WTO Public Forum Addresses Climate-Trade Interface

26 September 2008: Pascal Lamy, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, addressed the 2008 WTO Public Forum highlighting that trade in “environmental goods and services, in particular in climate-friendly technology, can make vital pollution prevention and reduction equipment more accessible to countries in need; thereby easing the climate crisis.”

The 2008 WTO Public Forum under the theme “Trading into the Future” met on 25-26 September 2008 and provided an opportunity for civil society to present its views to the WTO and discuss how the trading system may incorporate the needs and aspirations of the international community.

A session on mutual supportiveness of trade, climate change and development objectives was moderated by Fiona Harvey, Financial Times, and included Pascal Lamy as a speaker. Climate change was also addressed in a panel organized by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) on “Climate Change, Competitiveness and Trade Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for the Future of the Multilateral Trading System.” [WTO Public Session Programme, Audio and Documents]