In 2007, I attended the Trade Ministers’ meeting in Bali on the relationship between trade and climate change. In Bali, I sent a message: climate first, and trade second. And that message still stands today. It was and continues to be, a message that is designed to uphold the Copenhagen Climate Summit at the end of this year.
The climate cr that we are witnessing today is the single biggest challenge to civilization as we know it. Responding to that cr is urgent, and is a top priority on the international agenda. Because that cr is so serious, responding to it requires that we unleash all our resourcefulness and creativity.
While the multilateral trading system has a key role to play on the international economic and political landscape, that trading system is designed to enhance, and not reduce, human welfare. It cannot stand as a barrier to the fight against climate change -- in particular, to the conclusion of a "global" environmental accord.
Climate negotiators needed to conclude an international treaty from which the WTO would take its cue. To truly enhance human welfare, the trading system needs to respond to the signals that would be sent to it by a successful Copenhagen accord.