The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide information on Fossil Fuel Subsidies (FFS) and their relationship with trade and trade rules that can help inform their discussions on possible action at the WTO, in particular in the TESSD. This working paper has benefited from comments shared on a previous draft by a group of various stakeholders to whom we are grateful. These insights were shared at a meeting at

This working paper looks into the circular economy, its linkages with trade, and development and justice concerns related to the circular economy. The paper looks specifically into the potential for cooperation on circular economy in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in its Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD). This work has benefited from collaboration with and support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Geneva and from comments shared by a group of various stakeholders at a meeting at Quaker House in Geneva on 24 June 2021.

This analysis is a work in progress that has been prepared as a working document by QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme to help us better understand our theory of change and our actions in the multilateral sphere. It is a synthesis of the present state of QUNO’s insights, aided by the sources that are referenced at the end of the document. Failures and distortions in our economic systems are also among the root causes of problems handled by QUNO’s other three programmes: Human Rights & Refugees; Peace & Disarmament; and Human Impacts of Climate Change.