Remaking global trade governance: trade, climate and global cooperation in a fragmenting world

Monday, 22 June 2026 | 14:00 - 17:00 BST | London Climate Action Week 2026

As climate impacts intensify and geopolitical tensions reshape the global economy, global trade governance is entering a period of profound transformation.

Countries are increasingly using trade policy to pursue climate, industrial and security objectives. While this shift creates opportunities to accelerate the green transition, it also risks deepening fragmentation, straining multilateral institutions and exacerbating inequalities – particularly for developing countries facing structural constraints.

Join ODI Global, the Remaking Trade Project, the African Future Policies Hub, Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) and the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa during London Climate Action Week 2026 for a high-level conversation that will bring together policymakers, trade experts, academics and private sector representatives to explore how global trade governance must evolve to remain inclusive, sustainable and equitable in a multipolar world.

Registration

Register now to join us in person in London or online.

For any event enquiries, please contact IEDGevents@odi.org.uk. 

Event Schedule

Schedule

Start time End time Description
13:30 14:00 Registration and welcome refreshments
14:00 14:10 Welcoming and opening remarks
Event overview and scene-setting
14:10 15:25
Session I: Trade, climate and security in a multipolar world
Climate change, economic security and trade policy are becoming increasingly intertwined. Governments are challenging established trade norms in pursuit of strategic autonomy, green industrialisation and control over critical minerals and clean technologies. Alongside, there is growing recognition among a diversity of governments on the importance of trade strategies for achieving their climate goals, including enhanced cooperation on trade and trade policies as key to driving action on climate mitigation, adaptation and climate-resilient development.

This session will examine:
  • What rising fragmentation means for climate action, sustainable development and the global trading system
  • The implications of trade-related climate measures for developing countries and how trade-related cooperation on climate can be enhanced
  • Prospects for WTO reform and attention to sustainability priorities in a shifting geopolitical landscape
  • The growing role of regional and plurilateral trade initiatives as laboratories for cooperation on climate and trade
15:25 15:40 Networking coffee break
15:40 16:55
Session II: Border carbon adjustment mechanisms — balancing climate ambition and development
With the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entering full implementation in 2026 and the UK's CBAM due to become operational in 2027, border carbon measures are rapidly reshaping global trade. While designed to prevent carbon leakage and support decarbonisation, CBAMs have been criticised as potentially protectionist and risk imposing new burdens on developing country exporters.

This session will explore:
  • How the UK can design and implement its CBAM in a way that supports development alongside climate ambition
  • How developing countries can navigate and respond to the rise of sustainability-linked trade measures
  • Strategies to mitigate the risks of regulatory fragmentation and overlapping reporting requirements
  • The intersection of CBAMs with emerging economic security strategies
16:55 17:00 Closing remarks
17:00 18:30 Networking reception