Trade and investment flows are often criticized for their impact on sustainability. Yet, if harnessed properly through cutting-edge international law and governance, trade can help rather than hinder the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These were among the key points made during the third University of Cambridge Lecture on Globalisation, Sustainability, and the Power of Ideas. 

World Trade, Development and Sustainabilityfeatured an esteemed panel of international law and governance experts, including Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi (SAN), Professor and Associate Dean for Research, UNESCO Chairholder on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, College of Law, Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU). The discussants highlighted how trade law and policy is evolving to address global challenges, underlining the idea that the WTO can and must be part of an urgent RE-globalisation towards sustainability, building on its poverty-eradication potential and green comparative advantage. The full lecture and dialogue is available here. 

“Addressing the trade, environment, energy and climate change nexus is the task of the century, if the world is to advance all of the SDGs,” commented Dr. Damilola during proceedings “This approach can help us foster common understanding between trade, energy and environment and climate institutions to address some of the artificial fragmentation and silos. When climate change impacts trade it impacts all stakeholders. Our mission at the UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development is to bring together all key stakeholders to advance holistic solutions.” 

The Democratising Education for Global Sustainability and Justice programme supports this vision by providing online courses on sustainable development law and policy and how they can be harnessed to further the SDGs and the Global Biodiversity Framework or linked with Trade Rules. More information can be found here.