With growing concerns over climate change, the debate over the linkage between climate change and trade is likely to intensify, particularly in countries vulnerable to this change, such as South Asian countries. This paper states that climate change is likely to affect macroeconomic and trade performance, and livelihoods and living standards in South Asia. The authors underline that:

an internationally agreed arrangement for emissions reduction in the coming years appears to be far from realisation
there has been a call in the WTO to liberalise trade in climate-friendly goods; still, it is difficult to define environment or climate- friendly goods
as a matter of fact, the WTO's intellectual property right (IPR) regime may be hindering the diffusion of climate-friendly technology

Regarding South Asian countries, the paper concludes that:

regional cooperation on adaptation to climate change should be considered
regional energy cooperation in hydropower and other renewable energy can be of great help to the entire region
as a matter of fact, this may enable South Asian countries to deal with the growing carbon-related trade protectionism in the developed world
in general, adopting climate mitigation measures which are closely linked with energy security is very recommended

Finally, the document points out that  “eco-labels for exports” will likely cause difficulties for South Asian exporters although most products they export are low in emissions.