ICTSD » ICTSD Participates

CMBD Issues Dialogue on the UN and Business in Geneva

interns — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:45:15 +0000

ICTSD participated at a unique multi-stakeholder meeting, hosted by the Council for Multilateral Business Diplomacy (CMBD), to discuss the evolving policies regarding partnership with the private sector in the UN system, a role that is changing with increased recognition of the positive contributions that businesses can make in the implementation of the broad UN objectives and priorities. Business has a constructive role to play as a store of commercial knowledge and productive expertise, as a laboratory for research and development, as a partner in pursuing the successes of inclusive growth and prosperity. But business is also being challenged to measure its own performance in terms of its impact on society and to take on transformative partnerships that have social, economic and environmental impact on poverty eradication and sustainable development. Senior officials from international organizations, governments, NGOs and the private sector will share their perspectives in each of three sessions.

Please click here to see the event information and programme.

The role of South-South Cooperation in Agricultural Development in Africa - opportunities and challenges

Ammad Bahalim — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:59:35 +0000

This seminar will discuss current trends and emerging issues in Brazil-Africa co-operation, including:

co-operation policy and research in food security, inclusive green growth, agricultural growth and sustainable rural development
China’s agricultural development footprint in Africa
other opportunities for international co-operation

More information:

Bonn Climate Change Conference

dtan — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:18:12 +0000

This event, organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is the annual mid-year negotiating session for parties to the Convention. The meeting will host the 36th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), the fifteenth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA), the seventeenth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). For more information, visit the UNFCCC website.

From Harmful Subsidies to Safe Subsidies

Andrew Aziz — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:46:16 +0000

This Global Campaign for Climate Action side event, taking place on the sidelines of the UNCSD’s Second Round of “Informal-Informal” Negotiations on the Zero Draft of the Rio+20 Outcome Document, will look at the role of socially and environmentally harmful subsidies in Rio+20 negotiations. Speakers at the side event will discuss whether a repetition in the “zero draft” of commitments already made in other fora in recent years is enough, and how agreement on timetables and measures that secure the phasing out of harmful subsidies and the phasing in of safe subsidies can be envisaged. This event is co-organised with Greenpeace, Oxfam, Oil Change International, and the International Trade Union Confederation. For more information, visit the Global Campaign for Climate Action website.

Sustainable Energy Non-tariff Measures: the Role for Trade Policy

Natalia Cubilla — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:07:09 +0000

China Development Forum 2012

Cecile de Gardelle — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:09:55 +0000

ICTSD’s Chief Executive, Mr Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, is invited to participate in the China Development Forum 2012. This year’s theme is: “China and the World: Macro-Stabilization and Economic Restructuring”. It will be held on 17-19 March 2012 in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing.

The China Development Forum (CDF) is one of China’s most renowned forums established for China’s cabinet members to exchange views with world business leaders, international organizations and learned academics on the country’s development strategy and economic and social policies. On the Forum, the vice premier in charge of economic issues as well as other key cabinet members address the issues concerned with the central government, outline the policy priorities and present the newly adopted development goals. It is a unique opportunity for foreign participants and academics to interact face-to-face with Chinese policy-makers and comment on the strategic orientation and policy options of the country. Premier Wen Jiabao and Premier Zhu Rongji have attended all the annual forums in their terms and met with the invited delegates.

ICTSD has been invited to participate at the CDF for the past four years.

Geneva Reference Group on Trade and Climate Change

interns — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:07:43 +0000

After a busy end of the year 2011, with the UNFCCC COP and, not the least, the 8th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, we have now had some time in ICTSD for reflection, and start looking ahead at what looks like a very busy year in the field of sustainable development. In this phase of reflection, we wish to convene the first meeting of the year of the Geneva Reference Group on Trade and Climate Change, to assess and discuss the outcomes of the Durban COP.
The 17th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC closed two days after the official end date. Even during the very last days of negotiations, the outcome was highly uncertain- would the Kyoto Protocol be extended, thereby rescuing not only the single instrument that is legally binding when it comes to climate mitigation, but also the flexibility mechanisms; would the “Indaba” process, initiated by the South African presidency, lead to anything tangible, and what would be the destiny of the track that was the main gain from Bali, the ad hoc working group on long-term collaborative action, the LCA?
In the end, Parties did succeed in maintaining the Kyoto Protocol alive, although seriously weakened. The LCA will continue in 2012, and will terminate its work at the next COP in Doha in less than one year. In addition, Parties reached an agreement regarding the much debated forum on Response Measures. Most importantly, a whole new process was launched through the adoption of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. 2012 will be a busy year in starting to define a work program for the new Platform.
Against the backdrop of the achievement of reaching an agreement, numerous questions remain to be answered over the coming months. Parties will need to define how the different processes will co-exist, or even merge, thereby making sure that the positive results achieved since Bali are preserved, while optimizing the potential of a new process. Importantly, delegates will need to determine how the Durban Platform relates to the core principle of common but differentiated responsibility of the Convention; indeed, the decision to launch a new process that will have legal force for all countries is likely to spark much debate.
In the upcoming Reference Group meeting, members of our team who were present in Durban will provide you with a brief overview of the outcome, highlighting areas that are relevant from a trade perspective. Our senior fellow, Professor Thomas Brewer, will join us from Washington to provide a personal and thought-provoking analysis of the outcome. After this, we wish to engage in a stimulating discussion with the group. At this occasion, we would also like to work with the group to define an agenda for 2012 that would best address the issues of relevance to the members.

Academic Workshop: Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy

interns — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:41 +0000

The intersections of trade law and law on climate change are a subject of legal and scholarly debate. Recent studies have found that sustainable trade policies can be used to foster sustainable development practices, removing trade barriers set on sustainable goods while creating new employment. In the context of fascinating dates in the UN FCCC Durban COP 17, and important new WTO cases on these issues, the Lauterpacht Centre, IDLO, ICTSD and the CISDL are hosting an Academic Workshop on Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy: New Means to Promote Trade in Climate-Friendly Goods and Services after the Durban COP 17.

Panellists:

Keynote:
Ricardo Méléndez-Ortiz, ICTSD

Chair:
Markus Gehring, CELS

Discussants:
Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, IDLO, CISDL and LCIL; and
Joanna Gomula, LCIL

Attendance is free and tea & coffee will be provided.

If you would like to attend please RSVP Markus Gehring (mwg24@cam.ac.uk) or Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (mccs2@cam.ac.uk). Places are limited and must be reserved in advance.Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy Flyer

High-level Roundtable Discusses a Trade and Sustainable Energy Initiative

Cecile de Gardelle — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:34:47 +0000

On 16 December 2011, at the occasion of the eight ministerial conference of the WTO in Geneva, ICTSD organised a high-level lunch addressing the urgent need to switch from fossil based to sustainable energy as a key measure for addressing climate change, and how this shift could be promoted using trade policies. Discussions revolved around various options and vehicles to do this, including through negotiating a sustainable energy trade agreement (SETA).

Renate Christ, Secretary of the IPCC highlighted issues such as the current state of climate change, current and expected levels of emissions, the contribution of energy supply and use to carbon emissions, and the
mitigation efforts required to stay below a 2 degree temperature increase. In particular, she highlighted the role of renewable energy in this effort.

Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz Chief Executive of ICTSD then outlined the relevance of trade and trade-policy in facilitating the rapid scale up of sustainable energy in the context not only of the environmental challenge but also other key sustainable development challenges such as providing energy access to millions of people through low-carbon means.

The lunch sparked a lively debate on the relevance and interplay of trade and sustainable energy policies. Participants encouraged ICTSD to continue its momentum on the initiative and to provide informed input through research and dialogue to policy makers.

Geneva reference group on trade and climate change

Natalia Cubilla — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:35:45 +0000

The important interrelationship between international trade and climate change has become increasingly evident in multilateral arenas. While the linkages have been generally recognized in the past, the risks and opportunities that were once possibilities have become more concrete. Trade issues are continuously raised in climate change negotiations and climate issues are increasingly appearing in trade areas, including the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.

The globalized nature of activities that drive trade and climate change has evinced a need to address the issues at the international level, yet no formal institutional process exists to provide information or exchange of views on the linkages. The World Trade Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have mostly circumvented direct dealings with these inter-linkages. Yet the rising tide of issues and urgency require that member states and other relevant parties begin to address the issues head on.
The space to generate ideas and solutions as well as address challenges in either forum is nearly non-existent, and the issues are often controversial. Nevertheless, there is currently some movement, albeit slow and awkward, to open a space for dialogue and decision.