Explore the vast range of titles available.

The construction of trade power and green low-carbon transformation are common high-quality development goals for countries worldwide. The depth of the environmental provisions contained in different countries’ intercountry trade agreements and the implicit carbon data of intercountry trade are accurately measured based on the textual analysis of trade agreement rules, and it is empirically found that enhancing the depth of the environmental provisions contained in trade agreements can significantly reduce CO 2 emissions embodied in international trade. The capacity of intercountry green technology cooperation to strengthen the internal environmental governance capacity of countries and to enhance carbon productivity is an important transmission mechanism. The effect of the environmental provisions in different types of trade agreements on reducing trade-implied carbon is obviously heterogeneous; the higher the level of correlation with carbon emissions is, the stronger the effect of trade agreement provisions, and that effect is more significant in developed countries and in the reduction of foreign carbon emissions that are embedded in export products. In this paper, the impact of the depth of the environmental provisions of trade agreements on trade-implied carbon under the same framework is directly studied, which not only advances the measurement of the depth of the environmental provisions of trade agreements and expands the research field on the scope of influence of existing trade agreements but also fully accounts for the role of the effectiveness of environmental provisions in different contexts and provides a theoretical basis for the optimization of future environmental provisions.

Environmental concerns are increasingly being incorporated into regional trade agreements (RTAs) to promote environmental quality and ultimately ensure compatibility between trade and environmental policies. This occurs in a context where air pollution and its effects on human health are of major concern. This paper investigates whether the proliferation and depth of environmental provisions (EPs) in RTAs are associated with lower concentration levels of particulate matter. We present an index of EPs in RTAs that measures the breadth and depth of the provisions and use it to estimate the effect of ratifying RTAs with different levels of EPs on changes in PM2.5 concentration levels in a panel of OECD countries over the 1999–2011 period. Using an instrumental variables strategy, we find that countries that have ratified RTAs with EPs show lower levels of PM2.5 concentrations when we control for scale, composition and technique effects and for national environmental regulations. Moreover, the PM2.5 concentration levels in the pairs of countries that belong to an RTA with EPs tend to converge for the country sample. The results also hold for a longer period of time (1990–2011) and a broader sample of 173 countries as well as for other pollutants, namely CO2 and NO2.

What causes the shift in pollution burden among different high-income Belt and Road (B&R) countries? According to the pollution haven hypothesis, international trade (via Preferential Trade Agreements) and foreign direct investment are the key influencing mechanisms of international pollution burden shifting, while technological innovation and environmental provisions also have a significant impact on pollution burden transfer. The purpose of this paper is to examine how pollution burden transfer occurs in B&R countries through studying the impact of these mechanisms on the import and export of ecological footprints. The relevant evidence of pollution transfer is based on balance panel data analysis of 61 countries along B&R from 2009 to 2016. In terms of the different incomes of B&R countries, it has been found: Firstly, under the impetus of preferential trade agreements, the two-way transfer of environmental pollution burden exists in low-income and middle-income of B&R countries, and it also promotes the two-way transfer of pollution burden in middle-income countries through foreign direct investment. Secondly, the environmental provisions have no binding effect on the import and export of ecological footprint of B&R countries. Thirdly, technological innovation has negatively affected the environment of middle-income countries. These conclusions enrich the research on the transfer and influence mechanism of pollution burden among B&R countries.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the extent to which international trade is affected by environmental provisions in trade agreements. We use a sectoral gravity model of bilateral exports, estimated for a global sample of countries over the period from 1995 to 2019 with trade data at the 2-digit level of the Standard International Trade Classification. We distinguish between dirty-footloose and dirty-non-footloose industries. The main novelty is the estimation of heterogeneous effects for groups of goods and countries, considering the direction of trade and the distinction between legally enforceable and non-enforceable provisions. This enables us to investigate whether more stringent environmental provisions lead countries to decrease their exports. Data on legally enforceable environmental provisions is obtained from the Deep Trade Agreement dataset compiled by the World Bank. Our results show that dirty goods are generally less traded between pairs of countries within agreements that have environmental provisions, especially for exports of dirty-footloose industries from non-OECD countries to OECD countries. Nevertheless, When descending to sector-by-sector analysis within the dirty goods category, there is mixed evidence concerning the effect of environmental provisions.

This paper investigates the effects of a free trade agreement (FTA) with environmental provisions between northern and southern countries. We explicitly consider clean technology transfers from the North to the South and the enforcement levels of adopting clean technology in the South, which have not been discussed so far. Southern producers benefit greatly from having unimpeded access to a northern market, but they are reluctant to use new high-cost, clean technology provided by the North. We investigate how environmentally conscious northern countries could design an FTA in which southern countries are provided with sufficient membership benefits but follow tighter enforcement requirements. We provide a quantitative evaluation of FTA policies using a numerical example.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to encourage accounting regulators to address diversity in practice in the reporting of environmental liabilities. When Canada changed to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2011, Canadian regulators asked the IFRS Interpretations Committee to interpret whether the discount rate to value environmental liabilities should be a risk-free discount rate. Old Canadian GAAP, and current US GAAP, allow for a higher discount rate, resulting in commensurately lower liabilities. International regulators refused to address this issue expecting no diversity in practice in Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe focus is on a sample of Canadian oil and gas and mining firms. These domestic industries play a major role internationally and have significant environmental liabilities. The method is empirical archival, tracking firm characteristics and discount rate choice on transition to IFRS.FindingsThere is significant diversity in practice. About one-third of the sample firms choose a higher discount rate, avoiding a major increase in environmental liabilities on transition to IFRS. The evidence suggests that these firms have relatively larger environmental liabilities and that the discount rate decision is a strategic choice.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is based on one country and may only be reflecting local anomalies that have no broader implications.Practical implicationsDiversity in practice in accounting for environmental liabilities is not acceptable. Accounting regulators should act to create consistent and comparable reporting practice.Social implicationsFirms and managers facing larger environmental liabilities can choose to minimize environmental liabilities under IFRS, while it is the general public and society at large that bear the ultimate risk.Originality/valueThe paper pushes forward the debate on whether recognized environmental liabilities should reflect the interests of equity investors, or if other investors and stakeholders should be taken into account.

Water is a limited resource but it lies at the heart of economies and life on Earth. As it ignores borders, its exploitation can affect water resource availability and quality even in geographically distant areas. As a solution, there is a growing interest in international agreements to protect water resources. However, these agreements can influence other aspects of the economy. This article focuses on the effect of water treaties (WTs) with environmental provisions on international trade. We argue that, as a key input in all production activities, protecting water resources can generate additional costs that can be detrimental to international trade. Empirical investigations are conducted using a structural gravity equation with exporter-year, importer-year and bilateral fixed effects. We find that WTs with environmental provisions decrease bilateral trade. Sectoral analyses show that these WTs reduce particularly mining trade and countries’ income levels and climatic conditions are important characteristics to consider when setting up these agreements. We also find that regional trade agreements (RTAs) with environmental provisions reduce mining and agricultural trade. So, while beneficial for sustainable development, policymakers should consider, when signing treaties with environmental provisions, that they constrain international trade in order to propose mitigation provisions.

The 2016 Morocco–Nigeria bilateral investment treaty (BIT) stands out from other such treaties because of its innovative human rights approach to the protection and promotion of foreign direct investment. Human rights permeate its approach to the regulation of investment in a manner which is most unusual in international investment agreements (IIAs). As a result, this is the most socially-responsible BIT currently concluded. Although it remains exceptional within the investment-treaty framework, the treaty reflects African initiatives to ensure that the next generation of BITs encourages more responsible investments. As such, it shows that human rights-compliant investment treaties can find fertile ground in developing African countries and it sets an example for current and future negotiations aimed at fostering respect for human rights in investment activities.

In recent years, many states have undertaken to green their free trade agreements (FTA). As the pace of this evolution towards greener trade relations continues to accelerate, it has also been met with resistance. The inclusion of environmental commitments in FTAs has sometimes been dismissed as an attempt by high-income countries to level the playing field for their market actors by raising environmental standards abroad. Against this background, this article aims to investigate what underlying motive(s) (high-income) states pursue when they negotiate environmental provisions. Using the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as a case study, it is argued that it is possible to rely on the legalization of these commitments to unravel treaty parties’ motives for negotiating such rules in the first place. In the case of the USMCA, it is found that the agreement’s environmental commitments could be interpreted as mirroring concern either for the environment or for unfair foreign competition. A closer look at the negotiation process leading to the adoption of the agreement suggests that it was mainly – although certainly not exclusively – out of environmental concerns that stringent environmental commitments were included in the USMCA. free trade agreements, US trade relations, economic integration, United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement, asymmetries of power, negotiation of treaties, environmental provisions, green protectionism, trade and sustainable development, legalization of international commitments

This paper investigated which theory best explains companies' motivation for environmental disclosure: the image theory (proxy: adherence to the Corporate Sustainability Index - ISE), or the legitimacy theory (proxy: materiality of provisions for environmental damage in the Balance Sheet - MatPA). Listed non-financial Brazilian companies with Environmental Disclosure Score (EDS) available on Bloomberg for the period 2010-2018 were analyzed. The panel data analysis indicated that among non-potentially polluting companies, ISE is significant to explain environmental disclosure and MatPA is not; among potentially polluting firms, MatPA is significant, but ISE is not. This suggests the coexistence of two antagonistic motivations for disclosure: the proactive strategy ofcreating value and differentiation through environmental disclosure prevails (image theory) in non-potentially polluting companies, whereas potentially polluters primarily adopt a reactive attitude toward disclosure, seeking self-legitimation with stakeholders after causing damage to the environment (legitimacy theory). Este trabalho investiga qual teoria melhor explica a motivação das empresas para o disclosure ambiental: a teoria da imagem (proxy: adesão ao Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial – ISE) ou a teoria da legitimação (proxy: materialidade de provisões para danos ambientais no balanço – MatPA). São analisadas as empresas brasileiras não financeiras com Environmental Disclosure Score (EDS) disponível na Bloomberg no período 2010-2018. A análise de dados em painel indica que, entre empresas não potencialmente poluidoras, ISE é significativo para explicar o disclosure ambiental e MatPA não; já nas potencialmente poluidoras, MatPA é significativa, mas ISE não. Isso sugere a coexistência de duas motivações antagônicas para divulgar: entre empresas não potencialmente poluidoras prevalece a estratégia proativa de criar valor e diferenciação mediante disclosure ambiental (teoria daimagem); já nas potencialmente poluidoras, prevalece uma postura reativa de divulgar visando autolegitimaçãodiante dos stakeholders, após danos provocados ao ambiente (teoria da legitimação). Este artículo investiga qué teoría explica mejor la motivación de las empresas para la divulgación ambiental: la teoría de la imagen (proxy: adhesión al Índice de Sostenibilidad Empresarial - ISE), o la teoría de la legitimidad (proxy: materialidad de las provisiones por daños ambientales en el balance - MatPA). Se analizan las empresas brasileñas no financieras con Environmental Disclosure Score (EDS) disponible en Bloomberg del período 2010-2018. El análisis de datos de panel indica que entre empresas no potencialmente contaminantes, el ISE es significativo para explicar la divulgación ambiental y la MatPA no; y en las potencialmente contaminantes, la MatPA es significativa, pero el ISE no. Esto sugiere la coexistencia de dos motivaciones antagónicas para la divulgación: entre empresas no potencialmente contaminantes prevalece la estrategia proactiva de creación de valor y diferenciación mediante la divulgación ambiental (teoría de la imagen); por otro lado, entre las potencialmente contaminantes, prevalece una postura reactiva de divulgación, con miras a la autolegitimación ante los stakeholders después del daño al medio ambiente (teoría de la legitimación).