Suchergebnisse

The World Trade Organization is often faced with the challenge of reconciling its central objective of promoting free trade with the imperatives of avoiding adverse effects on the environment and public health. The organization has increasingly had to address this concern through its dispute settlement system and has refined several aspects of the debate through the Reformulated Gasoline, Shrimp-Turtle, Asbestos and Beef-Hormones cases. The EC Biotech case is the latest such dispute that has brought into focus the role of the World Trade Organization in protecting the environment and public health. This high-profile case has brought attention to several procedural issues pertaining to the dispute settlement system, such as the role of advisory experts and of amicus curiae briefs as well as the extended time taken in resolving these special cases, which are marked with a high level of complexity and political sensitivity. Although the panel report has retained a narrow frame of reference, the case has also drawn attention to significant substantive issues such as the definition of 'undue delay', the role of science and precaution and the inter-relationship between trade law and public international law. There remain, however, several questions on which the panel commented either inconclusively or not at all. In the event that the panel ruling is appealed, perhaps the Appellate Body will elaborate more fully on some of these crucial concerns that need to be addressed in order to identify a template for interaction between the objectives of free trade and the protection of environment and public health.

The Right to Development (RTD) is a new and highly contested right. Its emergence is linked to the demand for a `new international economic order' by developing countries. Composite in nature and integrating civil and political rights with economic, social and cultural rights, the RTD approach underscores participation, a fair sharing of benefits, transparency and non-discrimination. The present volume explores the theoretical and practical aspects of RTD as an alternative to existing approaches to development. It brings together the reflections and insights of some of the finest scholars on t

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Part I – Global Governance Frameworks for Sustainability Standards -- Chapter 2. Transformative impacts? Exploring the link between voluntary sustainability standards and the Sustainable Development Goals -- Chapter 3. Assessing the role of the World Trade Organization in regulating the use of standards in international trade -- Chapter 4. Towards greening trade? Environmental provisions in emerging markets' preferential trade agreements -- Chapter 5. The CSR interface between the private sector and social and environmental standards and regulations -- Chapter 6. Advances in sustainability reporting: What is missing? -- Chapter 7. The impact of global labour standards on export performance -- Part II – Sustainability Standards in Sectoral and Country Contexts -- Chapter 8. The changing landscape of sustainability standards in Indonesia: Potentials and pitfalls of making global value chains more sustainable -- Chapter 9. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and its contribution to sustainable forest management in Indonesia -- Chapter 10. Emerging international environmental standards and trade: Sectoral implications for Pakistan -- Chapter 11. Global and national food safety and quality standards: Implications and impacts for farmers in Thailand and India -- Chapter 12. Making local work for the global best: A comparative study on vehicle efficiency standards implementation in China and Mexico -- Chapter 13. Standard-setting in water use and sustainable development: A comparative critical analysis of grey water recycling in the tourism sector -- Chapter 14. Conclusions and policy recommendations.

AbstractVoluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are transnational governance instruments that can be leveraged to pursue sustainable development in global value chains. They have proliferated since the 1990s in terms of their number and the share of global production they govern. This paper shares some key insights arising from the considerable body of literature that has analysed the role of these instruments for sustainable production and trade. First, it introduces VSS, traces the evolution of their adoption and takes stock of the research on their sustainability impacts. Next, some major developments in the VSS realm are discussed, related to public policy and the emergence of national sustainability standards. The paper then zooms in on the challenges and limitations of VSS in transforming value chains towards sustainability, focusing on the shortcomings related to inclusiveness and the problems arising from their proliferation. The paper concludes by distilling recommendations on overcoming these challenges, especially in light of recent policy developments, and outlines what different stakeholders can do to make VSS more effective and inclusive instruments for sustainable value chains.