This guidance is an explanation of UK-New Zealand FTA Chapter 22: Environment
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) sets new precedents, including ambitious commitments on coal and fossil fuels, and an extensive list of environmental goods with liberalised tariffs. It contains commitments on areas including deforestation, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and the transition to a circular economy, and strengthens cooperation on these issues.
Environmental goods and services
You can use the Environmental Goods List in the agreement as a guide for sustainable goods as it provides information for exporters on the potential environmental benefit of the listed goods. Note that almost all industrial good tariffs will be liberalised in the FTA provided they qualify as originating.
Both countries will coordinate on enhancing the trade in environmental goods and services. Including areas which can become future opportunities for UK exporters such as:
- renewable and low carbon energy
- energy efficient products and services
- clean transport including uptake of electric vehicles
- energy storage technologies
- sustainable financial services
- clean heat
- carbon capture, utilisation, and storage
- climate change adaptation and resilience technologies and services
- conservation of biological diversity, pollution abatement, and water conservation
- identification of, and further liberalisation of trade in, environmental services
Sustainability
Both countries will work closely on promoting more sustainable ways to trade. These will likely result in additional advantages to future exports in:
- sustainable agriculture and associated trade
- forest products harvested from sustainably managed forests
- resource efficient products designed to be easier to reuse, dismantle, or recycle at end of life
- eco-labelled products that makes it easier for consumers to make more sustainable choices
- secondary materials and used goods - goods for repair, reuse, and remanufacture that contributes to a resource efficient and circular economy
Institutional arrangements
An Environmental and Climate Change Sub-Committee will be established to monitor and review the environmental chapter of the FTA. Its reports will be made available to the public who can consult it for any updates on chapter implementation and cooperation activities.
Independent advisory groups that include business organisations may engage with their governments in relation to the operation and implementation of this Chapter.