HC Deb 31 October 1996 vol 284 cc191-2W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the Government to respond to the Environment Committee's report on world trade and the environment. [2293]

Mr. Gummer

My right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the President of the Board of Trade, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister for Overseas Development and I have today published the Government response to the Environment Committee report on world trade and the environment and have placed copies in the libraries of both Houses.

The Government wish to take the opportunity presented by the preparation of this document to set out an overview of their evolving approach to trade and the environment. This comprises part I of the response; part II contains the detailed response to the Committee's conclusions and recommendations.

The Government have always held the view that economic development makes a vital contribution to improving environmental standards. An open and non-discriminatory world trading system is crucial to future economic development throughout the world. However, to deliver high environmental standards, economic development must take place within a framework which ensures sustainable development.

There has been much debate about the impact of trade on the environment; and the impact of environmental controls on trade.

The challenge for the world community, both at the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation this December in Singapore and more widely, is to move away from the misleading rhetoric of trade versus environment to focus more closely on the principles of sustainable development. The Government are determined to ensure that the European Union takes the lead in promoting these principles.

Further work on trade and environment will be required both in the WTO and in other forums such as the United Nations Environment Programme. We have identified six topics as the focus of major international effort in the near future: multilateral environmental agreements—the most effective response to transboundary and global environmental problems. We support the efforts of the European Union in the WTO to clarify the relationship between trade measures in multilateral environmental agreements and GATT; environmental policies based on processes—a wide variety of process controls are employed as part of environmental policy. The WTO needs to consider their relationship with the product-related regime of trade agreements; examination of environmental effects—we should like to see more analysis by the WTO of the potential environmental effects of trade proposals as they are developed; spreading understanding of environmental principles—there needs to be better understanding among those concerned with trade policy of the principles and concepts underlying environmental laws and policies; market access for least developed countries—reinforcing and spreading the benefits of the multilateral trading system is an important way of providing the world's poorest countries with the wealth to tackle environmental issues; combating illegal trade in endangered species, chlorofluorocarbons and hazardous wastes.