The TESS Climate Crisis thematic area of work aims at fostering inclusive international cooperation on trade and trade policies to advance climate mitigation and adaptation, climate-resilient development, and fair transitions. Many governments face challenges engaging at the international level to foster cooperation at the nexus of trade, climate, and sustainable development. Developing countries face capacity constraints in developing long-term visions and strategic national goals at this complex interface of issues and translating these into priorities for trade diplomacy and negotiations. International discussions at the nexus of trade, climate, and sustainable development have had limited focus on developing country priorities and perspectives. At the same time, there is limited attention to understanding how the ongoing evolution of markets, regulations, and technologies, including those related to efforts to reach net-zero targets by 2050, and the ongoing impacts of the climate crisis, will impact developing countries and the implications of this for their trade strategies.

The project aims to support developing country governments and their stakeholders to formulate national visions, strategies, and policy options on trade that reflect national climate and sustainable development challenges and priorities and promote their pursuit at the national and international levels.

The project has three pillars:

1. Identify national trade-related priorities on climate mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development. The first pillar will better equip governments and their stakeholders to identify and pursue national trade-related climate priorities in the context of wider sustainable development goals and strategies, bearing in mind evolving economic, climate, and political realities.
2. Develop national trade-related strategies on climate mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development. The second pillar will assist governments to collaborate with relevant stakeholders at the national and regional levels and develop national trade-related climate strategies.
3. Actively pursue national goals through trade diplomacy. The third pillar will help governments prioritize their sustainable trade goals and engage in the pursuit of these goals through the World Trade Organization, the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, and relevant regional settings.

TESS aims to work cooperatively with a range of developing countries from different regions, with varying levels of development and climate vulnerability. In phase 1 of the project, we will work with countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region, with an expansion to further regions and countries pending interest and availability of financial support. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Australian Government for the project’s first phase. The project also benefits from the wider group of funders that support TESS work on the climate crisis, including France, Quadrature Climate Foundation, and European Climate Foundation.

The project will be pursued in partnership with expert institutions active at the national level, selected in consultation with partner countries. Activities will combine the production of analytical pieces involving national and international experts, a series of multistakeholder dialogues or roundtables in the partner countries and in Geneva with the engagement of national government officials, expert institutions, and stakeholder groups, as well as behind-the-scenes support for engagement in relevant international processes, including in Geneva.

TESS contact: Yasmin Ismail