The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is hosting its second Trade and Sustainability Hub this month alongside the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The event aims to bring together a global community of stakeholders to discuss how to ensure that trade policies contribute to sustainable development.

The June 13-15 eventhosted in partnership with CUTS International, Geneva, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, will continue the exchanges initiated during the inaugural trade and sustainability center in December 2021. It will focus in particular on the role of trade and the multilateral trading system (MTS) in the face of a “perfect storm” of crises facing the WTO today, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the global food crisis, rising geopolitical tensions and the adverse effects of climate change.

There will be four main sessions focusing on:

• The changing role of international trade in the context of relentless supply chain disruptions and the implications for developing countries grappling with life-threatening challenges;
• The global food crisis and the role of the WTO in strengthening the resilience of the global food system in the face of such crises;
• The range of environmental challenges facing the planet and how the multilateral trading system is, or is not, responding to the urgency of these challenges; and
• The implications of the digital revolution on business models and the role of trade agreements and WTO negotiations in addressing inequalities in access to e-commerce.

The sessions are organized by a range of organizations representing a diversity of stakeholders and perspectives, including the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Shridath Ramphal Center at the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Institute for the European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

MC12 was originally scheduled to take place in June 2020 in Kazakhstan but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As trade ministers are due to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 12-15, 2022, there is a critical opportunity to discuss and craft policy solutions geared towards promoting a more sustainable trade regime.

The Trade and Sustainability Hub is open and freely accessible to all members of the public. Most sessions will be available online and in-person activities will take place at IISD’s premises in Geneva. This will include viewing rooms, refreshments, networking opportunities and two sessions hosted by partners at Queen’s University, Canada: one discussing the international legal dimensions of Russia’s war on Ukraine; and the other exploring the conclusions of a general trade policy.

For more information about the event and to register, please visit our virtual event platform.

You can read SDG Knowledge Hub coverage of selected 2021 Trade and Sustainability Hub events here and here.