International Programs
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 
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.
- U.S. EPA domestic and international capacity building efforts regarding implementation of environmental impact assessment
- United
States Government Initiatives to Build Trade Related Capacity in Developing
and Transition Countries (PDF) (57 pp, 1.89 MB, About PDF) – A publication by the United States
Agency for International Development
- Trade
and Environment Information at the WTO website
- United Nations Environment
Programme
- Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development
- International
Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
- Back to: Environment, Trade and Finance
Contacts
For additional information on EPA's International Trade efforts, contact:
Joe Ferrante
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International and Tribal Affairs (2670R)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: ferrante.joe@epa.gov