Skip to main content.

Trade Links – Issue 5

INFO 466 December 2009

Welcome

Welcome to the fifth Trade Links newsletter from the Ministry for the Environment's (the Ministry) International team. The purpose of Trade Links is to provide information about the Ministry's international trade and cooperation activities to those of you involved or interested in global environmental cooperation. This newsletter has information about current trade negotiations, cooperation activities and international progress in this area.

In this issue:

Looking back on 2009 and looking forward to 2010

2009 has been a productive and eventful year for the Ministry for the Environment in the trade and environment field, both for trade negotiations and for activity under our existing environment cooperation agreements (ECAs).

In the cooperation sphere, in September 2009, we held the first Meeting of the Parties under the New Zealand – China Environment Cooperation Agreement at which both parties agreed on programme of cooperation. More generally, we are pleased that the pace of activity under ECAs with China, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Chile has continued to grow and cooperation has deepened.

On the negotiations front, in 2009, New Zealand signed Environment Cooperation Agreements with the Philippines and Malaysia.

Looking forward, we expect an agreement to be signed with Hong Kong in association with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In 2010, we will continue to negotiate environment provisions, including cooperation agreements, with a number of trading partners such as India and the United States. We also foresee a busy and constructive year of cooperative activities with partner countries, including Chile, Singapore, China and Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Recently signed agreement

On 26 October 2009, Prime Minister John Key signed the New Zealand – Malaysia Free Trade Agreement. As part of this FTA, New Zealand and Malaysia signed an Environment Cooperation Agreement linked to the FTA.

The FTA and ECA are expected to enter into force in early to mid 2010. We expect to hold the first Meeting of the Parties by the end of 2010 where both parties will agree on a programme of cooperative activities.

Active agreements

New Zealand has a number of free trade agreements that include parallel arrangements for countries to work together on broader environmental matters.

These arrangements, in the form of Environmental Cooperation Agreements (ECAs) provide a platform for New Zealand to engage with our trade partners in ways that recognise the close connections between trade and the environment. New Zealand currently has environment agreements or arrangements with:

Negotiations

Continuing New Zealand’s busy year of negotiations:

  1. As announced at the APEC Leaders meeting in November, New Zealand and Hong Kong concluded negotiations for a Closer Economic Partnership (CEP). As part of these negotiations, New Zealand successfully concluded an Environment Cooperation Agreement linked to the CEP.
  2. The final round of FTA negotiations between New Zealand and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was held in week of 26 October in Wellington. While New Zealand and the GCC were unable to reach agreement on a environment cooperation arrangement, New Zealand is continuing to negotiate bilateral agreements with Bahrain and Oman like the one negotiated with the Philippines in context of the ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand FTA.
  3. In the week of 14 September 2009, the second round of negotiations for a New Zealand - South Korea FTA was held in Wellington. A third round will be held in Seoul in mid December 2009. This will be the first FTA for New Zealand that includes a chapter on environment as part of the FTA.
  4. At the APEC meeting in Singapore in November 2009, US President Barack Obama announced his intention to continue work to launch negotiations for the US to join with existing P4 partners and other Asia-Pacific countries in an expanded Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement.
  5. New Zealand and India expect to announce the commencement of negotiations for an India-New Zealand FTA in the coming months. New Zealand will seek to include provisions on trade and environment.

Meetings

Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia

  1. In November, an official from the Ministry visited Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia to advance our environmental cooperation programmes. The meetings in Thailand followed cooperation workshops on air quality and climate change during July 2009 in New Zealand and identified possible cooperation areas for 2010. The meetings in Malaysia and the Philippines included preliminary discussions on areas of potential cooperation interest under new agreements established this year.

China

  1. On 26 September 2009, the Vice Chair Mr Ni Yuefeng led a delegation from the Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, the People’s Republic of China to New Zealand to learn about New Zealand’s approach to natural resource management. During the visit, the Ministry hosted a meeting in Wellington at which the Department of Conservation gave a presentation on how New Zealand protects and manages its natural areas.
  2. In October, Dr Michael Jac, a scientist from Scion, plus an official from MORST, travelled to Beijing to meet with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science (CRAES), Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). Dr Jac is also part of the MORST administered Scientist Exchange Programme. This visit was a follow up from a successful field trip in September by CRAES and MEP to Rotorua and provided a further opportunity to explore common interests in management of lake nutrient levels, including potential technological cooperation.
  3. On 2 November 2009, Dr Paul Reynolds Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry hosted a meeting in Wellington for Vice Minister Hu Siyi, Ministry of Water Resources, the People’s Republic of China. At the meeting Dr Reynolds and officials from the Ministry spoke on the challenges facing New Zealand in the management of fresh water. The Vice Minister provided an overview of the major water challenges facing China such as flood prevention, crop irrigation, pollution and infrastructure.

Cooperation activities

China

As part of agreed cooperation under the New Zealand – China ECA, from 12 to 16 October 2009, Max Gibbs, a NIWA scientist, presented at a workshop hosted at the Institute of Agro-Environment and Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing. The workshop was on the identification of soil sources, by land-use, contributing sediment to the aquatic environment. Sediment is the largest contaminant of water world wide. As part of the workshop Mr Gibbs was asked to provide some training in the technique he has developed using compound specific isotopes.

Chile

Cooperation on Carbon Footprinting: New Zealand and Chile

A Chilean delegation visited New Zealand from 28 September – 2 October 2009 to study carbon footprinting in the marketplace. The visit consisted of a 2-day workshop in Wellington with government officials and a programme of meetings and site visits with: Landcare, Zespri, and other key New Zealand businesses and agencies working on carbon footprinting. This was an excellent opportunity for New Zealand and Chilean representatives to share experiences on how markets are driving demands for carbon footprinting information and how both the public and private sectors are responding to these demands.

The visit highlighted the value of cooperation between Chile and New Zealand on carbon footprinting standards and methods.

Cooperation on Renewable Energy

The Ministry for the Environment, together with the Chilean Embassy and NZ Trade and Enterprise held a New Zealand-Chile Seminar on Renewable Energy on 26-27 October 2009 which was followed by visits to geothermal and wind generation sites in Palmerston North, Taupo and the Waikato regions.

The two-day seminar included presentations from New Zealand government departments on New Zealand’s energy profile, capabilities, legislative frameworks and policies and provided an opportunity for one-on-one meetings between the Chile delegation and New Zealand experts and officials.

The presence of Mr Javier Garcia, Director, Head of the Renewable Energy Centre (Chile) provided a valuable opportunity to understand Chile’s plans for energy development (including renewable energy and energy efficiency) and to inform him about New Zealand ’s capabilities in these areas

VILLA Seminar

On 21 October 2009, Deputy Secretary Guy Beatson (Ministry for the Environment) gave the opening address to the Victoria University Links with Latin America (VILLA) Conference 2009, held in Wellington. A copy of Mr Beatson’s speech will be made available on the VILLA website.

The theme of the 2009 Seminar was ‘Environment and Development in Latin America - Challenges for Cooperation’. Representatives from Chile, Peru and Uruguay attended the seminar. Further information on VILLA can be found at the VILLA website.

Miguel Stutzin, Head of the Department of Protection of Natural Resources, National Commission for the Environment of Chile (CONAMA) spoke on Chile’s environmental policy framework and the process to establish a Chilean Environment Ministry announced in early November 2009. Stutzin also outlined Chile ’s efforts towards the protection of biodiversity conservation and invasive species management.

The International Relations Team

Previous Issues

The first four issues of Trade Links included information about current trade negotiations, cooperation activities and international progress in this area. They also provided information on trade and environment and introduced the Ministry’s international team.

Contacting us

We welcome your comments and queries, and encourage you to pass this on to others with an interest in environmental cooperation activities. To contact us please call 439 7572 or email: trade.environment@mfe.govt.nz

Best Wishes for the Festive Season

Best Wishes for the Festive Season