Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD)

Communication from the United kingdom

The following communication, dated 10 March 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the United Kingdom.

_______________

Environmental Goods and Services for Climate Adaptation in the Water Sector:
A UK perspective

Executive Summary

Promoting the trade of environmental goods and services (EGS) in the water sector is essential for supporting global climate adaptation goals. Climate change intensified water‑related challenges such as scarcity, flooding and contamination necessitates development and adoption of advanced technologies to mitigate their impact. Key goods, such as water treatment technologies, water efficiency technologies, flood mitigation technologies and disaster risk mitigation technologies play a role in ensuring access to clean, reliable water for communities and ecosystems. Similarly, environmental services such as water resource management and flood risk assessments enhance local capabilities to adapt to climate-related stresses, particularly in vulnerable regions.

This paper intends to contribute to discussions at the WTO on how to facilitate trade in goods and services to support climate adaptation in the water sector by sharing findings from UK businesses. The WTO's Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) Working Group on Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) has looked at identifying priority goods and services needed to support climate adaptation in the sector. At the October 2024 meeting of the EGS Working Group, discussions aimed to identify the key goods, services and technologies associated with water management and climate change, in addition to Members' experiences of the bottlenecks and opportunities in the supply chains of these goods and services. This paper intends to build on these discussions by contributing evidence from UK business stakeholders in the water sector.

Non-tariff barriers, such as divergent technical standards, regulations and local content requirements have been identified as key trade barriers for water technologies. Interviews with stakeholders in the UK water sector identified a range of trade barriers, including those aforementioned, that affect the development, adoption, and dissemination of key technologies, which support water adaptation goals. Whilst services-related barriers were less referenced, a lack of technical knowledge and training to support the deployment of their technologies internationally was identified as an additional challenge.

Engaging with stakeholders who work in various parts of the UK water sector has been a very informative process which has grown our understanding of the opportunities and barriers to the dissemination of water technologies. We would welcome additional collective evidence building of non-tariff measures as part of developing a comprehensive understanding of the trade barriers for this critical climate adaptation sector.