USCIB and other business groups expressed disappointment at the failure to conclude negotiations toward an international Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) among more than a dozen leading members of the World Trade Organization. A concluded agreement promised to free up trade in a wide variety of environmentally friendly goods and technologies.
“This is a missed opportunity, both for the environment and for the international trading system,” stated USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “To business, it is clear that achieving greener growth depends on the widespread deployment of innovative technologies and management systems through more open trade and investment. These can help to address climate risks, improve food, water and energy security, and offer cleaner goods to consumers in developing countries. A conclusion of the EGA negotiations would have been a big step in that direction.”
The Coalition for Green Trade, of which USCIB is a leading member, issued a press release stating, in part: “The failure to conclude this deal represents a significant missed opportunity for the global economy, delaying positive contributions to job growth, innovation and environmental goals until a later date.”
According to Eva Hampl, USCIB’s director of trade and investment policy, who was onsite in Geneva for the conclusion of the talks, negotiations fell apart over a disagreement over product lists. “While we end the year without an agreement in hand, we are hopeful that the parties will resume negotiations in the near future,” said Hampl.
China had a number of unique concerns with respect to the types of goods to be covered by the EGA as well as some agreed-upon text provision. In the end, China failed to come to the table with a constructive proposal, in the face of a workable solution as presented by the Chair of the negotiations.
USCIB has worked closely with a variety of international partners to push for ambitious approaches to environmental challenges that take account of the unique contributions of the business community and the multilateral trading system. At the recent COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh, USCIB joined over 40 other business groups in a joint declaration of private-sector action on climate.
Leading business organizations met in Marrakesh, Morocco on the margins of the UN’S COP22 climate meetings, to address the next steps under the Paris Climate Agreement, specifically the prospects for injecting business expertise and technical advice into the agreement’s implementation at the national and global levels. Convened by USCIB, in cooperation with the 
New York, N.Y., October 6, 2016 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents American business views to the United Nations and other international bodies, applauded the crossing of a key threshold for entry into force of the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, following its ratification by a critical mass of the world’s greenhouse gas-emitting nations. Looking ahead to the next major UN climate meeting in Marrakesh next month, USCIB called on UN member governments to work with the private sector in implementing the historic pact.
Last week, business, government, OECD and UNFCCC representatives attended a first of its kind workshop at the OECD to share experiences and explore next steps to enhance the role of business in the preparation, review and improvement of national pledges for the Paris Agreement. Organized by BIAC and the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF), the workshop included presentations of pro-active business dialogue and cooperation with national and regional governments from representatives of BusinessEurope, CNI, Keidanren, and MEDEF.
The scale and ambition of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create a tremendous opportunity for the private sector to demonstrate the central role it plays in human prosperity. Business will serve as an essential partner to meet the challenge of achieving the SDGs.