Advancing inclusive cooperation on trade and climate

This document is a transcript of keynote remarks delivered by Hon. Keisal Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on 14 September 2023. The speech outlines the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on small-island developing states (SIDS) and proposes four key priorities for international cooperation to align global trade with sustainability and climate justice.

• Hon. Keisal Peters argues that small-island developing states (SIDS) and regions like St. Vincent and the Grenadines contribute negligibly to global trade flows that drive climate change, yet they face total destruction and disproportionate impacts from the resulting crisis.
• The first priority for international cooperation is to equip the multilateral trading system, specifically the World Trade Organization (WTO), to handle trade and sustainability. This includes upholding transparency regarding carbon taxes, industrial policies, and incentives, pursuing rule-making for trade in environmental goods and services, and ensuring WTO rules facilitate technology transfer to developing and least developed countries.
• The second priority is the use of international cooperation to promote a circular economy, particularly for SIDS that lack financial and technical capacity. This involves establishing common standards for sustainable production and consumption and helping SIDS develop the capacity to become major players in the circular economy.
• The third priority is the reform of the global financial architecture to improve climate financing for SIDS, as highlighted by the Bridgetown Initiative. Peters notes that many SIDS are excluded from concessional financing due to gross national income per capita criteria, while wealthier nations use billions of dollars in green industrial policies to gain advantages in the trade of green goods and services.
• The fourth priority is a call for fairness and justice in global trade and climate action, advocating for a shift from a zero-sum model of economic competition to one of economic cooperation centered on inclusive growth and sustainable development for all.

APA

Peters, K. (2023). Advancing inclusive cooperation on trade and climate. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-inclusive-cooperation-on-trade-and-climate

Chicago

Peters, Keisal. Advancing inclusive cooperation on trade and climate. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2023. https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-inclusive-cooperation-on-trade-and-climate.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Peters |first1=Keisal |title=Advancing inclusive cooperation on trade and climate |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=18 September 2023 |url=https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-inclusive-cooperation-on-trade-and-climate |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{peters2023advancing, author = {Peters, Keisal}, title = {{Advancing inclusive cooperation on trade and climate}}, publisher = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-inclusive-cooperation-on-trade-and-climate}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }