The Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainable Energy focuses on the following strategic areas, all of which are central to the post-2012 climate regime and have inherent trade-related aspects. Please click here for the full illustrative brochure of the Global Platform.
Most decision makers in the trade policy sphere continue to regard climate change issues as outside the realm of their jurisdiction. In contrast, many negotiators on the climate change front regard trade policy as an essential tool to address climate change regardless of the possible inconsistencies vis-a-vis multilateral trade rules. Some caution against trade protectionism in the name of climate change mitigation. Given this divide, the ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainable Energy (the Global Platform) provides a bridge between the various stakeholders from the trade and climate change communities to promote understanding of one another’s concerns and enable appreciation of how the decisions in one field affect policies in the other.
While the importance of the linkages has become increasingly obvious, what remains essential is analytical and evidence-based understanding of how and why these linkages create policy dilemmas. In many circles, how to solve the challenges involved—politically, legally, and economically—remains unclear. Through research and analysis as well as policy dialogues, the Global Platform reaches a wide spectrum of stakeholders, deepening their understanding of the issues and their capacity to establish coherent outcomes on trade and climate change.
Effectively addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation calls for the scaling up of innovation, diffusion, and transfer of pertinent technologies. Responding to the impact of climate change and enabling a transition to a low-carbon economy demands an exhaustive exploration of all possible mechanisms and legal and business models concerned; as well as a solid understanding of enabling regulatory frameworks, including those for intellectual property. So far, much of the discussion has lacked a solid empirical basis and an informed policy perspective. This is precisely the gap on which ICTSD’s Global Platform focuses in the field of technology.
An informal mechanism, ICTSD‘s Initiative on Climate Technology and Trade assembles prominent experts and policy makers to develop a research agenda and identify gaps and priorities through the following activities:
- the examination of relevant mechanisms of transfer of technology;
- the identification of enabling obstacles and potential points of intervention; and
- the articulation of measures that could be considered in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change context.
The initiative strives to generate solutions-focused and policy-oriented outcomes. To this end, the United Nations Environment Programme, the European Patent Office, and ICTSD joined forces to deliver by the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen a patent landscape in the area of energy generation, a survey of licensing practices in the same area, and, ultimately, a database containing patent information on green technologies. Post-Copenhagen, the group will pursue a similar undertaking with respect to other sectors (i.e.: buildings and construction and transport).
Addressing climate change and energy security requires massive and rapid deployment of more efficient, cleaner technologies that promote clean growth and economic gain. Carefully crafted trade policies could contribute to a rapid diffusion and transfer of clean technologies around the world and provide new incentives for innovation and investment in climate-friendly technologies.
Through targeted research, analysis, and policy dialogues, ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainable Energy (the Global Platform) provides options for liberalizing trade in environmental goods and services that effectively contribute to sound environmental management while preserving developing countries’ ability to promote industry and economic development. The project has identified and classified key climate-friendly environmental goods.
In this regard, the Global Platform launched a mapping exercise of commercially available technologies and goods as well as those undergoing R&D (with a strong prospect of commercialization in a five- to 10-year time horizon) in three sectors: renewable energy supply, buildings, and transport. Once peer reviewed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead experts, these mapping studies set the stage for customs classification and a subsequent detailed analysis of their market drivers, trade flows, and trade barriers.
To clarify the role of trade in the dissemination of climate-friendly technologies, the Global Platform draws from the expertise of trade and environmental specialists. Experts from such institutions as the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands; the Energy and Resources Institute in India; the Energy Research Institute in China; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development all contribute to this ongoing research on climate-friendly technologies.
Agriculture
While climate change presents an undeniable threat to agricultural production and food security, the agricultural sector significantly contributes to greenhouse gasses and needs to help mitigate climate change. At the same time, however, increased demands on the sector require that agricultural production more than double by 2050. Rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all decrease in agricultural emissions, efforts should focus on policies that deliver win-win outcomes to enhance agriculture productivity, promote food security and sustainable livelihood, and that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
An open and equitable trade system for food and agriculture is vital to food security and contributes to climate change adaptation and mitigation; it can help offset climate-induced production decreases in certain regions and facilitate the transfer of food and agricultural products from regions where their production requires relatively fewer greenhouse gas emissions to regions where production would result in higher emissions.
To help address these concerns, ICTSD and the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC) have established an interdisciplinary panel of experts, the ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Trade: Promoting Policy Coherence. For further information on the ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Trade: Promoting Policy Coherence, please click here.
Biofuels
To produce, trade, or use agricultural products as fuel is a policy riddle that has spawned heated debate and multiple—and sometimes conflicting—action. Today, many see fuel derivatives from agricultural produce and forests as a new frontier in energy supply. Over the past few years, OECD countries and most major demandeurs of energy for transport or otherwise have adopted policies and measures that have spurred enormous demand and stimulated investment in production and growth. Evidence shows that these policies have rapidly expanded trade flows and production at home and abroad; in particular measures introducing mandates of agrofuel use in the mix of liquid fuel for transportation or the energy grid. Given the ensuing scale, sustainability challenges are many, multifaceted, and urgent.
Net gains and losses from use of biomass as energy are hard to estimate, particularly in a long-term assessment. Odds for a future of improved energy efficiency; lower carbon emissions; reasonable and sustainable use of lands for the production of food, fibre, forests, or fuel; and larger developmental and social gains may be enhanced or dampened by the policies that are made now; especially those with long-term targets as well as changes in regulatory frameworks and international rules that limit and lock-in our possibilities.
In this context, ICTSD has over the past two years engaged in policy dialogue, research, analysis, and problem-solving activities that contribute to societies’ pressing need to come to grips with the reality of energy crop
Least-developed countries (LDCs), small and vulnerable economies (SVEs), and small island developing states (SIDS) are highly vulnerable to the physical impact of climate change, including droughts, floods, and hurricanes. These countries’ high levels of poverty and dependence on limited exports and sectors, as well as weak supply-side capacity, underline such vulnerability. Moreover, key economic sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism are among the most susceptible to the impact of climate change.
Adapting to climate change requires building economic resilience by enhancing supply-side capacities and promoting economic diversification to reduce the negative and augment the positive impact of climate change and achieve sustainable development. Indeed, enabling supply-side policies that facilitate the diversification of production and exports, technological upgrading, and the value added are instrumental to foster economic resilience in these countries. Trade policy can also play an important role in constructing and strengthening the supply-side and adaptive capacity of LDCs, SVEs, and SIDS.
ICTSD’s work on trade and climate change adaptation supports resilience building and adaptation in LDCs, SVEs and SIDS. Key research, analysis, and dialogues are conducted at the sectoral level (e.g., tourism, fisheries, energy, etc.) to foster low-carbon economic restructuring, supply-side capacity, and trade competitiveness in these countries. Moreover, our work promotes the concept that innovative financing mechanisms in the trade and climate change regimes reinforce and complement each regime.
In the debate on the implications of climate change policies for global competitiveness and carbon leakage, policies such as energy-efficiency requirements, cap-and-trade schemes and carbon taxes have come to the forefront. Countries trying to mitigate climate change have raised concerns that their energy-intensive industries risk poor competition with firms in non-mitigating countries, which could result in market-share losses and consequently a relocation of emissions.
Options are available to address such concerns. The free distribution of allowances to emissions-intensive sectors of production is one, adopted by the European Union and included in other existing proposals. Another alternative is internationally negotiated sectoral agreements, which is part of the current negotiations of the UNFCCC. A third option is levelling the playing field with measures at the border to equalize carbon costs. Calls for this controversial option are being considered in national legislation in the United States.
On these subjects, ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainable Energy (the Global Platform) has undertaken research and analysis and has organized policy dialogues across policy communities and with the inclusion of stakeholders. The aim is to promote equitable and nondiscriminatory approaches to the potential use of trade instruments to address carbon leakage and competitiveness and to generate awareness of inherent potential welfare and sustainability costs.
At the UNFCCC, discussions about regulation of emissions from the international transport sector—air and marine—could have crucial implications for developing countries in terms of trade and development prospects. Defining regulatory approaches that effectively control emissions from international transportation without undermining the export potential of developing countries requires careful thinking and active participation by countries in the negotiations on climate change.
To promote open dialogue about regulation of emissions from the international transport sector, carbon accounting and labelling initiatives, and their impact on global trade and our shared atmosphere—and particularly on the implications for developing countries—ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainable Energy (the Global Platform) has planned a series of studies and stakeholder meetings.
This dialogue process will engage the OECD countries on developing-country concerns with regard to potential trade and development effects of regulating bunker fuels and emissions from air and marine transport (e.g., by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Maritime Organisation)and in complying with carbon-related standards and labels. Dialogue on this subject will be organised at the UNFCCC meetings and during the meetings of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
This work seeks to single out two sets of issues of critical importance to developing countries: adaptation in their trade-exposed sectors (agriculture and tourism) and the key question of technology transfer, innovation, Aid for Trade, and the UNFCCC agenda on financing. It responds in a tailored manner to the issues of small and large developing countries to foster constructive engagement in climate change negotiations.
In sum, the Global Platform enhances understanding of trade and development concerns in the review of regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the international transport sector.