This chapter proposes critical reflections on the trade and environment nexus. It first reflects on how the interactions between the trade and environmental domains have been initially studied in academia, through the analysis of interactions between international agreements analysed one by one (Part 1). From this classical way of understanding international governance as made by individual agreements, scholars evolved by developing perspectives focusing on international regime complexes and adaptive systems (Part 2). While such a regime complex perspective widens the scope of the trade and environmental nexus, it still adopts an institutional lens that underestimates potential critics to current institutions (Part 3). The chapter conclusions (Part 4) present policy recommendations on how to create better synergy between the environment and trade, to potentially tackle co-jointly the trade and environmental crises.
Orsini, A. (2024). Critical perspectives on the trade and environment nexus. In Mario Telo (ed.), Towards a common EU strategic culture? (p. p. 265-282). Académie royale de Belgique. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/231388