Opportunities for trade policy and cooperation to shift course on climate change and nature loss

This statement by Daudi Sumba of WWF International argues that international trade policy and cooperation are critical levers for addressing the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. It calls for a strategic rethink of the international trading system to prioritize nature and sustainable development, specifically highlighting the need to eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies and align trade strategies with net-zero and nature-positive goals.

• The global economy faces significant risks from nature and climate instability, with a World Bank report estimating that the collapse of certain ecosystem services could lead to an annual global GDP decline of $2.7 trillion by 2030, disproportionately affecting low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
• Environmentally harmful public subsidies are a major driver of nature loss, totaling an estimated $2.6 trillion annually. These public funds further enable approximately $5 trillion in private financing for activities that undermine ecosystems or accelerate the use of natural resources.
• There is a strategic opportunity to reform the international trading system and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to place nature, climate, and sustainable development at the center of its goals. The document suggests building on the success of the first fisheries subsidies agreement to tackle harmful financial incentives.
• To achieve long-term transformation, the document advocates for moving beyond short-term crisis management toward strategic trade scenarios, national sectoral pathways aligned with net-zero and nature-positive goals, and the use of plurilateral agreements. It specifically mentions the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade, launched at COP30 in Belém, as an innovative approach.

APA

Sumba, D. (2025). Opportunities for trade policy and cooperation to shift course on climate change and nature loss. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://tessforum.org/latest/opportunities-for-trade-policy-and-cooperation-to-shift-course-on-climate-change-and-nature-loss

Chicago

Sumba, Daudi. Opportunities for trade policy and cooperation to shift course on climate change and nature loss. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2025. https://tessforum.org/latest/opportunities-for-trade-policy-and-cooperation-to-shift-course-on-climate-change-and-nature-loss.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sumba |first1=Daudi |title=Opportunities for trade policy and cooperation to shift course on climate change and nature loss |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=8 December 2025 |url=https://tessforum.org/latest/opportunities-for-trade-policy-and-cooperation-to-shift-course-on-climate-change-and-nature-loss |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sumba2025opportunities, author = {Sumba, Daudi}, title = {{Opportunities for trade policy and cooperation to shift course on climate change and nature loss}}, publisher = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://tessforum.org/latest/opportunities-for-trade-policy-and-cooperation-to-shift-course-on-climate-change-and-nature-loss}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }