Opening Remarks for SAIIA’s Trade and Climate Change Conference, October 2009

The opening remarks emphasize the urgent need for African countries to integrate trade considerations into their climate adaptation and economic development strategies. The speaker warns that a failure to reach an agreement at the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference could trigger a wave of climate-related protectionist barriers, undermining the international trade regime during an existing global economic crisis.

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the Convention) establishes that all countries must contribute to addressing climate change, with developed nations leading by providing finance and technology to developing nations, who hold 'common but differentiated responsibilities'.
• Africa's approach to analyzing the interface between trade and climate change policy is currently fragmented and fails to provide coherent messages for decision-making processes.
• A failure to reach a deal at the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference could result in countries adopting inward-looking policies and creating climate-related protectionist barriers, potentially leading to 'trade anarchy' during a global economic crisis.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). Opening Remarks for SAIIA’s Trade and Climate Change Conference, October 2009. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dttp_cnf_mollo_opening_remarks.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Opening Remarks for SAIIA’s Trade and Climate Change Conference, October 2009. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dttp_cnf_mollo_opening_remarks.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Opening Remarks for SAIIA’s Trade and Climate Change Conference, October 2009 |date=October 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dttp_cnf_mollo_opening_remarks.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009opening, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Opening Remarks for SAIIA’s Trade and Climate Change Conference, October 2009}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dttp_cnf_mollo_opening_remarks.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }