Global Business Calls for Substantial Progress on a WTO Environmental Goods Agreement by Nairobi Ministerial Conference
An open letter to WTO negotiators:
On behalf of associations representing business from around the world, we urge governments to conclude an ambitious Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) that will eliminate tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods and technologies under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Industries across the globe strongly endorse efforts to negotiate an EGA that is commercially significant, negotiated in a timely fashion, implementable and adequately flexible to accommodate and adjust to innovation.
To this end, we call on negotiators to make substantial progress towards an ambitious outcome by the 10th Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15 to 18 December 2015.
We hope the agreement will encourage the inclusion of as many economies as possible, provided that new entrants are supportive of an ambitious result. We applaud Iceland, Israel and Turkey for joining the negotiations this year, and encourage additional economies to consider entering into the agreement as a means to lowering the cost of adopting environmentally-friendly technologies and integrating into global supply chains.
We commend the work of our countries’ negotiators on their progress so far and commit to working with governments around the world to realize substantial progress towards a comprehensive EGA that promotes economic growth, improves environmental outcomes and advances innovation by the 2015 WTO Ministerial Conference.
Sincerely,
Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) Association of Global Automakers
Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) Australian Cleantech
Australian Industry Group (AIG)
Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) Business Council of Australia
Business NZ
Business Roundtable (BRT)
Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters (I.E. Canada) Canadian Association of Recycling Industries
Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance Canadian Council of Chief Executives Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Coalition of Services Industries (CSI)
China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI) Communications and Information Network Association of Japan Confederation of Danish Industries
Confederation of Finnish Industries Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) Emissions Control Technology Association (ECTA) European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)
Fluid Sealing Association Greenhouse CleanTech
Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Innovation Norway
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)
Japan Analytical Instruments Manufacturers’ Association (JAIMA)
Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers’ Association (JEMIMA) Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association (JEMA)
Japan Lighting Manufacturers Association (JLMA) Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment (JMC) Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA)
Japanese Coalition for Environment Goods Agreement
Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) Keidanren, Japan Business Federation
Korea International Trade Association (KITA) National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
SETI Alliance
Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) SolarPower Europe
SolarUnited (formerly IPVEA)
SPECTARIS: German High-tech Industry Association Sustainable Business Australia
Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA)
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce | La Chambre de Commerce du Canada
U.S. Chamber of Commerce US-China Business Council
United States Council for International Business (USCIB) World Energy Council