Conference Report — Ottawa, Canada, January 2018 - Trade and Climate Change Synergies and Conflicts

Still, there was hope that WTO members will begin exploring ways to make the international trade system more supportive of the climate goals agreed to at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). [...] The goal of the WTO-General now apparent that this endorsement by the WTO Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) rules is not reinvigorated the ILO and gave the organization to obstruct environmental regulation, but simply the basis to take concrete actions that have been to root out protectionist measures masquerading very important for global labour markets. [...] It was argued that this kind of action at the WTO would be preferable to simply waiting Given the urgent need to address climate change, in silence for the UNFCCC to address the issue participants emphasized the importance of prioritizing those measures that are likely to have Participants generally agreed that there is a the greatest impact over the shortest time span. [...] The notion that PPMs- the likeness of products on the basis of the based trade measures are entirely impermissible environmental impact of the products’ PPMs. [...] → Does the WTO approach to “multiple objectives” constitute a serious barrier to What Role for the WTO? the implementation of climate measures? → How can the WTO adopt a more → Is the SCM Agreement an impediment proactive climate agenda? to the subsidization of green industries and renewable energy? → Will the international trade system ever be able to respond in a meaningful way to climate → Does.