What is the issue?: There is increasing recognition of the relevance of trade and trade-related policies and measures to current global biodiversity crisis. Trade can exacerbate biodiversity degradation and loss, but it also has the potential to support conservation, sustainable use, and restoration—and related benefits to sustainable development.
The post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) being discussed under the auspices of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) provides a fresh reference point to (re)examine how international cooperation on trade and trade policies could support the global biodiversity agenda.
Concomitantly, there is also an increasing focus on environment and sustainable development in the context of trade at national, regional and multilateral levels. For example, climate and biodiversity related considerations are becoming more integral to bilateral and regional trade negotiations, with biodiversity-related provisions becoming a regular feature of regional trade agreements (RTAs). Furthermore, the interest in environmental and sustainable development issues at the WTO has been growing, as demonstrated by the launch of three separate member-led statements and initiatives in 2021. These initiatives are on trade and environmental sustainability, plastic pollution, and fossil fuel subsidy reform.
Together, these developments present an opportunity to explore how the trade and biodiversity agendas could be more mutually supportive, and how trade and trade policies could be harnessed to support the implementation of GBF and the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
How will this event address the issue?: This side event will identify and explore the range of trade-related policies and measures relevant to supporting the implementation of the GBF targets and opportunities for international cooperation on trade that supports biodiversity and sustainable development objectives. The discussions will focus on opportunities, challenges and feasibility of using specific trade policies and measures to support countries in the GBF implementation, with a view to reaching net positive outcomes for both biodiversity and sustainable development.
What will take place?
This hybrid event will take place as an official side-event of the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CBD COP15) of the CBD, taking place in Montreal, Canada from 7 to 19 December 2022. The session will be conducted in a panel discussion format followed by a Q&A and discussion with the participants.
Target audience:
Attendees of the CBD COP 15 are invited to join the meeting in-person. Policy makers, VSS organizations, practitioners working on trade and biodiversity are also invited to join the webinar virtually.
Speakers:
• Daniel Ramos, Legal Officer / Trade & Environment Division, World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Gemma Harper, Chief Executive, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
• Beatriz Fernandez, Associate Programme Management Officer, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Bertille Mayen, Project Coordinator Ivory Coast, GIZ
• Rafael Loyola, Executive Director, International Institute for Sustainability (IIS)
• Marianne Kettunen, Senior Policy Advisor and Head of Partnerships, The Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS)
• Lorena Jaramillo, Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Moderated by:
• Lika SASAKI, Programme Management Officer, UNCTAD
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