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Global environmental governance does not happen in vacuum. In the words of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "the virus has thrived because poverty, discrimination, the destruction of our natural environment and other human rights failure have created enormous fragilities in our societies".

We hope that this book is not just readable, but also useful and use able. This book flows from the realization that the trade and environment policy debate is technically complex, is becoming highly specialized and is full of cumbersome—and not always useful—jargon. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to understand and follow all the various strands of trade and environment debates. This is not only true for new entrants into the policy debates, but also for seasoned practitioners who may have been focusing only on some elements of trade and environment discussions, or on adjacent discussions within either the broader trade policy arena or the broader environmental policy space. This can also impose particular and significant stress on developing country capacities to participate in these discussions. More importantly, there is the danger of the policy focus becoming ever-narrower and, therefore, missing the cross-issue connections that are sometimes central to resolving complex and inter-linked policychallenges