Guised in Green: Uncloaking the Myth of World Trade Organization's Trade-Environment Harmony

Abstract

Problem statement: Over the past decade the World Trade Organization (WTO) has devoted considerable attention to the implementation of policies that work on the interplay of trade and environment by identifying several Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) that have provisions for trade so that trade liberalization and environmental protection interact positively. However, the strategy of the WTO to bring trade and environment into harmony is only a mirage. Approach: This study delved into the conflicts between trade measures in MEAs and WTO rules and how WTO's strategy to control trade in order to protect and preserve the environment is just a myth. Results: Through this study, we uncloaked the myths about sustainable development that WTO and MEAs together claim to bring about and delineate how the WTO is primarily a trading organization and has no specific agreement on environment. The study, therefore, shows how the 'greening of the WTO' has only just been a fallacy and how a difference can be made by introducing clarity in the provisions of the MEAs. Conclusion: The findings suggested that both trade and environment are extremely imperative to the concept of development and it is a verity that one cannot be sacrificed for the other since both are equally important for the common cause of social welfare.