WTO Trade and Environment Week

12-16 June 2023. WTO Trade and Environment Week.

This event served as a forum where government officials, business representatives, international organizations, academics, and civil society convene to discuss ways to make global trade more sustainable.

See the programme here

14/06 Information Session: EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Organized by The European Union Live webcast + Full Details

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) aims to put a price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods. The introduction of the CBAM is aligned with the phase-out of the allocation of free allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System to support the decarbonisation of EU industry, which will need to decarbonise for consumption both within and outside the EU. On May 10, 2023, the European co-legislators (the European Parliament and Council) signed the CBAM Regulation, which entered into force on May 16. It will enter its transitional phase on October 1, 2023, with the first reporting period for importers ending on January 31, 2024. 

• Madelaine Tuininga, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission 
• David Boublil, Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission 

15/06 Lunch Time Seminar on Trade Policies for Green Hydrogen 

- Organized by Australia/IRENA/WTO Live webcast + Full Details

This webinar identified some key trade-related policies and measures that could contribute to the uptake and mainstreaming of sustainable agriculture practices, supporting the delivery of Target 10 objectives for both biodiversity and people. 

The webinar marks the launch of the “Nature-positive trade for sustainable development” webinar series (2023 – 2024) that is a cooperation between UKRI GCRF TRADE Hub, UNEP, WTO, CBD, UNCTAD / BioTrade Initiative and ITC. 

• Joy Kim, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Acting Head, Economic and Trade Policy Unit, UNEP 
• Beatriz Fernandez, Associate Programme Management Officer, UNEP Environment and Trade Monica Kobayashi, Programme Management Officer for Agricultural Biodiversity and Inland Waters, CBD Secretariat 
• Cédric Pene, Counsellor at the WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division, WTO Secretariat 
• Svetlana Chobanova, Legal Officer at the WTO Trade and Environment Division, WTO Secretariat 
• Shemina Amarsy, Advisor on Sustainability Standards & Value Chains, ITC 
• Lika Sasaki, Programme Management Officer, UNCTAD / BioTrade Christophe Bellmann, Head of Policy Analysis and Strategy, TESS Facundo Calvo, Agricultural Policy Analyst, IISD

15/06 Balancing Environmental and Climate Change Mitigation Measures and Sustainable Development Efforts by OACPS Members 

- Organized by OACPS and The European Union Live webcast + Full Details

Agricultural and fisheries production in the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) play a critical role in improving the livelihoods of its people. However, events triggered by climate change, such as extreme cyclones, droughts, and floods, are significantly curtailing production and adversely affecting the livelihoods of rural populations among other agricultural and fisheries value chain actors. 

OACPS commodity dependent countries enter at the very beginning of Global Value Chains (GVCs), exporting their commodities as raw materials with little or no value added. This situation implies that many OACPS countries are extremely vulnerable to the fluctuations of international prices. The recent proliferation of new market access rules and regulations related to social and environmental standards to access markets in developed countries could translate to insurmountable Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and/or Non-Tariffs Barriers (NTBs) for OACPS exporters. This situation, if not addressed jointly by WTO Members, is bound to negatively affect the market access gains obtained by OACPS Members under the various trade regimes. 

• H.E. Toleafoa Nella Pepe Tavita Levy, Ambassador of Samoa 
• Madelaine Tuininga, Head of Unit, DG TRADE, European Union 
• Abel Fernandez, Commercial Manager, Confederation of Cocoa Producers of the Dominican Republic (CONACADO), and Chairperson, International Cocoa Council (ICCO) 
• Hon. Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, Chairwoman of the ACRAM Gender Committee and President of the Cameroonian chapter of the International Woman in Coffee, and a House Representative of Cameroon for the Cameroonian Democratic Union 
• Moderator Escipión J. Oliveira Gómez, Assistant Secretary General, Department of Structural Economic Transformation and Trade – OACPS 

15/06 Sustainable Agriculture 

- Organized by Paraguay, New Zealand Live webcast + Full Details

The global community faces an increasing challenge to meet the growing demand for food while ensuring sustainable, efficient, and responsible use of natural resources. This event provided an opportunity for WTO Members to share their experiences in designing and implementing agricultural measures, policies, and best practices that promote sustainable agricultural production.

• Federico Villegas, Ministerio des Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto, Argentina Agata Galinska, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
• Daniel Mahoney, Senior Policy Analyst (International Sustainability), New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries 
• Dr. Vijaya Subramaniam, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) 
• Marcelo Portaluppi, Gerente de Tecnología Pecuaria Federación de Cooperativas de Produccion - Fecoprod Ltda, Paraguay 
• Shelleka Darby, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica

16/06 Sustainable Forest Management and National Experience Sharing 

- Organized by India, Indonesia, and South Africa. Live webcast + Full Details

Sustainable Forest Management has emerged as a key concern in the international debates and discussions. WTO members are also working on their policies in this space. Different WTO members employ different approaches for addressing this global focus area. This session brought together views from the developing countries on how a holistic, economy-wide approach is being taken in national strategies to maintain forest cover.

• India Mr. B.K. Singh Additional Director General - Forests, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change 
• Indonesia Mrs. Novia Widyaningtyas Expert Staff to the Minister on Industry and International Trade Ministry of Environment and Forestry - Republic of Indonesia 
• South Africa Ms. Jane Molony Executive Director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa and Member of the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Industries (ACSFI) to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

16/06 Nature-positive Trade: Identifying Opportunities for Sustainable Agriculture and Biodiversity 

- Organized by TRADE Hub/UNEP/WTO/CBD/UNCTAD/ITC. Live webcast + Full Details

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022, provides a fresh reference point for (re)examining the relevance of trade policy to the global biodiversity agenda and exploring how implementation of the new agenda could support both sustainable trade and sustainable development.

The webinar marked the launch of the “Nature-positive trade for sustainable development” webinar series (2023 – 2024) that is a cooperation between UKRI GCRF TRADE Hub, UNEP, WTO, CBD, UNCTAD / BioTrade Initiative and ITC.

• Joy Kim, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Acting Head, Economic and Trade Policy Unit, UNEP 
• Beatriz Fernandez, Associate Programme Management Officer, UNEP Environment and Trade 
• Monica Kobayashi, Programme Management Officer for Agricultural Biodiversity and Inland Waters, CBD Secretariat 
• Cédric Pene, Counsellor at the WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division, WTO Secretariat 
• Svetlana Chobanova, Legal Officer at the WTO Trade and Environment Division, WTO Secretariat 
• Shemina Amarsy, Advisor on Sustainability Standards & Value Chains, ITC 
• Lika Sasaki, Programme Management Officer, UNCTAD / BioTrade Christophe 
• Bellmann, Head of Policy Analysis and Strategy, TESS Facundo Calvo, Agricultural Policy Analyst, IISD 

16/06 Leveraging Trade in Environmental Goods and Services to Tackle Climate Change 

- Organized by WTO Secretariat. Live webcast + Full Details

Trade in environmental goods and services can play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy by supporting the development, adoption and diffusion of environmental technologies, which help to reduce environmental risk and minimize pollution and resource use. The session launched a policy brief on leveraging trade in environmental goods and services to tackle climate change based on the World Trade Report 2022. 

16/06  Greening EU Trade: Integrating Development as The Missing Part of The Triangle 

- Organized by Europe Jacques Delors - Live webcast + Full Details

Strong critique that has been levied against the EU’s unilateral trade measures signals that without acknowledging that greening trade is affecting and will disproportionately affect some of its most vulnerable trade partners, and taking strong action to address this, the EU’s green trade agenda will not flourish. 

In a recent publication titled “EU trade and the environment: Development as the missingside of the triangle”, Europe Jacques Delors calls for a new EU approach to greening trade that fully integrates the development dimension and suggests a new way forward focused on an improved narrative, a diversified approach, and the development of new trade instruments and approaches to policy making. 

During this virtual event, ideas were presented on how the EU can better integrate the development dimension in its green trade instruments.

• Colette Van der Ven, Senior Associate Researcher, Europe Jacques Delors / Director, Tulip Consulting 
• Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director of the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS Forum), TESS Forum