The objective of this paper is to examine the viability and potential effects of different actions that Germany and the European Union (EU) can take to curb the growth of GHG emissions from the international transport sector. It analyzes different options that policy makers have available to reduce transport induced emissions. In doing so, this paper takes the impacts on trade, especially for developing countries, into account.

This paper highlights the role of trade in contributing to massively scaling up and deploying renewable energy, a crucial step in supporting a shift away from fossil fuel so as to ensure energy security and to address climate change. It identifies a number of barriers to trade in sustainable energy goods and services (SEGS), while pointing to a significant governance gap in a number of key issue areas in the trade and sustainable energy interface. The authors argue that this can best be addressed by negotiating a trade agreement on sustainable energy.

Agricultural prices, along with the prices of primary commodities in general, have been both high and volatile over 2006-11. These developments impact the poor and other vulnerable non-farm households who devote a high proportion of their incomes to the purchase of food. This paper looks at international and national reserves policies that address food security.

Changes in developed country biofuel policy are some of the key recommendations of an intergovernmental organization report to the G20, a group of leading economies. This paper provides in-depth analysis on the relationship between biofuel policy in the US and food price volatility. In addition, it identifies options that are available to decision-makers for addressing any adverse effects.

The rapid deployment and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) is considered crucial for tackling the climate change challenge. In this context, the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the transfer of climate change technologies has been particularly contentious in the negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

International transport, both aviation and maritime shipping, is a critical element of the global economy and trade. At the same time, it is also one of the main drivers of human-induced climate change.
This background paper is intended to explore the many aspects of regulating international transport emissions in the context of trade.

This paper highlights the challenges involved in accurately identifying and classifying for tradestatistics purposes many of the energy-ef?cient goods used in the buildings sector.

The carbon embedded in internationally traded food and agricultural goods

Climate change will have a major impact on agricultural production, comparative advantages, and trade flows. A greater divergence between regions in terms of agricultural output is likely.

Early studies on the potential impacts of climate change indicated that agriculture was not likely to be severely affected, as carbon fertilization and trade flows were thought to be able to compensate for any productivity declines related to climate change. Recent work, however, has raised doubts about whether carbon fertilization laboratory test results can be replicated in the field.