participation by private actors - domestic and foreign - in sectors that are vitally important to the economy and society, whether in terms of public good, public interest or public ownership. An effective regulatory and institutional framework will be key to ensuring the "quality" of the liberalization process. The negotiations must respect national objectives and the level of development of individual WTO Members. On the other hand, development assistance should be geared towards meeting additional financial requirements and building domestic capacity.
WTO Members will have to find viable trade interests for both developed and developing countries and reconcile these in the negotiations. This requires looking beyond tariffs and the various "lists" of environmental goods to focus instead on non-tariff barriers and EGS of export interest to the developing countries, including certain environmentally preferable products. Two distinctly different categories of environmental services - environmental infrastructure and environmental support services - will require different approaches in the negotiations, as well as on the domestic front.
The meeting, held in cooperation with a range of intergovernmental, business, civic and professional organizations, will bring together trade negotiators, environmental officials, regulators and some of the biggest companies operating in environmental infrastructure sectors. The meeting is preceded and will be followed by project activities conducted by UNCTAD in various regions. A sub-regional workshop on EGS was held in Cuba in March, a national seminar in India in May, and national workshops in Nicaragua and Panama in June.
