On 26 February 2026, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) held a meeting to take stock of progress in various formats to galvanise work on the trade-and-environment nexus, with particular emphasis on trade and climate measures. They also considered next steps, including enhancing the transparency of such measures on a voluntary and pilot basis. In addition, members heard updates on work in other international fora and on developments in several member-led environmental initiatives at the WTO.
Chair’s stocktake on the way forward
At the informal and formal CTE meetings held on 26 February 2026, members discussed the chair’s stocktake of CTE work and possible next steps for 2026. At his last meeting as CTE chair, Ambassador Erwin Bollinger of Switzerland, after a two-year tenure, provided a factual report on recent thematic and interactive sessions and invited members to consider an indicative calendar for future meetings and possible next steps for the CTE’s work in 2026.
Members acknowledged the value of the thematic and interactive sessions held on topics ranging from sustainable agriculture and environmental technology transfer to the energy transition and trade and climate measures. These formats, together with the annual Trade and Environment Week and the informal and formal CTE meetings, helped facilitate candid exchanges and peer learning, members said. They also helped build members’ shared understanding of topics of interest, especially transparency in trade and climate measures. Some members suggested continuing and deepening discussions on issues of sustained interest. In contrast, others proposed exploring new environmental topics to broaden the CTE’s discussion scope.
On a pilot basis, members agreed to begin voluntary sharing of information on their trade and climate measures, including in relation to embedded carbon emissions measurement from the next CTE meeting in June. Some members considered a template circulated by Japan to be a useful tool for this type of information sharing. The need to take account of the development dimension when deploying trade-related climate measures, as well as the importance of assessing the impact of these measures on market access for developing countries, were also highlighted.
Based on the factual report and the feedback received, members took note of the communication of the chair.
Updates on members’ proposals on carbon standards and enhancing transparency
China shared its concerns about the proliferation of carbon standards and suggested a timeline and possible next steps for technical work on this topic in the CTE. These steps include a possible mapping exercise of relevant information and a session organised by China at the Trade and Environment Week in June. It also requested a possible thematic session to complement existing discussions and work streams.
Members shared concerns about the proliferation of carbon standards and the associated risks of fragmentation and compliance costs. Some members emphasised the importance of international standards and called for greater engagement of African and developing countries in standard-setting processes. Others stressed the importance of carefully defining the scope of any information-sharing exercise on carbon standards to avoid duplication with work undertaken in other WTO committees and international fora.
Japan presented a template it had previously circulated during the CTE interactive sessions in December 2025 and January 2026. The template could serve as a tool for sharing information on measures, including those that require measuring emissions associated with goods traded across borders. It could be adjusted based on feedback and experience. Japan stressed that the proposed template would neither add to nor detract from members’ existing rights and obligations under the WTO agreements, in particular in relation to notification obligations. There was a call from least developed members to strengthen technology transfer, technical assistance, and information-sharing.
Updates and other items
Members heard a presentation from the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the outcomes of the 2025 Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in Belém in November 2025. The WTO Secretariat reported on its participation in selected sessions at COP30. The COP30 Presidency (Brazil) and Australia updated members on the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade (IFCCT) launched at COP30. Ecuador briefed members on the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate.
The WTO Secretariat presented the WTO Environmental Database (EDB) report, which contains updated information drawn from members’ notifications and Trade Policy Review reports. The report focuses on trade policy tools and measures for waste and recycling.
The WTO Secretariat also provided an update on its 2025 technical assistance and capacity-building activities, including regional trade policy courses and national workshops. It reiterated that it remained open to receiving requests for technical assistance activities and information sessions for new delegates in the Committee on Trade and Environment.
The CTE was briefed on recent developments and preparations for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) by the co-sponsors of the member-led Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP), the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) and the Fossil Fuels Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the committee is scheduled to take place in the WTO Trade and Environment Week, which is due to be held from 01 to 5 June 2026.