Should the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change fail to agree this December, it could have severe harmful effects on international trade, warns the World Trade Organisation chief.
Not only would temperatures continue to rise with a range of threats to populations if no international accord on climate change is found, but the international system of trade would also be jeopardized.
“I sincerely hope that (agreement) will happen in Copenhagen. If it doesn’t happen, our job at the WTO will become more difficult,” Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) tells the Financial Times.
He refers to the trend that some countries impose taxes or similar measures on goods from countries with lower standards in climate protection. This trend will only grow stronger if a new, more comprehensive agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol does not come in place.
“Going-alone measures will not achieve the desired results. Relying on trade measures to fix global environmental problems will not work. I am of the firm conviction that the relationship between international trade and climate change would be best defined as a follow-up to a consensual international accord on climate change that successfully embraces all major polluters,” says Pascal Lamy.
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