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International Trade and Environment Organizations

The increasingly global nature of trade has highlighted the potential local impacts of a changing world environment, and has added impetus to EPA’s international programs. Much of EPA's international work is done cooperatively with other agencies and organizations, and is aimed at helping to improve the environmental conditions and infrastructure in developing countries. EPA also works with international organizations in their quest to help developing counties achieve sustainable development. The notion that international trade agreements should include environmental safeguards is relatively new, but we continue to prove that a strong economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand. Studies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) increasingly highlight the need to maintain a healthy environment in order to continue to sustain economic growth.

Environmental reviews are also gaining importance in international communities, and increasingly, international lending organizations are requiring environmental reviews of projects before approving them. Support for this approach can be found in the 1998 publication IMF and the Environment Exit EPA disclaimer where International Monetary Fund (IMF) First Deputy Managing Director, Stanley Fischer, states: “Studies increasingly confirm that the environment itself may affect macroeconomic conditions. Indeed, research shows that environmental degradation can give rise to structural balance of payments problems and can reduce economic growth prospects.”

The following links provide information on some agencies and organizations that work in cooperation with the EPA to address aspects of trade and investment and the environment.

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