About
TESS mobilizes international expert groups for guidance on critical issues at the intersection of trade, environment, and sustainable development.
A vehicle TESS utilizes to achieve our vision of a trading system that effectively addresses global environmental crises and advances sustainable development goals is the convening of international expert groups to develop policy-oriented guidance on complex and critical issues at the nexus of trade and sustainability.
The expert groups typically bring together 15–30 carefully selected experts from academia, think tanks, and intergovernmental and stakeholder initiatives, representing a diversity of geographical origin and perspectives.
A principal output for each expert group is a report on their thematic area of focus, reflecting a collective effort among group members through their respective expertise to provide guidance to policymakers and inform discussions on international cooperation.
Following preliminary consultations to refine the scope of the expert group mandate and identify the experts, the process for each expert group spreads over one to three years, involving a series of meetings as well as briefing notes to feed discussions. Along the way, TESS organizes informal consultations and briefings with key government delegations to keep them informed on progress in expert group discussions. This includes direct interaction between expert group members and policymakers in the form of informal roundtables. Alongside, TESS engages members of the expert group in relevant discussions, forums, and events with policymakers and stakeholders from the trade, environment, and development communities.
When published, the expert group reports are communicated widely—through informal briefings, public events, and digital campaigns for example—to inform relevant discussions at the international level, including in the WTO, CDB, FAO, OECD, UNEP, UNFCCC, and World Bank among others.
Past Expert Groups
Information about these expert groups and their reports can be accessed below.
- International Legal Expert Group on Trade-Related Climate Measures and Policies
- International Expert Group on Trade, Circular Economy, and Sustainable Development
- International Expert Group on Environmentally Harmful Agricultural Subsidies
Ongoing Expert Group
The latest information about this expert group can be accessed below.
- International Expert Group on Trade, Critical Minerals, and the Clean Energy Transition
Planned Expert Groups
A number of expert groups and expert processes are currently planned on a variety of topics, including adaptation, finance, trade-related climate measures, sustainable agriculture, and the transition away from fossil fuels. More information will follow.
