Organized by the Committee on Trade and Development, the workshop was attended by representatives of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Trade Centre and other agencies as well as by WTO members. Opening and concluding remarks were made by the Chair of the committee, Ambassador Anthony Mothae Maruping (Lesotho).

The workshop noted that open trade and sustainable development go hand-in-hand and that the multilateral trading system helps create the enabling environment for countries to realize sustainable development and the “green economy” vision. Participants shared the view that clean development needs to be part of development strategies. Green growth focuses on fostering innovation, investment and competition that can give rise to new sources of economic growth.

The Chair of the committee concluded that:

• trade is an intrinsic part of the economic development pillar of sustainable development and that the WTO has a central role to play in ensuring environmental measures and green growth policies are not disguised forms of protectionism
• sustainable development objectives are starting to influence the design and delivery of Aid for Trade implementation. Least-developed countries are well-placed to adapt to the green economy but, like other developing countries, cost and access to technology are inhibiting factors
• there is evidence that Aid for Trade contributes to sustainable development but much more needs to be done to make green growth a reality, not a dream.

The workshop agenda and podcasts are available here.