Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas has been appointed by the World Economic Forum and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) to join an E15 expert group on 'Measures to Address Climate Change and the Trade System'.
The group is part of the comprehensive E15-initiative which aims to through non-partisan, expert-led multistakeholder dialogue explore options for strengthening the governance and functioning of the multilateral trade system, beyond the Doha Round of negotiations. The initiative involves a series of 15 expert groups in total, each one including some 20 top thinkers and practitioners.
Climate change is a serious and urgent threat to our planet and to mankind. Beyond being an environmental problem, it has enormous implications for social and economic development. Therefore, it is crucial to design and implement policies that effectively and urgently address mitigation and adaptation needs. By doing so, however, there will inevitably be adverse effects, including impacts on trade and possibly challenges to the boundaries of existing trade rules.
The work will be carried out in consultation with the broader trade policy community in Geneva as well as in the different regions. The findings of the group will also serve to inform a scenario-building exercise, which will constitute a key delivery in time for the 20th anniversary of the WTO at the end of 2015.