Trade group focused on climate policies formed

Trade group focused on climate policies formed    The National Foreign Trade Council announced Monday the formation of a new Trade and Climate Working Group, which will focus on the trade- and competitiveness-related aspects of U.S. and global climate policies.
   The working group will address related issues in both domestic legislation and international negotiations aimed at curbing climate change, including:
   ' Ensuring trade-related climate measures in domestic legislation comply with global trade rules.
   ' Promoting liberalized green trade and U.S. leadership in support of a comprehensive environmental goods and services trade agreement.
   ' Highlighting the need for strong protection of intellectual property rights to encourage the development of new environmental technologies and 'green' jobs in the United States.
   ' Advocating an international framework for dealing with trade and competitiveness-related climate measures.
   Citing the House's passage of the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act and the Senate's intent to act on similar legislation later this year, and international climate negotiations set to conclude in Copenhagen in December, Jake Colvin, the Washington-based council's vice president of global trade issues, warned there are 'a number of moving parts that could impact the trading system and the global competitiveness of companies.'
   He added: 'The United States has a tremendous opportunity to create new jobs through green trade and the development and deployment of innovative clean technologies, but success depends on the extent to which climate policies are grounded in a rules-based international framework.'
   Jeremy Preiss, vice president and chief international trade counsel for United Technologies Corp. and a member of the council's board, will serve as the corporate chair of the new working group.
   'Trade and climate policies must be mutually reinforcing to advance environmental goals and promote the growth of green trades and jobs,' Preiss said. 'If the policies conflict, the threat of a new era of green protectionism grows greater, and trade and the environment could both suffer.'
   The working group, which is open to council board members, will provide opportunities to collaborate on and advance member company interests with respect to trade and competitiveness aspects of U.S. and international climate policies.
   Council representatives plan to participate as observers at the Conference of Parties 15 in Copenhagen this December, the set of international negotiations held under the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, which is expected to result in an international agreement on climate policies.