On 23 April, members held a second CTE thematic session titled “Trade Contributions to Energy Transition Efforts concerning Climate Adaptation and Mitigation.” The United States and Kenya, co-facilitators of the session, said in their report back to the Committee that members benefited from the expertise provided in the session’s two panels. The first panel explored the trade landscape of rapidly evolving areas of clean energy, including hydrogen and wind energy, while the second looked at how different trade-related climate measures can support the clean energy transition. Further discussions highlighted the diversity of approaches and policies that countries are using.
The co-facilitators of the session also noted that some speakers underlined the need to recognize the different starting point in countries’ levels of development when designing policies. They emphasized the need for coherence in measures, including in carbon measurement methods and standards, to accelerate decarbonisation.
On 24-25 April, members held the regular meeting of the CTE, which implemented several procedural improvements under the WTO-wide exercise of “reform by doing”. The outgoing Chair, Ambassador José Valencia of Ecuador, acknowledged members’ intensive committee work conducted last year in the run-up to the 13th Ministerial Conference held in February in Abu Dhabi. Ambassador Valencia handed over the chairmanship to Ambassador Erwin Bollinger of Switzerland at the end of the meeting. Ambassador Valencia’s video message released to mark the last day of the meeting is available here.
Part of the meeting was dedicated to the ongoing discussions on reinvigorating the Committee. A new proposal was presented by Kenya, on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, titled “Dedicated Multilateral Discussions on the Trade Aspects and Implications of Certain Environmental Measures. Another new proposal was presented by the United States titled “Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges of the Green Transition: Coherence and Interoperability of Trade-Related Climate Measures“. Members also had a follow-up discussion on previously submitted proposals by China, India, Paraguay and South Africa.
The Committee also heard updates on the European Union Green Deal, the United Kingdom’s forest risk commodities regulation and consultations on a carbon border adjustment mechanism. Members furthermore were briefed on developments concerning the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP); the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), including the outcomes of TESSD’s Informal Working Group on Trade-related Climate Measures; the Fossil Fuels Subsidy Reform initiative (FFSR); and new developments in preparation for the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
Members were also briefed on the work of the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, and the Forest, Agriculture, and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue. In addition, updates on the Convention on Biological Diversity and nature-positive trade were provided. The WTO Secretariat presented the latest updates on the WTO Environmental Database. Members also heard perspectives on the UNEP Draft Agreement on Plastic Pollution and heard briefings from observer organizations.
The next Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for 19-20 June.
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