Unveiling the environmental reality of trade agreements: Launch of an interactive online tool

Veranstaltungsart
Policy panel and networking event

Ort / Datum
Geneva, 27.09.2017

Laval University, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Graduate Institute

Trade agreements no longer just aim at eliminating tariffs but deal with many non-economic issues such as the environment. A majority of 85% of all trade agreements already covers various environmental dimensions. While the increasing uptake of environmental rules in trade agreements is well-acknowledged, we lack a deep understanding of the development and variance of environmental provisions in trade agreements across themes, time periods as well as regions and countries.

Back to back to the 2017 WTO Public Forum, this event therefore wants to contribute to improving the empirical understanding of the trade and environment interface. It puts the focus on TRENDanalytics.info - an innovative and interactive online tool. The underlying Trend & Environment Database (TREND) was developed by Jean-Frédéric Morin, chairholder of the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy at Laval University, Canada. TREND analytics  tracks almost 300 different environmental provisions relying on the full texts of almost 700 preferential trade agreements (PTAs). In a partnership of Laval University and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) the online tool TREND analytics has been developed to provide an evidence-based contribution beyond the polarised and frequently superficial discussion about trade and environment.

Welcome note

• Theresa Carpenter, Executive Director of the Graduate Institute's Centre for Trade and Economic Integration

Introduction to TREND analytics

• Jean-Frédéric Morin, chairholder of the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy at Laval University
• Clara Brandi, Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Discussion
How TREND analytics can be used to support trade policy-making, improve research and increases transparency for stakeholders?

• Alvaro Cedeno Molinari, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Aik Hoe Lim, Director Trade and Environment Division (WTO)
• Anja von Moltke, Head of the Trade, Policy and Planning Unit in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Moderation

• Axel Berger, Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Hinweis

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