Non-government organisation (NGO) representatives from
developing
countries (The South), however, warned that in the current
highly
charged atmosphere at the WTO ministerial conference
where
suspicion about protectionism by developed countries (The
North) is rife it
would be unwise to seek further linkages within the WTO
right now.
The two groups did agree, however, that attempts should
be made to
set up stronger institutions outside the WTO to explore
links between
trade and the environment.
The environment has not been a major issue at the Singapore
WTO
ministerial conference as governments from the North have
instead
pushed for the creation of a working group to study labour
issues,
which could eventually become a permanent committee, much
like the
CTE.
Green issues have been a major focus of interest among
NGOs, however,
who are far from satisfied with the work of the CTE thus
far.
The committee, which meets regularly in Geneva, is composed
almost
entirely of trade bureaucrats who know little about environmental
issues, although a handful of environmental officials
are also
usually present. Environmentalists who follow the workings
of the committee
say it has degenerated into a forum where northern delegates
may ask
for greater environmental consideration in trade rules,
but southern
delegates demand increased market access in return for
their
agreement.
''The environment is not a high enough priority for most
developing
countries," said one US environmentalist. ''They usually
want to be
'paid' for agreeing to green rules, which is somewhat
understandable
considering that developed countries have done much more
damage
overall."
Simon Tey from the Singapore-based NGO APCEL and Walden
Bello of the
Bangkok-based NGO Focus on the Global South, noted that
both the
Marrakech agreement which ended the Uruguay round of trade
talks and
the Rio agreement at the 1992 Earth Summit had ''unravelled".
Perhaps as a result, the CTE has failed to recognise the
jurisdiction
of trade measures used by international environmental
agreements,
wants strict regulations on the way that eco-labels are
used and
stands accused, along with the rest of the WTO, of utterly
lacking
transparency.
Faced with this situation, Friends of the Earth International
yesterday called for the Committee on Trade and Environment
to be
closed down.
Most other environmental groups considered that too extreme,
but also
recognised that the CTE has only a limited role to play
in the search
for sustainable development.