An examination of the climate-friendly changes needed in the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to underpin an agreement at the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties (COP) in December 2009
In the next 18 months the world faces simultaneous challenges to the stability of the financial institutions and the maintenance of world trade. The Doha Round has collapsed. The credit crunch restricts flexibility. Oil and food prices create domestic political problems. All these factors make it more difficult to reach a climate agreement in Copenhagen.
For any Copenhagen agreement to operate effectively there will have to be changes to the way the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) work. WTO changes will be needed on trade and environment and the transfer of green technologies. The WB and the IMF will need to make changes in the guidelines on lending to developing countries facing intense climate change.
Selected Presentations
Caroline Lucas, Member of the European Parliament
Text / Audio
Ditte Juul-Jørgensen, Head, Sustainable Development and SPS Issues Unit, DG TRADE, European Commission
Audio
Harris Gleckman, Principal, Benchmark Environmental Consulting / New York Representative, Institute for Environmental Security
Text / Audio
Trineesh Biswas, Adviser to the Chief Executive, International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
Audio
Benjamin Simmons, Legal Officer, Economics and Trade Branch, United Nations Environment Programme
Slides / Audio
Steen Gade, President, Globe-Europe / Chairman, Folketing’s Environment and Regional Planning Committee
Audio
The Seminar, organised by the Institute for Environmental Security and the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE-EU) and (GLOBE-Europe) in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee and EurActiv is part of the project "Global Policy Coherence 2009" (GPC). It looked for practical ways of managing the process between now and Copenhagen. The Seminar also seeked to identify the longer term changes needed in a world reorganised around the priorities of climate change.