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TESS at the WTO Public Forum and Geneva Trade Week
14-17 September 2026 | This year, in addition to regular Public Forum programming, the WTO is partnering with the Geneva Trade Platform to hold a series of "Curated Conversations" (participation by invitation). TESS will be organizing and participating in a number of these Conversations and a range of other WTO Public Forum and Geneva Trade Week (GTW) sessions on key trade and sustainability priorities. We are delighted to be organizing GTW's Opening Plenary.
TESS Conference on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development (TCSD) 2026
15-16 October 2026 | Public Plenaries and Thematic Sessions are taking shape for this year’s TESS Annual Conference on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development (TCSD 2026) and a draft agenda is now available. Plenary panels on both days of the Conference will be livestreamed. In-person participation in the Conference is by invitation.
Technology Transfer and Africa's Green Industrialisation: From WTO Limits to Continental Options
24 July 2026 | Co-organized by the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) Just Green Technology Transition programme, Trade Negotiations & Investment Forum (TNIF) Kenya, SEATINI Uganda, and TESS, this recent webinar explored policy pathways for strengthening technology transfer, maximizing the AfCFTA's industrial potential, and better positioning Africa within evolving WTO digital trade frameworks.
Second Meeting of the Expert Group on Trade, Critical Minerals, and the Clean Energy Transition: Navigating Sustainability, Development, and Security Objectives
28 July 2026 | Earlier this summer, the Expert Group on Trade, Critical Minerals, and the Clean Energy Transition—co-convened by TESS and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)—held its second meeting. The Expert Group discussed the conceptual framework for its work and upcoming meetings, as well as a proposed outline for its report.
SYNERGIES
SYNERGIES is an online platform for commentary and perspectives from a diverse range of experts from around the world curated by TESS. The views and opinions are those of the author(s).
Cooperating Through the Transition: Trade and Sustainability in RCEP’s 2027 Review
In this new SYNERGIES article, Harry Wardana, Lecturer and Research Fellow, and Peter Draper, Executive Director at the Institute for International Trade and Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in Trade at Adelaide University, argue that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’s (RCEP) 2027 review is the most significant near-term opportunity to connect trade and sustainability across the Indo-Pacific.
Learning from African Cooperation for Green Industrialization and Shared Prosperity
In this new SYNERGIES article, Roslyn Ng'eno, Senior Investment Expert at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, says that through the AfCFTA and related continental initiatives such as the investment protocol, Africa is demonstrating that it can contribute to designing the frameworks that govern trade, investment, and industrial development.
An Illusion of Industrialization: Africa’s Critical Minerals Extraction, Trade, and Sustainable Development
In this new SYNERGIES article, Olabisi Akinkugbe, Associate Professor and Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, cautions that African countries will only consolidate their position as primary commodity suppliers if the critical minerals boom is not accompanied by coherent policy frameworks, urgent infrastructure investments, and rigorous implementation efforts.
More from SYNERGIES
- The Underused Advantages of Schedules in the WTO for Evolving Trade
By Gabrielle Marceau (University of Geneva) - Trade and Climate Resilience in Senegal: Challenges and Responses in a Transitioning Economy
By Ahmed Tidiane DIA (Ministry of Industry and Trade, Senegal) - From Green Protectionism to Green Corridors – Next Generation Trade Arrangements for a Faster and Fairer Industrial Transition
By Jorge Arbache (University of Brasília) - From “Aid for Trade” to “Trade Over Aid”: Balancing Transactionalism With Economic Cooperation in North-South Trade Relations
By Rohan Choudhary (Geneva Graduate Institute) - The Complex Reality of Product-Level Carbon Accounting
By Shuting Pomerleau (American Action Forum)
Video Series: What are the Top Sustainability Priorities in need of Attention by the Global Trading System?
Trade & Sustainability Priorities: Tabitha Kiriti Nganga
In this video, Tabitha Kiriti Nganga (Professor of Economics at University of Nairobi and Chair, World Trade Organization Chairs Programme) says the global trading system must prioritise environmental protection, deforestation and agricultural issues, and the inclusion of women and youth into trade.
Trade & Sustainability Priorities: Olabisi D. Akinkugbe
In this video, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe, Associate Professor and Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, says African countries need to focus on three areas to ensure trade supports sustainability: 1) avoid entrenching the problems of commodity production, 2) provide better access to climate finance, and 3) ensure carbon credits and related programmes be about more than profits.
Trade & Sustainability Priorities: Janet Macharia
In this video, Janet Macharia, Chief Executive Officer of the Trade Negotiations and Investment Forum (TNIF), says that African countries need to focus on sustainability issues at the continental level so they are then able to tackle them in a more coordinated way at the multilateral level.
Trade & Sustainability Priorities: Dan Esty
In this video, Dan Esty, Professor at Yale University and Co-lead at Remaking Trade For a Sustainable Future, says that a foundation of sustainable development is fundamental to the remaking of the trade system.