A new grand bargain for sustainability without protectionism
2 October 2020
Geneva Trade Week
TKE experts from Frontier Economics and the UK Trade Policy Observatory hosted an online panel discussion on trade policy and climate change: A New Grand Bargain for Sustainability without Protectionism.
The intersections between trade and climate policies are numerous, and are the subject of intense debate. There have been some longstanding concerns that cross-country differences in the ambition of climate policy can create an unlevel playing field for trade. More recently, many countries seeking to reboot their economies in response to the shock of Covid-19, are trying to do so by greening growth. Industrial policy activism is once more on the agenda, but how far can this be accommodated within the framework of multilateral trade rules? Many developing countries continue to face multiple challenges of benefiting more from trade and adapting to climatic shocks.
To inform our discussion, we invited the following experts to contribute their views:
- Prof. L. Alan Winters, UK Trade Policy Observatory
- Ms Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD
- Dr. Emily Lydgate, UK Trade Policy Observatory
- Matthew Bell OBE , Director, Public Policy, Frontier Economics and former CEO of the UK Committee on Climate Change
The discussion was part of the inaugural Geneva Trade Week, initiative of the Graduate Institute of Geneva.
One of the topics for discussion at this event was the issue of carbon border tax adjustments. As part of its on-going work on the question, TKE partners Frontier Economics prepared this briefing note on proposals made by the European Union on carbon border adjustments in the context of its own emissions trading scheme.