In parallel to the negotiations in the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services, environmental services were also singled out in ParagraphВ 31(iii) of the Doha Declaration, which calls for вЂњthe reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and servicesвЂќ with a view to вЂњenhancing the mutual supportiveness of trade and environmentвЂќ.Note: Where a condition includes the words вЂplaceholderвЂ™, values will be populated with information that is specific to your site. The Chair of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services provided an assessment of the plurilateral negotiations in different sectors and areas in a report to the Trade Negotiations Committee in 2011 ( TN/S/36). Information on sectoral and modal negotiating objectives expressed by members is contained in reports from the Chair of the negotiating group issued in 2005 ( TN/S/20 and TN/S/23). This collective request sought commitments across all environmental services sub-sectors, in the four modes of supply, with a particular emphasis on modeВ 3. The proposals also highlighted the shortcomings of the sectoral classification in W/120 and the Provisional CPC, which in their view does not reflect the scope of the environment industry.ДЇollowing the exchange of bilateral requests for enhanced market access, offers of improved commitments were exchanged among members, including on environmental services.ДЄfter the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005, a group of 23 members submitted a plurilateral request on environmental services to a group of 20 other members. These proposals acknowledged the potential benefits of further trade liberalization in the environmental services sector, both for the protection of the environment and for economic growth. Several negotiating proposals were submitted in the first years of the negotiations by developed and developing members, including Australia ( S/CSS/W/112), Canada ( S/CSS/W/51), Colombia ( S/CSS/W/121), Cuba ( S/CSS/W/142), the European Union ( S/CSS/W/38), Switzerland ( S/CSS/W/76) and the United States ( S/CSS/W/25).

Schedules of WTO Members with Specific Commitments on Environment ServicesД«ackВ toВ top Treatment of the sector in negotiationsД®nvironmental services were included in the services negotiations that began in January 2000.

non-discrimination) have been undertaken in the environmental services sector.

No exemptions to most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment (i.e. Technological developments have also facilitated cross-border supply (mode 1). Given that the supply of certain environmental services requires access to infrastructure, trade in environmental services often takes place through the commercial presence of a foreign company (mode 3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services), with the accompanying presence of individuals crossing the border to provide the service (mode 4). 'Other environmental services' include the cleaning of exhaust gases, noise abatement services, nature and landscape protection services, and 'other environmental protection services', which correspond to the four other environmental services sub-sectors identified in the Provisional Central Product Classification (CPC). Specifically, 52 members have undertaken commitments for sewage services 50 members for refuse disposal services 51 members for sanitation and similar services and 51 members for 'other environmental services'.

Current commitments and exemptionsД¬ompared with other sectors, such as tourism, financial services or telecommunications, members' level of commitments on environmental services is modest.ДЄs of 1 December 2020, 59 WTO members (counting EU-25 as one) had made commitments in at least one environmental service sub-sector. Environmental services encompass infrastructure services, including sewage, refuse disposal and sanitation as well as 'non-infrastructure' services, such as those related to air pollution prevention and mitigation, noise abatement and the remediation of contaminated sites.

H force environmental services