IISD at the WTO Public Forum 2021

The 2021 edition of the WTO Public Forum had “Trade Beyond COVID-19: Building Resilience” as its theme and was held in hybrid mode from September 28 to October 1, 2021. All sessions were streamed live online with virtual and on-site participation.

IISD was involved in organizing the following two events and reported on the discussions through the SDG Knowledge Hub.

Building Bridges: Border carbon adjustment and the multilateral trading system

This session was organized by IISD and brought together leading policy experts to look at border carbon adjustments (BCAs), otherwise known as carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs). This climate policy tool, which has a profound impact on international trade, has increasingly drawn public attention in recent months. This session sought to look beyond the headlines to examine the possibility of building common ground and best practices in the design and implementation of BCAs. Panellists considered what elements are good candidates for common ground, asked where discussions might take place, and considered what prospects there are for this common ground to act as a bridge between the objectives and principles of climate change action and the multilateral trading system, with particular attention to the principles of special and differential treatment and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Panellists:

• Aaron Cosbey, Senior Associate, IISD
• Susanne Dröge, Senior Fellow, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
• Arunabha Ghosh, Founder/CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water
• Professor Xiankun Lu, Founder and Managing Director, LEDECO Centre Swiss

Moderator:

• Alice Tipping, Lead, Sustainable Trade and Fisheries Subsidies, IISD

Date and Time: 

• Tuesday September 28, 2021, at 3:05 PM CEST.

A WTO Fisheries Subsidies Deal: What it means and why it matters

This session was organized by the Pew Charitable Trusts and IISD. Panellists looked at how a successful WTO agreement on curbing subsidies for overfishing could pave the way for a stronger multilateral trade and environment agenda. The event provided expert views and a forum for discussion on what the new agreement means and why it matters for the ocean and the multilateral trading system. Panellists also considered how the agreement’s implementation will be a catalyst for sustainable trade and a sustainable future.

Panellists:

• Chris Costello, Co-director of the Sustainable Fisheries Group, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Richard Damania, Chief Economist of the Sustainable Development Practice Group, The World Bank Group
• Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)
• Alexandre Parola, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the WTO

Moderator:

• Alice Tipping, Lead, Sustainable Trade and Fisheries Subsidies, IISD

Date and Time:

• Wednesday September 29, 2021, at 3 PM CEST.