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.
Research and Analysis:
Sectoral Approaches to Climate Change Mitigation: Competitiveness, Trade and Development Issues in Small Developing Countries, ICTSD Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Information Note No. 11, October 2009
Climate Change and Trade on the Road to Copenhagen - Summary for Policymakers, ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Information Note No. 6, May 2008. Produced as Background Paper to the Seminar on WTO-Trade and Climate, convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Copenhagen, 9 May 2008
Climate Change and Trade on the Road to Copenhagen, by ICTSD, ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Policy Discussion Paper, December 2008
Climate, Equity and Global Trade, edited by ICTSD, ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Selected Issue Briefs No. 2, December 2007
The WTO and Energy: WTO Rules and Agreements of Relevance to the Energy Sector, by Yulia Selivanova, ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Issue Paper No. 1, August 2007
Linking Trade, Climate Change and Energy, ICTSD Project on Trade and Sustainable Energy, Selected Issue Briefs, November 2006
Trade, Climate Change and Poverty, by ICTSD (forthcoming)
Policy Dialogues:
Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Dialogue for the Asia-Pacific (APEC), co-organised with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), 6-7 November, Singapore
WTI-ICTSD Trade Policy Dialogues: Creating Convergence - A “Trade and Climate Code”, 28 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Trade and Climate Change: Development Aspects of Climate Change Policies of OECD Countries, co-organised with the Resources for the Future (RFF) and ENTWINED, 5 May 2009, Washington DC, USA
Three regional dialogues on Trade and Climate Change in Asia, Africa and Latin America, co-organised with the International Institute for Trade and Sustainable Development (IISD) and regional partners, April-May 2009, Bangkok, Thailand; Johannesburg, South Africa; Rio, Brazil
Trade Policy nexus with Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Developments for the Asia Pacific Region, co-organised with the Temasek Foundation Centre on Trade and Negotiations, 18-20 February 2009, Singapore
Trade, Climate Change and Development, co-organised with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), 3 May 2008, Stockholm, Sweden
High-level Dialogue on International Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition: Advancing Sustainable Development Objectives, co-organised with UNEP and the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, 10 May 2007, 15th Session of the UNCSD, New York, USA