Many RTIAs contain provisions on environmental cooperation among the parties. The term is something of an umbrella for many different forms of interaction.
In agreements between developed and developing countries, the provisions may be focused on cooperative capacity building. Provided a regularly sourced budget (see budget discussion in Section 2.3) and an identified implementing institution, such provisions can be valuable. Absent these essential ingredients, progress may be difficult. This type of cooperation is obviously more straightforward in a bilateral agreement than in a regional agreement.
Cooperation provisions might also focus on information sharing and dialogue. These sorts of commitments can be valuable for sharing expertise in environmental regulatory policy and environmental management, given the political will and the budget to pursue them. Typically, the RTIA does not spell out the agenda or the funding sources, but rather leaves those to develop after the agreement’s entry into force.
Parties may also commit to working together on issues of regional shared interest. Such commitments are particularly important where the parties share boundaries that are the locus of transboundary environmental issues such as air pollution and shared water resources. The many successful examples of this sort of cooperation feature strong self-interest by all parties, expressed in terms of, among other things, a mandate, terms of reference and a budget for the work involved.
Finally, parties may commit to work toward harmonization of environmental standards and regulations. This sort of effort requires the most advanced institutional setting and, in practice, has only been attempted in relatively integrated regions such as the EU and NAFTA.
Option 1:Provisions for capacity building on environmental issues. The issues are not always trade-related; they can be purely environmental cooperation.
These provisions provide a means for building needed capacity on environmental matters of interest to the parties.
Examples
The CEC has worked on capacity building in the area of enforcement and compliance cooperation, including programs on:
- Enhancing environmental law enforcement
- Environmentally sound management of spent automobile batteries
- Strengthening wildlife enforcement
How Commonly Used
Examples
The Euro-Med Agreements (between the EU and a number of Mediterranean states) all contain provisions for economic and sector cooperation with a strong environmental focus (e.g.: “Preservation of the environment and ecological balances shall constitute a central component of the various fields of economic cooperation.”) The broad aims are spelled out in the agreements, and specific programming is delivered via development cooperation. In the case of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, for example, the multi-year ENPI Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme delivers environmental capacity building to 14 Mediterranean states.
How Commonly Used
Examples
“The Parties recognise the importance of cooperating on environmental issues in order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement.
Subject to the provisions of [an article on development cooperation], the Parties agree to cooperate, including by facilitating support in the following areas:
- technical assistance to producers in meeting relevant product and other standards applicable in markets of the EC Party;
- promotion and facilitation of private and public voluntary and market-based schemes including relevant labelling and accreditation schemes;
- technical assistance and capacity building, in particular to the public sector, in the implementation and enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements, including with respect to trade-related aspects;
- facilitation of trade between the Parties in natural resources, including timber and wood products, from legal and sustainable sources;
- assistance to producers to develop and/or improve production of goods and services, which the Parties consider to be beneficial to the environment; and
- promotion and facilitation of public awareness and education programmes in respect of environmental goods and services in order to foster trade in such products between the Parties” (EC – CARIFORUM EPA, Article 190)
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Option 2:Provisions for information sharing and dialogue on environmental issues. May or may not be trade-related.
This creates a platform for valuable cooperation on environmental issues, but is only significant if it is followed up with adequate political will, expressed in terms of mandate, budget and institutional support.
Examples
“The Parties may exchange information and share experience on their actions to promote coherence and mutual supportiveness between trade, social and environmental objectives, and shall strengthen dialogue and cooperation on sustainable development issues that may arise in the context of trade relations.” (EU SADC EPA, Article 11.2)
How Commonly Used
Option 3:Provisions for cooperation on environmental issues of shared interest, such as shared water resources or regional air pollution
While RTIAs are primarily economic agreements, they can provide an important platform for cooperation on environmental issues, even where those are not trade related.
Examples
ASEAN has established a large number of working groups on environmental issues ranging from climate change to biodiversity to haze pollution. On the latter, it concluded a regional treaty in 2002: the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
How Commonly Used
Option 4:Commitments to work toward harmonization of environmental standards
Harmonization of environmental standards can facilitate shared efforts to assess the state of the environment, and can facilitate trade in “clean” goods. From an environmental perspective, harmonization should not lead parties to lower existing standards, meaning it also contributes to stronger environmental protection.
Examples
NAFTA’s CEC-led efforts to create a North American standard for private sector reporting on pollution release and transfer—a standard that is now used by all three governments (as well as other governments worldwide), and forms the basis of integrated state-of-environment reporting by the CEC.
How Commonly Used