We are at a turning point in the global effort to address climate change: policymakers around the world are simultaneously exploring how to leverage global trade to achieve faster decarbonization. For the first time, major economies are actively developing climate and trade policies that bolster their industries and workers, strengthen their strategic position, enhance cooperation with allies, and lower global emissions.
A quarter of emissions are embedded in globally traded goods, yet our trade system places no value on lowering emissions. In fact, it often favors the lowest-cost producers and regions that are the most carbon-intensive. And as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored, today’s trade relationships have emboldened aggressors, who also happen to be the worst environmental performers.
As impatience mounts with the slow pace of global decarbonization, these driving forces are creating an imperative to merge climate and trade. Join us for a discussion of this new paradigm for climate action and the opportunities it offers the U.S. and its allies.
Agenda
Program: 3:00-5:00pm ET
Reception: 5:00-6:00pm ET
3:00pm – Welcome and Overview
- Greg Bertelsen, CEO, Climate Leadership Council
A View from the House
- Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52)
- Moderator: Greg Bertelsen
Leveraging Global Trade: The New Paradigm for Climate Action
- Greta Peisch, general counsel, United States Trade Representative
Report: The Case for Climate and Trade
- Catrina Rorke, executive director, Center for Climate and Trade
4:00pm – Why the Climate-Trade Nexus Matters: Opportunities for U.S. Leadership
- Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, former United States Trade Representative for President Clinton
- Nigel Purvis, former deputy assistant secretary of state for oceans, environment, and science and founding CEO of Climate Advisers
- Jennifer Hillman, former commissioner at the United States International Trade Commission and former member of the World Trade Organization Appellate Body
- Moderator: Catrina Rorke
5:00pm – Reception