International services trade will be a vital component in meeting net-zero goals. Trade in ‘environmental services’ – services which are environmentally related – is growing and changing rapidly.
As ESG policy takes on increasing importance, it is crucial to explore how best to liberalise trade in ‘environmental services’ in support of the green agenda. As the first step, COLC commissioned KPMG UK to examine the state of play. The resulting report, “International Trade in Environmental Services: Barriers to trade and recent approaches to liberalisation”, reviews the current literature and evidence. The paper provides an overview of existing definitions for environmental services, barriers to trade, and recent attempts at liberalisation.
