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Trade and Climate Change: "Free trade" impasse, Fair Trade alternatives

The seminar will be divided in three parts, giving ample time to discussion: PART 1: Trading Away the Climate: How trade liberalisation aggravates global warming (45') PART 2: Fair Trade: How alternative trading schemes are working for climate justice (45') PART 3: Discussion (90')

When Sep 18, 2008
from 18:00 to 21:00
Where Folkets hus Nobeltorget, Biblioteket
What Seminar
Theme Working for a sustainable world, food sovereignity, environmental and climate justice
Aim Alliance building for joint mobilizations, actions and campaigns, Developing strategies, visions and alternatives, Cross-movement dialogue/debate ('confrontative dialogue')
Languages English, Español, Français, Svenska,

Climate change is the greatest threat our world faces. In December 2007, Trade ministers have met in the sidelines of the UNFCCC COP/MOP in Bali to discuss the contribution of trade rules and agreements to climate change. The discussion was focussed on the positive side of trade liberalisation, without looking at the possible conflicts or contradictions between the trade and climate agendas. Justifying business-as-usual seems to be the principal concern of most trade policy-makers at the moment, who fear that the climate negotiations might bring about new burdens onto economic operators. The seminar will give examples of these contradictions between “free trade” policies and climate policies and expose the agenda of mainstream trade policy-makers.
But all trade is not necessarily climate-unfriendly and Fair Trade can be an alternative that contributes to “cooling down the Earth” and climate justice. The seminar will look into this alternative and discuss its potential.

The seminar, proposed by trade justice movements, environmental networks and Fair Trade groups, will be divided in three parts. The first two parts will consist of presentations by the organisers on the two topics outlined above - one being a critique of the current dominant trade model and the other one being an insight into the Fair Trade alternative and its contribution to climate justice. The third part will be devoted to discussion with/among the audience.



Participants

  • Charly Poppe, Belgium [Friends of the Earth Europe]
  • Daniel Mittler, Germany [Greenpeace International]
  • Caroline Petersson, Sweden [Världsbutikerna för Rättvis Handel]
  • Mona Bengtsson, Sweden [La Maison Afrique]
  • Carolina, Netherlands [IFAT Europe]
  • Krister Holm, Sweden [Swedish Society for Nature Conservation]