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Mark Halle talks about the intersection between international trade and climate change. (Flash Video - 1:41 min)

Cross-cutting Issues

Trade and Climate Change

What's New in Cross-cutting Issues: Trade and Climate Change?


  • Amicus Curiae Submission to the WTO on DS412: Canada: Certain measures affecting the renewable energy generation sector (PDF - 884 KB)
    This "friends of the court" brief, prepared by IISD with two other Canadian non-governmental organizations, was submitted to the World Trade Organization panel in the dispute brought by Japan against the Canadian Province of Ontario's policies to promote renewable energy. While this brief does not take a position on the legality of those policies, it argues strongly that if they are found to be subsidies, they should be afforded the same environmental exceptions that are available to measures affecting trade in goods-the GATT Article XX exceptions.

  • New TRI-CC Policy Briefs
    Exposure of Chinese Exports to Potential Border Carbon AdjustmentsBorder Carbon Adjustments: What Risk for South African Exporters
    This pair of TRI-CC Policy Briefs, Border Carbon Adjustments: What Risk for South African Exporters and Exposure of Chinese Exports to Potential Border Carbon Adjustments, based on more in-depth analyses, starts with a hypothetical border carbon adjustment regime and applies it to the exports of South Africa and China, estimating the cost impacts for both countries if border carbon adjustments (BCAs) were to be adopted by the U.S. or the EU. They find significant impacts in a small number of sectors, although final impacts depend heavily on regime design details.

  • TRI–CC Conference: Searching for Progress in Key AreasTRI–CC Conference: Searching for Progress in Key Areas
    October 13, 2011, Geneva, WTO Headquarters. This one-day event covered new research and thinking on green industrial policy, competitiveness and leakage, and the potential role of the trade community. All conference documents (complete with video links) can be downloaded here.



Since 1999, the IISD has explored the linkages between trade, investment and climate change. Our work continues to focus on defining areas of linkage: identifying ways in which trade and investment policies might support the objectives of addressing climate change and identifying areas of potential conflict among the regimes.

IISD’s current work focuses on the issues of competitiveness and leakage; investment; and green industrial policy (including subsidies for green technologies). That work, carried out under the umbrella of IISD’s TRI–CC (Trade, Investment and Climate Change) Project, is supported by the governments of Norway and Sweden, and by the MISTRA Foundation’s ENTWINED Program.

IISD’s rich body of research and policy recommendations to date can be grouped into six key areas:

This research, sparked by the groundbreaking trade ministerial meeting on the margins of 2007 UNFCCC COP 13 in Indonesia, provides a solid platform for informed policy-making on both climate change and trade policy.

Contents

For more information on IISD's work in this area, please contact Aaron Cosbey.