WTO chief at COP27 aims to revive green trade talks

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director of World Trade Organisation (WTO), is taking part in the UN climate summit COP27, aiming to revive negotiations on a global environmental trade deal.

This will be part of efforts to give WTO a bigger role in tackling the climate crisis, Okonjo-Iweala told reporters.

Talks will include scrapping tariffs and other trade barriers on goods such as solar panels or smart-heating controls that can address climate change as an important step towards cutting the cost of environmental protection.

However, in 2016 WTO discussions collapsed after disagreements between China and Western countries about which products should be on the environmental list.

“We would like to see the revival of an environmental goods and services agreement,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt late on Monday.

Okonjo-Iweala said the talks should also be expanded to include services, referring to air pollution mitigation or wastewater treatment for instance.

“You need to have a friendly trade regime for renewables and other environmentally-friendly products,” she added, noting tariffs for fossil fuel products are lower than for renewables in many countries.