Promoting Sustainability in the Developing World and the WTO’s 2023 Public Forum

The World Trade Organization, the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum on 20 April launched “Action on Climate and Trade” (ACT), a new initiative that aims to help participating developing economies, including least-developed countries, use trade to meet their climate change mitigation and adaptation goals. The new initiative, which starts with a pilot phase, will focus on working with participating developing economies to develop climate-related analysis specific to their trade circumstances. ACT will provide participating developing economies with tailored insights so that they can plan for the impacts of climate change on trade, leverage opportunities for climate action and trade growth, and define areas of collaboration with trade partners.

EFA is considering what subject it should propose for the WTO’s  2023 Public Forum, which will explore how trade and the WTO can help create a greener and more sustainable future. The WTO says it wants its annual public forum to explore how the services sector, digitalisation and inclusive trade policies can support sustainability in trade. Further information on this year’s event is available here. Participants interested in organizing working sessions at the Public Forum can find details about the application process in this information note. An online application form can be accessed from the information note and should be completed no later than 15 June 2023 (23:59 CET). All sessions at the Forum are organised by participants. Individuals interested in attending the Forum should complete the online registration form no later than 17 August 2023.