“We have worked hard. We collectively advanced our knowledge and our shared understanding. We have learned from our peers, and we have learned from stakeholders,” Ambassador Ronald Saborío Soto of Costa Rica, TESSD co-convenor, said at the final high-level plenary meeting of TESSD for the year.
“TESSD is a unique forum, a unique way to bring together different stakeholders interested in creating this baseline of information which will eventually move into the multilateral setting. Progress is methodical and intentional,” Ambassador Nadia Theodore of Canada, the TESSD co-convenor said.
Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam said: “At four years old, TESSD has firmly established itself as an incubating hub within the WTO for generating new ideas and practices on addressing the intersection of trade and environmental challenges. Your efforts have achieved a solid foundation of knowledge and practical insights, and you have identified opportunities for policymaking which are reflected in the outcome documents that you presented at MC13.” He added that topics from TESSD’s workstreams resonated at the COP29 climate change conference held in Baku in November.
“TESSD has enormous potential to demonstrate that trade policy effectively addresses the global crisis of climate change, biodiversity losses, and pollution,” DDG Paugam said.
The Philippines said at the meeting that, having closely tracked TESSD work, it was pleased to announce it was joining as co-sponsor of the initiative.
Working groups
The facilitators of the four TESSD working groups provided a summary of discussions that took place in 2024. They also outlined priorities for 2025, and proposed possible outcomes for MC14, building on TESSD contributions at MC13.
Facilitators for the Working Group on Trade-related Climate Measures (TrCMs) proposed to continue work on the use of TrCMs aimed at achieving specific climate objectives, paying particular attention to developing economy perspectives and ensuring complementarity with the work carried out in the Committee on Trade and Environment. In terms of a contribution for MC14, the Working Group plans to compile and map policy measures shared by members to serve as a reference material that members can consider adopting domestically to meet climate objectives.
The Working Group on Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) plans to continue examining sector-specific issues involved in the promotion and facilitation of trade in EGS that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Working Group aims to deepen work on renewable energy and add other sectors, including sustainable agriculture, as well as tackle horizontal issues, such as non-tariff measures, regulatory issues, and development perspectives. Towards MC14, the Working Group aims to further develop the Analytical Summary released in MC13, and explore opportunities for collaboration and concrete actions that members could undertake to promote and facilitate trade in EGS.
For the Working Group on Subsidies, the facilitators noted that a number of members expressed interest for work to cover agricultural subsidies, biodiversity and industrial subsidies. In terms of possible outcomes, they proposed that the Working Group further develop the compilation of experiences and considerations relating to subsidies presented at MC13 into best practices and/or guidelines for subsidy design for MC14.
For the Working Group on Circular Economy-Circularity, members plan to work on distilling their knowledge of trade-related aspects of circular economy along the product lifecycle, building on the respective mapping that was presented as an outcome at MC13. For MC14, possible outcomes of the Working Group include a compilation of trade aspects and best practices for priority sectors such as electronics, batteries, renewable energy, and textiles, and high-level and non-binding guidelines on circular economy and trade.
The co-convenors also introduced a proposal for a TESSD output at MC14 to mark more than five years of efforts of the initiative. The factual publication will consolidate the knowledge and experiences generated by members, and is intended to serve as a resource and reference document for all members participating in trade and environment work in the WTO as well as for a broader audience of policymakers and stakeholders.
Members were provided the opportunity at the meeting to exchange views on proposals of the working group facilitators and TESSD co-convenors.
High-level panel discussions
The afternoon session of the plenary meeting featured two high-level panels. The first panel provided national and regional policy experiences with trade and environmental sustainability with a focus on developing economy perspectives. The speakers were Ambassador Matthew Wilson of Barbados, Ambassador Jean-Pierre Baptiste of Chad, Ambassador Sofia Boza Martinez of Chile, Ambassador Nella Pepe Tavita-Levy of Samoa, and Ambassador Pimchanok Pitfield of Thailand. Moderated by Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Executive Director of the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS), the discussion provided insights on important topics for developing economies on trade and environmental sustainability. It also highlighted the value of TESSD as a place to share experiences, learn and borrow from replicable solutions, and build domestic capacity through knowledge exchange.
The second panel took the form of a “fireside chat” and focused on opportunities in the WTO, including in the Committee on Trade and Environment and TESSD, for trade policy to better contribute to achieving climate change and environmental objectives. The speakers were Ambassador Erwin Bollinger of Switzerland, Chair of the Committee on Trade and Environment, Ambassador Theodore and Ambassador Saborío, TESSD co-convenors. Moderated by DDG Paugam, the discussion highlighted that TESSD is helping members to build a shared understanding of the role that trade plays in addressing environmental challenges, and how progress in TESSD has supported the revitalization of work in the CTE.
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