About the Event  

The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé reaffirmed members’ commitment to conclude negotiations on additional disciplines on fisheries subsidies. These further rules are essential to ensure the existing WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies effectively addresses the role subsidies play in driving overcapacity, overfishing, and the depletion of marine resources around the world. 

As members return to the negotiating table, this webinar helped them understand how subsidies can lead to unsustainable levels of fishing and which forms of support carry the greatest risk of incentivizing excessive fishing pressure. Drawing on key analytical work, this webinar examined how fisheries subsidies contribute to overcapacity and overfishing under different circumstances. 

This was the second in a series designed to complement the thematic sessions held as part of the formal negotiating process. You can watch the first webinar here.  

Panel

Moderator:

• Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

Speakers:

• Rashid Sumaila, Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia  
• Claire Delpeuch, Head of Unit, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

About the Event

For nearly three decades, members of the WTO refrained from imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions under the WTO e-commerce moratorium. At the WTO’s Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026, members were unable to agree on a further extension, ending the multilateral moratorium—a decision shaped in large part by unresolved concerns over development and industrial policy. Some members have since made separate commitments not to impose these duties through plurilateral initiatives, statements, and bilateral or regional trade agreements. 

Countries are unlikely to impose such duties in the near term, given the practical challenges involved, but the expiry opens the door to new policy approaches. It may also accelerate a shift toward regional, bilateral, and plurilateral arrangements offering duty-free treatment among participating countries, but not others, adding complexity for policy-makers and businesses alike. The timing also matters, as governments are separately negotiating multilateral rules on digital services taxation under the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. 

This webinar will examine what the moratorium’s expiry means for digital trade policy, exploring the debate over tariff revenue, digital industrialization, and costs for businesses and consumers, while considering the relationship between the moratorium, broader trade commitments, and international tax debates. Panelists will shed light on how developing countries can navigate an increasingly fragmented landscape and weigh the policy choices ahead.  

Panel

Moderator:  

• Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

Speakers:

• Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki, Advisor, Trade and Economic Security, Jacques Delors Institute
• Marília Maciel, Director of Digital Trade and Economic Security, Diplo

This event is part of a series of technical webinars designed to deepen understanding of how policy and regulatory frameworks are evolving to support the growth of the digital economy and digital trade.

This 60-minute webinar will give participants a concise and insightful overview of the HLPF 2026, including key processes, thematic priorities, and expectations, while reflecting on its role in shaping the pathway toward the next SDG Summit.

For several years, IISD and Cepei have partnered to convene a pre-HLPF dialogue to unpack the dynamics, expectations, and strategic relevance of the HLPF. These sessions bring together leading experts and practitioners to provide timely insights and informed perspectives for stakeholders engaging with global sustainable development processes—and an opportunity to pose your questions to those deep inside the HLPF effort.

Key Themes

• Understanding the ECOSOC HLPF review process and recent developments
• Anticipating the role and contributions of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in 2026
• Looking ahead: positioning HLPF 2026 within the broader SDG Summit cycle

Panelists

• H.E. François Jackman, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations and Co-Chair of the ECOSOC Review of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)
• Meryem Hamdouni, Counselor, Economic and Sustainable Development Section, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations
• Lotta Tähtinen, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
• Philipp Schönrock, Executive Director, Cepei (Moderator)

Agriculture continues to play a significant role in many economies in sub-Saharan Africa, and public support to the sector is a vital policy lever used by many governments in the region. However, while agricultural subsidy programs have helped boost food security, livelihoods, and agricultural production, evidence shows that they have also generated significant fiscal burdens and contributed to declining soil health. Faced with increasing fiscal pressures and environmental challenges, governments are exploring how to reform their spending to achieve better outcomes.

Our new report draws on case studies from Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia to examine how subsidy reform efforts impact soil health, climate resilience, economic growth, equity, and broader sustainable development outcomes. This launch event shared key lessons from their ongoing reform efforts, identifying how governments can design and implement subsidy reforms to improve these programs’ effectiveness, efficiency, and long-term sustainability.

It also featured a panel discussion with representatives from IISD, the Indaba Agricultural Research Institute, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Speakers shared insights into practical pathways for policy-makers to shift public support into more sustainable practices that support soil health, strengthen transparency and accountability, and improve inclusion and equity.  

Speakers

• Brian Mulenga, Executive Director, Indaba Agricultural Research Institute
• Claire McConnell, Policy Advisor, IISD
• Confrey Alianji, Innovations Advisor, Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies, GIZ
• Erika Luna, Policy Analyst, IISD

About the Event

At the WTO’s Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, WTO members renewed their commitment to conclude additional rules on fisheries subsidies to strengthen the existing Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS). The adoption of further disciplines is critical for sustainable development, as they seek to address the role of subsidies in driving overfishing and overcapacity more broadly. 

As members prepare to resume negotiations, this webinar provided a concise yet comprehensive overview of the key developments in the "Fish 2" negotiations over the past 2 years. 

Following an overview of the major milestones leading to the conclusion of the AFS, IISD experts examined the evolution of the negotiating text throughout this second phase of talks. Designed to complement the thematic sessions organized within the formal negotiating process, the webinar equipped negotiators with the context and insights needed to inform their thinking and decision-making as they consider the path ahead. 

Recent developments in global energy markets are once again placing pressure on households, businesses, and public budgets. Governments are responding in different ways: while some have introduced broad-based fossil fuel subsidies, tax reductions, or price controls, others are pursuing more targeted and temporary support measures, often combined with efforts to reduce long-term dependence on fossil fuels and strengthen resilience to future price shocks.

Against this backdrop, this upcoming webinar on Fiscal Policy Responses to the Energy Price Shock, will focus on government responses to rising energy costs and the implications for fiscal policy, social protection, energy, and the clean energy transition. This is the second webinar in a two-part Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA) series on this topic.

The webinar aims to provide a space for finance ministries to exchange experiences and lessons learned from current and past energy price crises. The discussion will focus in particular on how short-term support measures can protect vulnerable households and businesses while preserving price signals, maintaining fiscal sustainability, and supporting longer-term energy transition objectives.

It will begin with an overview presentation examining recent energy price developments and emerging government responses across countries. The presentation will draw on lessons from previous crises, including the 2022/23 energy price surge, and discuss different policy approaches currently being implemented, ranging from blanket fuel subsidies and tax reductions to more targeted support mechanisms such as cash transfers, social assistance, and support for specific sectors.

The session will then provide participating countries with an opportunity to share practical experiences regarding the implementation of support measures, including the role of existing delivery systems, targeting mechanisms, data availability, and institutional coordination. In doing so, the session aims to facilitate peer exchange on approaches that can reduce exposure to future fossil fuel price volatility while ensuring social and political feasibility.

Tax incentives are a central feature of national investment laws across emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), yet how they are designed, governed, and monitored remains poorly understood. When poorly managed, they can generate substantial revenue losses and fall short of their intended investment outcomes.

A core part of the challenge is coordination. Investment promotion agencies and ministries of finance often operate under different mandates, creating gaps in the design, approval, and oversight of these incentives. This raises critical questions: how can fiscal oversight be ensured when incentives sit outside traditional tax policy processes? And how can investment and tax authorities better align their approaches?

This webinar continues the conversation initiated at the 2024 Investment Policy Forum, where closer engagement between tax and investment policy-makers emerged as a key priority. It forms part of IISD's broader effort to convene both communities around shared challenges and support more coherent approaches to attracting sustainable investment while safeguarding domestic resource mobilization.

During the event, our experts presented findings from IISD's newest report, Tax Incentives in Investment Laws, mapping the prevalence, design, and governance of tax incentives across 105 investment laws in EMDEs. The session then opened the floor to shared dialogue, exploring how governments can better align investment and tax policy and identify opportunities for continued collaboration.

Speakers

• Alexandra Readhead, Director, Tax and Debt, IISD (moderator)
• Suzy Nikièma, Director, Investment Law and Policy, IISD (moderator)
• Naa Lamle Orleans-Lindsay, Director, Legal Division, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana
• Prudens Rweyongeza, Director of Legal Services, President's Office, Planning and Investment, Tanzania
• Eduardo José Sotelo Castañeda, Advisor, General Directorate of Public Revenue Policy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Peru
• David O'Sullivan, Senior Economist, Global Tax Program, World Bank
• Josefina del Rosario Lago, Policy Analyst, Tax and Investment, IISD

Critical minerals are essential components of the technologies driving the energy and digital transitions. The International Energy Agency (IEA, 2022) projects that to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, global demand for minerals critical to renewable energy production facilities and associated technologies may quadruple by 2040 compared to 2020.

This growth in demand, which is already boosting new mining and mineral processing projects across the globe, will also significantly increase the sector’s environmental and social footprint, particularly in resource-rich countries seeking more added value to raw material extraction by attracting smelting and refining industries. There is a commensurate need to strengthen sustainable management practices and promote more responsible corporate behaviour across critical mineral supply chains.  

China maintains a dominant position across critical mineral processing value chains as well as in the manufacturing of key technologies for the energy and digital transition. It is the dominant refiner for 19 of the 20 critical minerals tracked by the IEA and holds an average market share of around 70% (IEA, 2025)—the exception being nickel, for which Indonesia is the world’s leading refiner, in part largely thanks to Chinese investment and technology. By strengthening and upholding ESG performance standards, Chinese companies can make significant positive contributions to the overall sustainability of the minerals sector globally. 

In this new study, IISD analyzes management practices of Chinese enterprises in global mineral supply chains from a sustainability perspective. It outlines the Chinese ESG management framework that exists across both government and voluntary standards in China, and examines how these compare to international voluntary sustainability standards.

Moreover, using interviews from stakeholders in the Indonesian nickel supply chain as a case study, it provides an overview of the main challenges Chinese companies face in implementing ESG practices, including supply chain due diligence, abroad. Finally, the study highlights key areas and measures that could contribute to enhancing ESG standards among Chinese mining and processing companies operating overseas.  

This webinar presented the main findings of the report, and featured a panel discussion with some key stakeholders to share the perspective from the private sector, industry association, and civil society.  

Speakers

• Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Vice-President, Global Strategies and Managing Director, Europe, IISD (moderator)
• Hans Baumgarten, Strategic Advisor, IISD
• Jun Ma, Director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs
• Tiantian Li, Director of the International Development Department at CCCMC
• Grita Anindarini, Senior Strategist at Indonesian Center for Environmental Law

Governments are increasingly relying on a mix of fiscal, regulatory, and trade and investment measures to drive the green transition, often as part of broader industrial strategies. Among these, green tax incentives have emerged as a key instrument.

The use of green tax incentives raises important questions of policy coherence, effectiveness, and accountability. Recent analysis by IISD indicates that many emerging and developing economies are adapting tax policies to support clean investment and renewable energy deployment. In low-income contexts facing administrative and fiscal constraints, tax incentives may sometimes be perceived as a more feasible option than alternative support mechanisms such as feed-in tariffs. However, poorly designed incentives can also generate revenue losses, fail to attract investment, and opportunities for rent-seeking underscoring the importance of governance, targeting, and monitoring.

International experience suggests that incentives are most effective when embedded within a coherent and mutually reinforcing policy framework. A recent paper on industrial decarbonisation by the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) highlights that such incentives must be aligned with regulatory certainty, sectoral priorities, and robust governance to achieve meaningful emissions reductions. Aligning incentives with national development objectives can further ensure that the green transition strengthens competitiveness, supports industrial upgrading, and expands access to clean energy in an inclusive manner.

In this context, Addis Tax Initiative (ATI), IISD, and CEP convene partner countries and other stakeholders in this session to explore how green tax incentives can deliver maximum impact when integrated into a coherent policy architecture aligned with other instruments such as carbon pricing, performance standards, and wider industrial strategies. 

The webinar will highlight the importance of cross-government coordination, bringing together ministries of finance, climate and energy policymakers, and industrial strategy institutions to support the design and implementation of targeted incentives that deliver emissions reductions alongside jobs, competitiveness, and economic development.

The discussion will address three main themes:

1. When and how can green tax incentives support low-carbon and resilient growth while protecting revenue?
2. How do incentives interact with other instruments (e.g., carbon pricing, standards, public finance, and investment policy), and what coordination is needed across government?
3. What lessons can be drawn across country contexts, including differences in incentive design and implementation capacity between high-income and low- and middle-income countries?

The event will take place virtually on June 2, 2026, from 13:00 to 14:30 CEST. The webinar will be delivered in English with simultaneous interpretation in French. Register here by June 1. 

The full agenda can be found here.

National investment laws are increasingly recognized as a critical—yet often overlooked—pillar of the international investment governance framework. While much attention has focused on reforming investment treaties, a parallel challenge has gone largely unaddressed: many domestic investment laws still contain broad or automatic consent to international arbitration, exposing states to the same financial and regulatory risks that drive treaty reform.

Two new publications from IISD and UNCTAD shed light on this issue from complementary perspectives.  

• IISD's report, Unpacking National Investment Laws: Dispute Settlement Function, analyzes 167 national investment laws across all regions, mapping how dispute settlement is designed in practice—from the role of national courts and arbitration to emerging alternative mechanisms such as administrative review and amicable settlement. It finds that nearly 79% of laws contain dispute settlement provisions and that among those that reference arbitration, 44% include advance consent—a practice that carries significant and often uncontrollable legal and financial risks.
• UNCTAD's Investment Policy Monitor No. 32, Investor–State Arbitration Under Investment Laws: Risks and Policy Lessons, examines 99 known investor–state arbitration cases brought under national investment laws. It reveals that nine out of 10 such cases target developing economies, that investors prevail in 58% of cases decided on the merits, and that average damages awarded reach USD 215 million per case. The analysis draws practical lessons from arbitral practice on issues that include the interpretation of consent clauses, transitional provisions when laws are repealed, the legality of investment, and the interaction between domestic laws and treaty obligations.

On May 7, IISD and UNCTAD hosted a webinar to explore key findings and reform needs identified in the publications. A panel of experts, government officials, and legal practitioners discussed the risks posed by dispute settlement provisions in investment laws, emerging good practices, and the importance of governments reforming their international investment treaties and domestic investment frameworks in a coherent manner.

This webinar is part of IISD's Rethinking International Investment Governance project, which supports evidence-based reform of investment treaties, national investment laws, and investor–state contracts. It builds directly on IISD's 2023 report, Rethinking National Investment Laws: A Study of Past and Present Laws to Inform Future Policy-Making, which identified seven core functions of investment laws and proposed a framework for their design and reform. The Unpacking National Investment Laws series provides deep dives into individual functions, starting with dispute settlement. For more information, visit: https://www.iisd.org/projects/rethinking-international-investment-governance

As part of its mandate, UNCTAD provides policy-makers and the global investment community with up-to-date information about the latest developments and salient features in foreign investment policies. UNCTAD's Investment Policy Hub offers a comprehensive and freely accessible platform covering all aspects of national and international investment policy-making. The Hub brings together analysis, news, and policy tools, as well as key resources, such as Investment Policy Reviews, the Investment Policy Monitor, and specialized databases of investment laws, treaties, and dispute settlement cases, supporting informed decision making and promoting a transparent and predictable investment environment worldwide.

For more information, visit: https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/

Speakers

• Suzy Nikièma, Director, Investment Law and Policy, IISD
• Massimo Meloni, chief, Policy Research Section, UNCTAD
• Josef Ostřanský, senior policy sdvisor, IISD
• Anastasia Leskova, associate legal officer, UNCTAD
• Stanley U. Nweke-Eze, policy advisor, IISD
• Mr. Amr Arafa, Counsellor, Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority (ESLA)
• Peter Tzeng, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP.