WTO Trade and Environment Week - From Strategy to Synergy: Aligning Climate and Trade for Resilient and Sustainable Development

As part of WTO Trade and Environment Week 2026, the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the WTO and the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) co-organized a session to explore how developing countries can better align climate and trade strategies to advance their resilience, competitiveness, and sustainable development.   

It discussed how national trade-climate strategies can be designed and implemented in ways that are development-sensitive, internationally connected, and responsive to real economy needs. The session highlighted options for integrating trade elements in climate planning, including support for green goods and services, climate-resilient value chains, renewable energy deployment, MSME readiness, traceability systems, and access to finance and technology. Particular attention was given to lessons from Asia, opportunities for South-South cooperation, and the role international organisations and partners can play in scaling collaboration.

PCX Solutions’ Managing Director Stefanie Beitien presented: 

• How trade facilitation and policy alignment can accelerate the transition to a circular economy in ASEAN; 

• The importance of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and traceability, and how this can be practically implemented;

• How our new Alternative Material Certificate can serve as a "Non-Discriminatory Trade-Facilitating Instrument”, providing an open, third-party standard that verifies physical material substitution at the supply-chain level, allowing trading blocs to subsidize alternative materials to fossil based plastic without violating WTO rules.

Speakers included H.E. Manuel Teehankee, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the WTO, Yasmin Ismail from TESS, Dodjie D. Lagazo, ACEN Corporation, Vicente Yu, and Julian Clarke, Asian Development Bank.

Link to Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) event summary and recording: https://tessforum.org/events/from-strategy-to-synergy-aligning-climate-and-trade-for-resilient-and-sustainable-development

Link to WTO Event page: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/envir_0106202610_e/envir_0106202610_e.htm 

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