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Cancun: Will COP16 live up to low expectations?
Nearly a year ago, when the 193 members of the UN Climate Convention pasted the politically charged Copenhagen Accord into the final decisions of their annual conference, many said the agreement would never hold. Others, however, held that the political will building up to the Copenhagen meeting could carry through 2010 and yield greater results…
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Practical aspects of border carbon adjustments: Assessing costs from a trade facilitation perspective
Border carbon adjustments are being discussed as a way to counter carbon leakage and mitigate competitiveness concerns in countries putting in place policies to address climate change. The administrative burden associated with border adjustments would be heavy, however, and could turn them into significant non-tariff trade barriers. Border carbon adjustment (BCA) measures are being discussed as…
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Shipping emissions: Negotiating bunker fuels in Cancun
Aviation and maritime shipping are critical elements of the global economy and trade. More than 90 percent of world trade is transported by sea, while eight percent of global economic activity depends on aviation that transports 40 percent of total freight value. But despite the economic benefits provided by the sector, international transport is one…
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Seeing REDD: Unresolved trade issues at the brink of consensus
In the lead-up to the UNFCCC’s Sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP16), the UN collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or “REDD” programme, has become the focus of increased attention. Still a pilot project, REDD’s basic premise is simple: to have rich countries pay poor countries to preserve or replant their…
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Tailor-made solutions: Small-scale biofuels and trade
In current debates on biofuels trade, the focus tends to be on large-scale production. However, the production of small-scale biofuels is better suited for many smaller developing and least-developed countries. Small-scale biofuels can bring many social and environmental benefits at the local level and, cumulatively, their production and utilisation can bring significant trade benefits. Biofuel…
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Addressing potential impacts of climate change on fisheries trade
The world’s fisheries and fisheries trade will be affected by climate change in numerous ways. Foreseeing the changes and taking adequate adaptation and mitigation measures can help developing countries continue to derive benefits from this valuable resource – including through exports. The world’s poorest countries will be most affected by global climate change, including in the…
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ICTSD update
Over the past year, ICTSD has been deeply engaged in a wide range of topics in the interface between trade and climate change. In addition to regular reporting and analysis of trade and climate change issues in BioRes, Bridges, and regional periodicals, ICTSD has produced an array of cutting edge research papers and organised an…
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Select COP 16 Side Events
Tuesday 30th 15:00-16:30 ICTSD side event on “Patents, technological knowledge and access to climate change mitigation technologies” (Co-organised by UNEP and EPO) Room 3, Cancun Messe Tuesday 30th 20:15-21:45 Friends of the Earth International side event on “Climate finance: The good, the bad and the ugly” Sandia Wednesday 1st 16:45-18:15 Climate Action Network-Europe side…
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Trade and Climate Change-Related Resources
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND TRADE: WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR REGULATING EMISSIONS FROM AVIATION AND SHIPPING AND WHAT WILL BE THEIR IMPACT ON TRADE? ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Background Paper, September 2010. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND TRADE. By Joachim Monkelbaan. ICTSD Programme on Trade and Environment, Trade…