Against this background, this lunchtime dialogue will reflect on the range of measures and options discussed in the IGC  on the basis of a new ICTSD study entitled “Bridging the Gap on IP and Genetic Resources in WIPO’s IGC” by David Vivas-Eugui, from Anamika Innovation Policy Advisors.

The study considers the binding or non-binding nature of the instrument(s) that might emerge from the IGC and their different implications and makes recommendations regarding processes, substance and existing research gaps that could contribute towards advancing the IGC deliberations. After a presentation by the author, a number of commentators will share their views followed by a general discussion with the audience.

Agenda

12:30 Welcoming lunch and introductory remarks

13:00 Panel discussion

• Moderator, Christophe Bellmann (ICTSD)
• Key issues, overview, and comments, Hannes Schloemann (WTI Advisors)
• The availability of Article XX to non-GATT claims, Cherise Valles (ACWL)
• Implications for resource conservation in the mining sector, Gilles Carbonnier (HEID)
• Implications beyond extractive resources; an outlook for future disciplines, Baris Karapinar (WTI)

13:45 Open Discussion

Registration required. Please register by Monday, 6 February with Matt Fleszar at mfleszar@ictsd.ch

The initiative aims to add value to the official follow-up and review mechanism of the IPoA, in line with the  IPoA’s  mandate.  Working  outside the official intergovernmental process, LDC IV Monitor provides credible, evidence-based and policy-oriented assessment of the state of delivery of the promises contained in the IPoA. It strives to enhance the transparency of the Istanbul follow-up process, promote accountability by development partners, agencies and national governments, and foster efficiency in the graduation of LDCs.

For more information and registration, please contact: coordinator@ldc4monitor.org

The WTO as an institution is not what it used to be a decade ago. Many countries have since joined, and shifts in the balance of global economic and political power have transformed the playing field. Accordingly, new needs and different expectations have emerged, including demands  for a reformof the decision-making process to increase its fairness, inclusiveness, and transparency.There has been considerable debate as to whether institutional reform is needed in the WTO - and in what form  - ever since it was first established. To target this need for improvement, the expert group will be asked to tackle topics such as the role of regular committees, notification, the idea of a trade forum, accession, possible proposals to reform the way in which negotiations are conducted,including the prospects for “plurilateral” agreements, the role of business and the “single undertaking”.

Preferential Trade Agreements

Regional pacts have become a permanent and increasingly important feature of the world trading environment. Currently, more than half of world commerce takes place among countries linked by such pacts. Furthermore, these trade agreements have grown not just in number, but also in depth. Many agreements deal with matters that remain outside the WTO’s scope or capacity to address, such as rules pertaining to investment and competition policies. The expert group will be asked to identify solutions on how to embrace and respond to this increasing number of regional and preferential trade agreements in the multilateral trading system and how these agreements could be more transparent.

Next steps

The expert meeting is the first of a series of meetings that ICTSD with the support of the Netherlands intends to organize throughout 2012 with a view to clarifying and discussing some of the most pressing issues that the multilateral trading system currently faces. As in this first meeting the idea is to convey a group of experts that in their individual capacity would help moving this process forward. In each future meeting two different topics will be discussed. These include, but are not limited to, energy, exchange rates, food security and climate change.

At this first meeting it would be convenient to seek the views of the participants on the process we are envisaging and on the topics for discussion.

On 16 December 2011, at the occasion of the eight ministerial conference of the WTO in Geneva, ICTSD organised a high-level lunch addressing the urgent need to switch from fossil based to sustainable energy as a key measure for addressing climate change, and how this shift could be promoted using trade policies. Discussions revolved around various options and vehicles to do this, including through negotiating a sustainable energy trade agreement (SETA).

Renate Christ, Secretary of the IPCC highlighted issues such as the current state of climate change, current and expected levels of emissions, the contribution of energy supply and use to carbon emissions, and the
mitigation efforts required to stay below a 2 degree temperature increase. In particular, she highlighted the role of renewable energy in this effort.

Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz Chief Executive of ICTSD then outlined the relevance of trade and trade-policy in facilitating the rapid scale up of sustainable energy in the context not only of the environmental challenge but also other key sustainable development challenges such as providing energy access to millions of people through low-carbon means.

The lunch sparked a lively debate on the relevance and interplay of trade and sustainable energy policies. Participants encouraged ICTSD to continue its momentum on the initiative and to provide informed input through research and dialogue to policy makers.

Esa consulta es parte de un proyecto de investigación que ICTSD está llevando a cabo en varios países para evaluar la eficacia de la ayuda para el comercio en la práctica.

Questions on the consistency with WTO provisions have been frequently raised as sustainability criteria and implementation measures were defined and adopted under the RED and FQD. However, no thorough analysis has been carried out on this topic. The objective of the worksho is to engage in an informed and constructive discussion on the technical and legal arguments surrounding the compatibility of the EU sustainability requirements with international trade rules. Special attention will be given to recent WTO jurisprudence.

Speakers include Andrew Shoyer, chair of Sidley Austin’s international trade and dispute resolution practice; Dr. Alan Swinbank, Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Economics at Reading University; Malena Sell, Senior Programme Officer, Environment and Natural Resources, ICTSD; and high-level representatives from the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The objective is to provide an opportunity to discuss what a transition to a green economy means for trade in the ECE region, identify key trade opportunities and challenges for the region, and contribute to the Rio+20 discussions in the region.

Governments, regional organizations, civil society groups, intergovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders in the region, will exchange perspectives on key issues about trade in a green economy. Presentations by panellists will be followed by an open discussion.

A summary of the event can be found here: Trade and Green Economy Side Event Summary

Agenda

13.15-13.30 Welcome remarks by UNECE/FAO, ICTSD and UNEP

13.30-14.15 Presentations by panellists

Legality verification & beyond: challenges and opportunities for timber trade. Ben Gunneberg, PEFC

What opportunities exist in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia region in the growing market for organic agriculture exports? Asad Naqvi, UNEP Economics and Trade Branch

The potential of the green services sector. Patricia Molano, Sustainable Systems

14.15-14.45 Open discussion kicked off by Olga Ponizova, EcoAccord (Russia)

For any additional information about the event please emailMr. George Riddell at griddell@ictsd.ch.

All the UNECE RPM meeting documents can be found here: http://www.unece.org/env/sustainabledevelopment/rpm2011/rpm2011.html

Some initial comments and reflections will be shared by three speakers: Panos Konandreas, who for many years has covered these issues as Senior Trade Economist with the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva; Magdi Farahat, Principal Advisor on Trade at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); and Christian Häberli, Senior Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute in Bern. Their interventions will be followed by an open discussion from the floor.

To confirm your participation please click here or contact Alejandra Maruri, tel +41 22 917 8915; amaruri@ictsd.ch.

When: 5 and 6 December, 2011

Venue: North Beach Hotel (Durban, South Africa)

More information: www.ictsdclimate.org

Purpose:

It is with the aim of generating proposals for fostering strong multilateral regimes on trade and climate change and promoting a transition to a low-carbon economy and a sustainable energy future that ICTSD, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Republic of South Africa are co-organising The Durban Trade and Climate Change Symposium, to take place on 5 and 6 December 2011 in parallel to the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) and the 7th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 7) of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa.

This initiative flows directly from ICTSD’s primary objective - to empower stakeholders in the trade policy and sustainable development domain through providing a forum to generate innovative thinking, analysis and dialogues on the pressing issues of the day.

The broad topics for the Symposium will respond to the principal issues at the nexus of trade policy, market approaches and climate change: market mechanisms such as emission trading schemes and sectoral market mechanisms; carbon leakage and competitiveness; intellectual property and technology transfer; climate-friendly goods and services; agriculture; biofuels; financing mechanisms; the linkages between trade, poverty and climate change; fossil fuels subsidies; transportation and bunker fuels; emerging economies; investment; standards; fisheries; energy and natural resources.

ICTSD already has a long history of working on specific aspects of these linkages. For this Symposium, we envisage a series of panels that will involve a diversity of stakeholders in a constructive, forward-looking dialogue on a set of principles and solutions to ensure the multilateral climate and trade regimes and institutional frameworks are properly equipped and harnessed to deliver on the challenges before them, for Durban and beyond.

The Symposium will provide a space for key voices such as climate delegates, academics, policy researchers and analysts, representatives from IGOs and NGOs to showcase cutting edge analysis of trade, market approaches, climate change and development issues, as well as for an open, multi-stakeholder discussion on the future of the linkages between the multilateral trade and climate change regimes. It would also support other key ICTSD objectives: building and strengthening informal networks of leading institutions from developed and developing countries interested in strengthening policy-making on those issues, and fostering an exchange of views with other knowledge communities.
For more information on sessions, videos and photos, please visit: ww.ictsdclimate.org