Using trade provisions to make environmental agreements more dynamic

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

The paper examines the impact of trade provisions on treaty dynamism. It distinguishes between static treaties, which remain unchanged, and dynamic treaties, which evolve by generating new commitments through additional rules or the inclusion of new parties. The research argues that incorporating trade provisions into multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) enhances their dynamism. These provisions can empower interest groups to advocate for new international commitments and encourage businesses in non-party states to pressure their governments to join the MEA. By analysing a dataset of 647 MEAs, the study finds that provisions restricting economic activities are associated with higher numbers of amendments and accessions. These findings provide crucial insights into addressing the ‘ambition/participation dilemma’ of MEAs and designing more flexible treaties, particularly at a time of growing interest in using trade measures to establish international climate clubs.

This event is co-organised with the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and the Research Centre International Economics (FIW). The project leading to this webinar has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101031139. Any dissemination of the results of this event, reflect only the presenters' view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.