General views on the idea of the dialogue

We welcome the first Dialogue on Trade and Climate Change established under paragraphs 56 and 57 of decision 1/CMA.7, and recall that Parties agreed to a dialogue process focused on opportunities, challenges and barriers related to trade and climate change.

We recall that Parties should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties, particularly developing country Parties, thus enabling them better to address the problems of climate change.

The group highlights that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. G77 and China is concerned by trade-related climate measures being designed without due considerations of their impacts in developing countries nor on the principles of equity and CBDR-RC.

Further, G77 and China emphasizes that the dialogue should not be a talkshop, and looks forward to a concrete process that builds from one dialogue to the next.

International cooperation can be an enabler for a supportive and open economic system, as a driver of the prosperity, development, and means of implementation that enable climate action. It can be an engine for the prosperity and growth that developing countries need, and this development can promote sustained climate action.
 
International cooperation can help generate the resources, technologies, diversified economies that can finance and lower the cost of the implementation of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. Framing this as an opportunity, and grounding it in the right to development, allows us to make a constructive, forward-looking contribution.

We recognize the need to discuss these measures, particularly in relation to the challenges of, reporting requirements, certification, traceability, costs, and market access, cross-border impacts, competitiveness, and increased costs of imports and exports.

G77 and China highlights the need of transparency and assessment and analysis of such measures and their impacts.

Additionally, we underscore the need for predictable support, including technical assistance, international cooperation, capacity-building, finance, and technology access to developing countries to address these impacts.

G77 and China reaffirm the commitment to multilateralism and a supportive and open international economic system consistent with Article 3.5 of the Convention.
On the other hand, there are opportunities for international cooperation to support developing countries to contribute in a nationally determined manner to the objective of the Convention and the goals of the Paris Agreement.

G77 and China encourages broad participation by Parties, observers and relevant international organizations.

We Look forward to the outcome of the dialogue, a report to the high-level event aggregating the reports of the individual dialogues.

We should examine how trade can contribute to a supportive and open international economic system that delivers sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties - particularly developing country Parties - so they can address climate change.

The reaffirmed principles in the Convention and Paris Agreement are unambiguous: measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Trade- related climate measures place an increasing burden on our economies, in particular placing additional burdens on import costs on developing countries, including SIDS and LDCs.

Trade-related climate measures should be designed and implemented in a manner consistent with equity, CBDR-RC and the sustainable development priorities of developing countries and respecting nationally determined nature of contributions. International cooperation can serve as an enabling channel for developing countries in many ways such as scaled-up predictable finance, technology transfer, and by facilitating access to technologies and services and low emission infrastructure.

In this context, we underscore the need of an objective and meaningful assessment of the impacts of on implementation of the Paris Agreement, and on developing countries' capacity and potential to address climate change.

Climate action cannot be implemented by closing markets, shifting costs, extracting revenues, or imposing one-size-fits-all policy models designed elsewhere without consent nor support. It must be achieved through international cooperation, support, technology access, capacity-building, and respect for development priorities and sovereign choices. In fact, international cooperation and our multilateral system cannot hold without the mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty and equality in status.
 
G77 and China therefore calls on Parties to use this dialogue to promote a focused and in-depth consideration of issues related to what Article 3.5 requires, in a concrete and balanced manner. A supportive and open international economic system must support development, not constrain it.

It must enable developing countries to be able to pursue climate action, not penalize those with the least responsibility and the greatest needs. And it must strengthen multilateral cooperation.

Trade-related climate measures should avoid creating disproportionate compliance costs, reduced market access and new barriers for developing countries, acknowledging our limited institutional, technical and financial capacity, recognizing the special circumstances of SIDS and LDCs. On the other hand, international cooperation can support developing countries, to participate in emerging markets, technologies and value chains.

We highlight the challenges faced by developing countries, including SIDS and LDCs, like import dependence, commodity exports dependence, high transport and logistics costs, reliance on maritime connectivity and vulnerability to external shocks.

International cooperation can seek to ensure that developing countries' ability to engage in climate action is strengthened without shifting the costs onto countries that have contributed least to climate change, and possess the fewest resources available to respond.

The dialogue should serve as a constructive space for Parties to assess, analyze, and discuss approaches to address trade-related climate measures impact on developing countries.

We look forward to a concrete process that builds from one dialogue to the next.