Educational Program: Are climate policies and trade policies on a collision course?
As the urgency of addressing climate change intensifies, climate policies are intersecting with the rules of international trade to an extent we have not seen before. In the renewable energy space, we’ve seen WTO disputes and scores of national tariffs and duties imposed on solar and wind products, and we’re seeing the beginnings of similar frictions in the electric vehicle (EV) sector. In the area of heavy industry, the EU’s proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) promises unprecedented trade controversy.
Since this is a relatively new phenomenon, countries are grappling with how to reconcile climate and trade commitments. Some of the questions we’ll need to unpack include: What are some of the key climate-trade governance flashpoints? What is the relevance of the WTO and regional agreements such as CPTPP or USMCA? Is green protectionism a legitimate concern? What is the role of business as it engages in trade and foreign direct investment activities? How are countries striking a balance between the urgent need for trade-related economic development and the urgent need for greater sustainability?
This program is developed by the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in partnership with the Hinrich Foundation (www.HinrichFoundation.com).
The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents is solely responsible for the development of the content of this program.
Speakers:
Stephen Olson
Stephen Olson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hinrich Foundation. Over the course of his more than 30-year international career, Olson has lived and worked in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, holding senior executive positions in the private sector, international organizations, government, and academia. He began his career in Washington DC as a US trade negotiator, serving as a member of the US negotiating team during NAFTA and the US-Canada FTA. He went on to serve as President of the Pacific Basin Economic Council in Hong Kong. He subsequently became Vice-Chairman at the Cairo-based ARTOC Group for Investment and Development. He has also held Visiting Professor positions at various universities. In his current position at the Hinrich Foundation, Mr. Olson conducts analysis and research on global trade and investment issues, including US-China relations, the global trade architecture, and sustainable trade.
Aaron Cosbey
Aaron Cosbey is a development economist with 30 years’ experience in the law and economics of sustainable development, particularly in the areas of trade and investment, with current work in the areas of climate change, trade policy, and green industrial policy. He is a Senior Associate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a Senior Fellow with the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition, a Senior Associate with the Inter-Governmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development, and a Consulting Advisor to Agora Industry. He has served as a trade policy advisor to the Canadian government on a number of select trade policy committees. He has consulted to a wide variety of governments and institutions, including Agora Energiewende, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Centre for European Policy Studies, CIDA, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Commonwealth Secretariat, Environment Canada, European University Institute, IADB, Canada’s National Round Table on Environment and Economy, New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Overseas Development Institute, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNFCCC and the World Bank.