EU Launches ‘Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate' with Partner Countries
The Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate is a new forum that will bring together representatives from the European Commission, EU Member States, and 26 partner countries to discuss trade and climate issues, as well as sustainable development issues. It will be the first global ministerial-level meeting dedicated to these issues.
The coalition aims to promote trade policies that address climate change. It will help people in the trade and climate communities work together to figure out how trade policy can help fight climate change. It will also make it easier to buy and sell goods, services, and technologies that help fight climate change or adapt to it.
One of the most important goals of the Coalition is to find ways that trade policies can help the developing and least-developed countries that are most at risk from climate change.
This political dialogue will involve trade ministers from various regions and economic levels, as well as participation from other groups such as civil society, businesses, international organisations, and communities focused on climate and finance.
The Coalition is open to any country that wants to join, and it already has over 50 ministers from 27 jurisdictions. Ecuador, the EU, Kenya, and New Zealand are the four co-leads. Angola, Australia, Barbados, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Iceland, Gambia, Japan (Foreign Affairs & Trade), Republic of Korea, Maldives, Mozambique, Norway, Philippines, Rwanda, Zambia, Singapore, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Vanuatu are among the other countries involved.
The Coalition will provide political guidance and establish trade-related ways to adapt to changing climatic conditions and extreme weather, such as through the production, diffusion, accessibility, and uptake of climate-friendly technologies.
It will look for trade-related solutions to the climate crisis in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also support the work that the WTO is already doing in this area.
Source: EU
