The World Trade Organisation (WTO) must work to reform agricultural subsidies in order to support the achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets, the ambassador of Brazil to the WTO said Monday.
Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota spoke on how to mainstream biodiversity into the WTO processes at the ongoing 7th BioTrade Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
“The first thing that WTO should do to implement the GBF agreement is an agricultural reform,” Patriota said.
“This is a pending issue historically at the WTO. Agriculture has not been liberalised to the same level as the non-agricultural markets, and we must deal with that.”
Target 18 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) directly addresses the subsidies issue, calling for the substantial and progressive “elimination, phasing out, or reforming” of harmful subsidies by at least $500 billion annually by 2030, a move that would significantly help countries bridge the $700-bln biodiversity finance gap.
Agricultural production alone receives $500 bln per year in subsidies across 54 countries with potentially harmful impact on nature, the OECD has estimated. By contrast, total public spending on biodiversity ranges from $78-91 bln annually.
“There is growing concern that the significant amount of subsidies given to agriculture and farming in countries with more fiscal space to subsidise, such as Europe, US, China, and others, has a severe negative impact on biodiversity,” Patriota stressed.
Brazil’s commitment to advocate for biodiversity is gaining momentum as the country holds this year’s presidency of G20 and is preparing to host the 2025 UN climate summit. A document produced in 2023 by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and published on the WTO website highlighted the need to reduce subsidies through increasing efficiency and sustainability of production.
“Agricultural subsidies that distort trade and production tend to be the most harmful to the environment,” the document said. “They are used by countries with less agricultural aptitude, which need to make major interventions in the environment to achieve some productivity.”
A recent report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) showed that energy and agriculture account for the largest shares of harmful subsidies, leading to species and habitat loss, over-exploitation of natural resources, and land degradation.
According to a separate study released by the World Bank, harmful agricultural subsidies are responsible for the loss of 2.2 million hectares of forest annually.
Currently, the WTO is negotiating to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies after the 2022 agreement. However, during the latest round of negotiations held in Abu Dhabi from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1, countries failed to reach a deal on strengthening the rules. Fisheries subsidies, estimated at up to $35 bln per year, are considered a major threat to marine biodiversity conservation efforts.
While WTO has no specific platform dedicated to biodiversity discussions, in the last 15 years, WTO members have notified more than 1800 trade measures to protect nature and the ecosystem, signalling a growing awareness of the need for concerted efforts.
“About 50% of these measures related to animal protection and plant protection,” said Ludivine Tamiotti, head of the environmental Section at the WTO Secretariat. “Another 30% related to the more general category of Natural Resources Conservation.”
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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