8-18 June 2026

World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB)

The mid-year climate intersessional meetings in Bonn, Germany serve as a vital technical bridge between COP30 and COP31. TESS will be participating in, and supporting, a variety of events on the interface of climate and trade at this year’s conference (SB64), including an official side event (see below).

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10 June 2026, 16:30 - 17:45 CET

World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) | Room Berlin

Co-organized by TESS, the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), and the German Institute for Development & Sustainability (IDOS), this official UNFCCC side event will consider how the Mutirão dialogue on climate change and trade can catalyze new incentives, opportunities, and innovative approaches that enable trade systems to work constructively in tandem with climate and development priorities.

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1-5 June 2026

WTO, Centre William Rappard, Geneva

The seventh edition of Trade and Environment Week took place from 1-5 June 2026. A broad range of WTO members highlighted their engagement and interest in the trade and environment nexus, hosting a series of substantive events with expert speakers from around the world. Topics were diverse and ranged from decarbonization, climate resilience, and biodiversity to plastic pollution and sustainable agriculture. All sessions were streamed live and are archived on the WTO’s YouTube channel. TESS co-organized and participated in a number of events.

Key sessions for TESS included:

• Carbon Accounting, Standards and Trade: How International Cooperation Can Reduce Fragmentation and Support Decarbonisation, co-hosted by Australia and China (TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck moderated).
• Emerging Agricultural Trade (EAT) Issues: An Environmental Sustainability Perspective, co-organized by the co-sponsors of the Statement on a Dialogue on Emerging Agricultural Trade Issues (with Lee Ann Jackson, Head of Programmes at TESS, as a speaker).
• Developing Country Perspectives on Carbon Border Measures, hosted by Pakistan (with Christophe Bellmann, Head of Strategy and Policy Analysis at TESS, as a speaker at the session).
• From Strategy to Synergy: Aligning Climate and Trade for Resilient and Sustainable Development, co-organized by the Philippines and TESS (with Yasmin Ismail, Senior Policy Advisor on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainable Development at TESS as moderator).
• Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels and Updates from the FFSR Initiative, co-hosted by Colombia, the Netherlands and New Zealand (with TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck as moderator)

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By Eugene James, TESS

In the wake of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), TESS took a deep dive into statements from WTO members to highlight the broad-based interest in trade-related cooperation on environment, climate, and sustainable development. We found that more than two-thirds of individual member statements delivered by ministers in Yaoundé referred to the sustainability dimensions of trade. This new compilation provides examples of how and where WTO members addressed issues of environment, climate, and sustainable development in ministerial declarations, decisions, and statements at MC14.

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21 May 2026

TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck participated in this event on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79). The event featured “Lightning Talks” by diplomats, scientists, policymakers, and other experts on the health impacts of plastics and plastic pollution. Carolyn’s talk “Considering Key Elements for the Protection of Human Health in the Future Treaty on Plastic Pollution” was streamed live and can be accessed via the link below.

Event details.

27-29 May 2026

UNEP and Nordic Council of Ministers Workshop, Oslo

Simon Ardila Eraso, Policy Advisor at TESS, spoke at a recent workshop focused on statistics across the lifecycle of plastics, co-hosted by UN Environment and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Simon reviewed why more transparent and granular data on trade flows across the plastic lifecycle are vital for effective domestic and international efforts to address plastic pollution (including through the future treaty) and highlighted opportunities to improve systems for obtaining such data.

Synergies is an online platform for commentary and perspectives from a diverse range of global experts curated by TESS. The views and opinions are those of the author(s).

Taking the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change a Leap Forward: UN General Assembly Adopts Landmark Resolution With Large Majority

By Dominic Coppens

On 21 May 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Court of Justice’s landmark advisory opinion on climate change (document A/80/L.65). In this new Synergies article, Dominic Coppens from TESS says this important development should catalyze more proactive climate action by states and stronger collaborative efforts to address this common concern of humankind, including through trade cooperation.

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Perspectives from Africa on Trade and Sustainability Priorities and Interests

This Synergies series aims to amplify and integrate perspectives from across the African continent in discussions on international trade and sustainability, with a view to positively contributing to agenda-setting and inclusive cooperation. Below are several recent contributions to the series. 

• Upgrading Africa’s Industrial Policy Response for Trade and Sustainability. By Hana AlWakeel, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, London School of Economics and Political Science.
• From Fragmentation to Strategy in Shaping Africa’s Trade, Sustainability, and Development Agenda. By Ese Owie, Africa Trade Policy Working Group.
• From Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Transition-Ready Refineries: A WTO Policy Pathway for Africa. By Cecilia Wandiga, Centre for Science and Technology Innovations, Kenya.
• Reclaiming Development Policy Space in a Fragmented Global Trading System for Green Industrialization: Imperatives for Africa. By Jane Nalunga, Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), Uganda.
• Advancing Africa’s Sustainability Interests in the Global Trading System. By Allen Sophia Asiimwe, TradeMark Africa.

Explore the full series.

Next Generation Trade Arrangements for Environment and Sustainable Development

This Synergies series aims to spur discussion on “where to next” for trade arrangements that support sustainability—from innovations in formal trade agreements to sectoral initiatives, soft law outcomes, informal coalitions, and South-South cooperation models. It explores both what is working and new opportunities across an array of bilateral, regional, plurilateral, or multilateral approaches and settings. Below are several recent contributions to the series.

• Enhanced Trade Partnerships: A Sustainability Benefit from Non-binding Agreements? By Gregory Messenger, University of Bristol Law School.
• Where the Green Industrial Transition Lands as a Trade Design Question: The Rules Within the Rules. By Carlijn Nouwen, Climate Action Platform Africa (CAP-A).
• The Role of Carbon Transparency and International Cooperation in Supply Chains for an Effective and Just Transition. By Emily Dionizio & Virginia Antonioli, World Resources Institute (WRI) Brazil.

Explore the full series.

The global trading system is in the midst of a period of instability and uncertainty. To help ensure environment and sustainability goals do not become a casualty of this disruption, we’re asking global trade experts for their thoughts. This new video series asks: What are the top environment and sustainability priorities in need of attention by the global trading system? 

View the videos.