Upcoming event on Circular Economy and Services Trade, March 4 2021.
Transition to a low-carbon circular economy provides a powerful tool for climate change mitigation and simultaneously brings new economic opportunities by supporting new business models, trade and job creation, and can enhance the role of developing countries. The interlinkages between services and Circular Economy have not yet been studied extensively. To fill in the space, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the IISD published a report Trading Services for a Circular Economy, aiming at compiling new data and providing insights on Circular Economy services and services trade.
The Permanent Mission of Finland, the WTO Services and Investment Division, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra have a pleasure to host a joint virtual event to discuss the important role of services trade in transition to Circular Economy. The event will take place on Thursday, March 4th at 11.00-11.30pm (CET) via Zoom platform.
The event is open for everyone to attend. To attend the event, please register here(Link to another website.).
The recent study(Link to another website.), conducted by the IISD and Sitra, reveals a range of potential barriers to circular economy service exports, many of which are very sector-specific, identifying several tasks for the WTO. As goods and services are increasingly sold as a bundle, the set a new scene for cross border trade as well. Services and goods prove to be the different sides of the same coin: as the report states, “restrictive policy measures targeting goods trade can also affect trade in services related to the circular economy”. To find the common ground, the work requires proactive trade policy planning and multi-stakeholder engagement.
The distinguished speakers of the event include Ms. Saara Tamminen, Leading Specialist at the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Ms. Bezawit Eshetu, Circular Economy Expert at the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), Mr. Joost de Kluijver, Founder of the award-winning Dutch company Closing the Loop, Ms. Marie Isabelle Pellan, Counsellor at the Trade in Services and Investment Division of the WTO, Mr. Shunta Yamaguchi, Policy Analyst on Trade and Environment at the OECD and the moderator of the event, Ms. Alice Tipping, Lead at the International Institute for Sustainable Development and one of the co-authors of the report.
The event is part of the WTO’s “Simply Services — A Trade in Services Speaker Series”, which an informal platform for the exchange of knowledge and information on trade in services. More information about the past events in the Simply Services series, read here(Link to another website.).