The problem

The EU is committed to undertaking sustainability assessments of all trade agreements and has supported work that aims to fulfil this commitment. However, there is currently an absence of robust assessment tools for current or expected future assessment needs, mainly due to the theoretical limitations of economic models. Although some environmental issues, such as climate change, do lend themselves to modelling, others, such as bio-diversity, do not.

Overview:

SIAMETHOD will identify the limits and potential for additional assessment tools. Where promise is identified, the project will propose strategies for development so that results can be of practical use to policy-makers. This task will be approached in a piecemeal fashion as no single integrated methodology is expected. However, it is envisaged that developments can be integrated into an overall approach to the problem of sustainability assessments.

Issues to be examined:

• methodologies for product chain assessment
• assessment of specific service sectors
• assessment of investment
• assessment of commodity markets
• techniques for stakeholder consultation

Contribution to policy development:

• More robust and improved sustainability impact advice to policy-makers
• Improved ability to address sustainability issues
  and concerns
• Provision of open and robust assessments for use in trade negotiations
• Ability to measure actual environmental outcomes against predictions

Project deliverables

• Workshop one to review draft results for four work-packages and review other progress –
  Month 11
• Draft Integration Report – Month 16
• Workshop two to review results of all remaining work-packages – Month 18
• Integration report and policy recommendations – Month 18

Dissemination

• Results published in a range of publications – ongoing
• Active website designed to provide information about the work and its progress – ongoing

Technical information

Project acronym: SIAMETHOD
Project’s official full title: Developing new methodologies to assess the sustainability impacts of trade policies
Research priority: 3.4. Forecasting and developing innovative policies for sustainability in the medium and long term
Specific webpage: Not available
Proposal/contract no: 6629
Start date: Not available
Kick off meeting: Not available
Completion date: Not available
European Commission scientific officer: Not available

Coordinator:
Name: Mohamed Ali Marouani, Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales
Abbreviated name: IDDRI
Address: 6 rue du Général Clergerie, 75116 Paris
Country: France
Tel: (33) 1 53 70 22 35
Fax: (33) 1 53 70 21 45
Email: marouani@conseileco.com

Partners

Name: Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales 
Abbreviated name: Iddri
Country: France

Name: Ecologic, Institut fuer Internationale und Europische Umweltpolitik gGmbH
Abbreviated name: Ecologic
Country: Germany

Name: Institut fuer oekologische Wirtschaftsforschung gGmbH (Institute for Ecological Economy Research)
Abbreviated name: IOEW
Country: Germany

Name: Policy Studies Institute
Abbreviated name: PSI
Country: UK

Name: Recursos e Investigacion para el Desarrollo Sustentable
Abbreviated name: RIDES
Country: Chile