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Address on sustainable trade and climate change at the Summit of the Americas
Published 7 June 2022
Professor L. Alan Winters, Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy and founding director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory will address the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on 7 June.
As part of a forum on Trade and Investment for the Americas, hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank, his talk will focus on trade policy and climate change.
The Forum which will be attended by regional Trade and Foreign Ministers and chief executives from leading global companies, will focus on three central trade agenda items: strengthening value chains and attracting investment, sustainable trade and climate change, and digital economy.
These are all issues that the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy, which is a centre of excellence for innovative trade policy research, will be researching as it seeks to guide the formulation of an effective trade policy that delivers something for all parts of society.
This Forum focuses on huge issues with a very high-powered audience. I will be explaining why tackling climate change cannot avoid dealing with trade policy. I will argue that despite current tensions over the EU's plans to impose carbon fess on certain imports, there is scope for cooperation and that without such cooperation we could end up with worse trade policy and worse climate change.
Watch: Effective climate policy – Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms
The United States is hosting the Ninth Summit of the Americas the week of June 6-10 in Los Angeles, California with a focus on "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future".
The Summit is the only meeting that brings together Heads of State and government of the countries in the Organization of American States and serves as an important forum to discuss policy issues, address regional challenges and opportunities and determine mandates for action. However, some countries may not attend this year as the US has not invited some governments, such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.