Climate change represents more than just an environmental challenge - it is also a challenge to future economic development. Overlaps between climate change and trade policies are inevitable and are already evident. Issues such as promoting trade in climate-friendly technologies and the use of border adjustment measures in national climate change legislation are being actively debated by governments at both the national and international level.
This report comes at a crucial point in time for both the climate and trade regimes. Intense climate negotiations are underway as policymakers try to reach agreement on a post-2012 climate accord. Meanwhile, trade negotiators are working to conclude a deal under the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization. Despite the overlaps between trade and climate policies, the relationship has often been characterized by mutual avoidance rather than mutual supportiveness. This publication provides a timely collection of short forward-thinking articles by leading experts on the relationship between trade and climate change policies. They closely examine the interplay between climate and trade policies and institutions and offer recommendations for promoting a mutually supportive relationship.