Switzerland, together with Costa Rica, Iceland and New Zealand, signed the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) on 15 November 2024. ACCTS is an innovative, open plurilateral agreement. It contains legally binding trade disciplines to achieve environmental policy objectives. The regular review of the disciplines makes ACCTS a living agreement allowing it to incorporate new topics and adapt to future technological developments and environmental policy challenges. the agreement will be submitted to the Federal Assembly for approval.
Environmental goods and services
By signing ACCTS, the Parties have committed to eliminating customs duties on a total of 360 environmental goods. The list of environmental goods includes technologies in the areas of environmental protection, renewable energies and circular economy, as well as energy efficiency. The ACCTS also contains a list of 114 environmental and environmentally-related services, which, based on a new definition, all make a substantial contribution to achieving the environmental objectives set out in the agreement. In the ACCTS, the Parties undertake to refrain from discriminatory measures or measures that could impair market access for environmental services. The trade liberalisation and increased legal certainty strengthen the international value chains for environmentally friendly goods and services and every sector in Switzerland involved therein.
Fossil fuel subsidies
As the first international agreement of its kind, the ACCTS provides a clear definition of harmful fossil fuel subsidies (FFS). The ACCTS bans FFS particularly harmful to the environment, such as subsidies for coal and subsidies for the production of oil and gas. It also prohibits the introduction of new FSS, while existing FSS that are not prohibited can be maintained but not expanded. The rules set out in the ACCTS limit harmful market distortions that favour carbon-intensive technologies at the expense of climate policy objectives.
Voluntary Ecolabelling
The chapter on voluntary ecolabelling in ACCTS contains 13 non-binding guidelines to strengthen the quality and comparability of voluntary ecolabels for goods and services. The chapter helps to avoid the negative effects of voluntary ecolabelling, such as greenwashing and unjustified discrimination. Ecolabels strengthen market mechanisms in favour of the environment by enabling consumers to make better-informed purchasing decisions and companies to capitalise on the ecological added value of their products.
Conformity and binding character
Although the ACCTS is an agreement that does not form part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) legal framework, it was drafted in accordance with it. Accordingly, trade in environmental goods and services is liberalised with respect to all WTO members in line with the most-favoured-nation principle. Currently, the ACCTS has four Parties: Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland. However, the agreement is expected to gain in importance as more WTO members join. Provisions on technical co-operation will support the expansion of the agreement. In addition, a possibility of postponing the abolition of import duties on environmental goods is included for future parties within a limited time period. The model character of the agreement will contribute to the strengthening and further development of the rules-based international trading system. The ACCTS also includes a dispute settlement chapter, which will enable the Parties to clarify and settle any differences through consultation and arbitration.
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