ABSTRACT
Until recently, the promotion of multilateral trading system and the protection of environment have been seen as two different objectives. One objective has always been seen counter productive to the other. The environmental community believes that international trade is always environmentally damaging while the trade community argues that international trade is beneficial to the environment. This conflict of interest has led to an intense debate on the linkages between trade and environment. However, recently, one can witness some signs of compatibility of trade and environmental objectives at international policy making forums such as WTO. Now it is accepted in principle that international trade can be promoted while protecting the environment. The recent discussions at the WTO Committee on trade and environment have centred on the ways in which this single objective can be achieved. What is needed now is greater integration of trade and environmental policies so that they will be mutually supportive in the pursuit of sustainable development. For this purpose, the examination of the linkages between trade and environment empirically is of paramount importance in order to formulate national perspectives leading to an international perspective on trade and environment. The chapters in this book were intended to fill the knowledge gap in this area by undertaking detailed empirical investigations into the important issues involved in the debate in the context of New Zealand. We below summarise some of the important policy conclusions arising from the preceding studies.
