1. Sustainable development and the environment in EU and Japanese free trade agreements: embedding anthropocentric narratives.
- Author
-
Gilson, Julie
- Subjects
- *
COMMERCIAL treaties , *SUSTAINABLE development , *FREE trade , *ENVIRONMENTAL protection , *ECONOMIC expansion , *CLIMATE change - Abstract
New generation' free trade agreements now include 'Trade and Sustainable Development' (TSD) chapters designed to improve environmental provisions within overall trading arrangements. The wide-ranging European Union (EU)-Japan agreement of 2018 represents the culmination of a trend towards the greater inclusion of such TSD elements, and, as it covers one-third of global GDP, the significance of this agreement for trading relations cannot be understated. Comparing it with other agreements involving Japan and the EU, I argue that greater attention to sustainable development in trade connections, notwithstanding tangible significant environmental improvements, further embeds an anthropocentric narrative of trade-environment linkages and supports a 'win–win' linkage between enhancing economic growth and ensuring environmental protections. Through an eco-centric critique, I seek to challenge the fundamental anthropocentric assumptions underpinning such inclusions and explore the ways in which the language of environmental protection and climate change has been depoliticised by a particular framing of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF