On 14 June, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The Pew Charitable Trusts, Shridath Ramphal Centre at the University of the West Indies, Institute for European Environmental Policy, and Council on Energy, Environment and Water are hosting Trade in the Race to Preserve the Environment event. This event is a part of the 3-day event TRADE + SUSTAINABILITY.
Environmental issues are no longer at the periphery of trade policy—they are now an integral part of discussions on the future of international cooperation on trade. Trade policy is being asked to help facilitate the decarbonization of industries and economies, enable adaptation to climate change, support the reduction of plastic pollution, protect biodiversity, and help curb overfishing.
Regional trade agreements provide models of how trade policy can respond to these demands, but the immediacy of environmental challenges has also spurred real change in WTO practice—from the negotiation of rules on subsidies that lead to overfishing, to the creation of several informal dialogue processes among WTO members. This round table will look across the range of environmental challenges facing the planet and consider how well the multilateral trading system is responding—or not—to the urgency of these challenges.
Moderator
- Ieva Baršauskaitė, Senior Policy Advisor, IISD
Speakers
- Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs
- Beatriz Fernandez, Associate Programme Management Officer, Environment and Trade, United Nations Environment Programme
- Prerna Prabhakar, Programme Associate, Council on Energy Environment and Water
- Jan Yves Remy, Director, Shridath Ramphal Centre, University of the West Indies
- Institute for European Environmental Policy
- The Pew Charitable Trusts