About this session
This session will explore the key challenges and opportunities associated with the growing use of green industrial policies by a wide range of countries to scale up technological innovation, promote competitiveness in key sectors for the green transition, foster industrialization, or address national security concerns.
As trade tensions rise around the use of these measures, speakers will review the opportunities and challenges linked to the use of industrial policies in the drive for net-zero and climate-resilient development, focusing on the trade-related issues and priorities under discussion, and the options and prospects for enhanced international cooperation on the design and implementation of such measures.
This session will take place in a “brainstorming mode” and will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions on:
(i) The main political economy drivers, market failures, and public policy objectives behind the growing use of green industrial policies in the context of net-zero and climate-resilience development goals.
(ii) The range of industrial policies being deployed (e.g. subsidies, government procurement policies, investment measures, and export restrictions), evidence in terms of effectiveness in relation to climate and development outcomes, and implications for trade and trade governance.
(iii) Positive and negative externalities associated with green industrial policies on the competitiveness and development prospects of third countries, as well as their ability to respond to the climate crisis.
(iv) The extent to which existing international trade disciplines on industrial policies are fit for purpose. Are they sufficient, for instance, in light of the pressing need for rapid action on the climate crisis and the growing use of industrial policies, and the potential production and trade distorting effects of green industrial policies on other countries? Do existing disciplines provide sufficient policy space for countries keen to foster climate-resilient development, recognizing that many countries lack sufficient fiscal space to harness certain industrial policy options, such as public subsidies? If not, what kinds of reforms could be considered and are politically viable?
(v) Key governance gaps and possible reforms, approaches, and pathways to enhance cooperation on the design and implementation of trade and trade-related industrial policies to drive both net-zero and climate-resilient development goals.
