Director General of WTO Urges: Environment First, Trade Second
September 16, 2010
Today at the World Energy Congress I was struck by the clear statements from Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
He emphasized that an international agreement on climate change should be our number one priority. He said we must attempt to get the disciplines right on the environmental issues and subsequently can deal with any trade problems on a case-by-case basis. In short, the head of the WTO recognizes trade concerns cannot be an excuse for stalling action on climate change. Big.
Mr. Lamy stressed the importance of international climate negotiations like those that are going to take place in Cancun this November-December and stated the need for global market mechanisms to address climate change through carbon pricing. He said that any tensions between decisions and trade openness can be addressed subsequent to the world coming to agreement on the basic commitments.
He emphasized that the WTO is up for the challenge and that it will be able to adapt to new international standards for climate change. He also suggested that carbon pricing does not have to be a precursor to border tarrifs, noting that some jurisdictions have carbon taxes without border adjustments (which may be seen as trade barriers).