Environmental Effects of International Trade
Underlagsrapport 31
- Utgiven:
- 20 januari 2009
- Typ:
- Rapporter
- Avsändare:
- Utbildningsdepartementet
- Globaliseringsrådet
- Författare:
- Jeffrey Frankel
Sammanfattning
No aspect of globalization worries the critics more than its implications for the environment. It is widely accepted that the direct effects of globalisation on the economy are positive, promoting international specialization, trade and growth. Concerns rise more with regard to "non-economic" effects of globalisation, i.e. negative externalities in the form of pollution and environmental degradation, due to the free rider problem. The report "Environmental Effects of International Trade" surveys the state of our knowledge in this field and presents new and updated evidence regarding the effects of trade on the environment. A central question is whether globalisation helps or hurts in achieving the best trade-off between environmental and economic goals. Generally empirical studies of cross-country data find no or limited detrimental effects of trade on the environment, or that such effects are limited in time as countries grow out of poverty. However, there seems to one exception: carbon dioxide emissions. Hence, the evidence does suggest that trade and growth can exacerbate carbon dioxide emissions for countries, controlling for their income levels. The author provides specific recommendations that should be addressed at the coming Kyoto II meeting 2009 in Copenhagen. In particular, the meeting should come to an agreement on a multilateral framework for trade measures, rather than leaving it up to individual states without guidelines.
