To date, international agreements on trade and climate change have tended to be negotiated in isolation. Yet rules in trade agreements have huge implications for governments’ ability to meet their climate change commitments. The Energy Charter Treaty, a deal which specifically covers investment in the energy sector - covering both fossil fuels and renewables - is perhaps the most obvious example. However, rules agreed at the World Trade Organisation and between countries are also impacting on government policy space to tackle climate change. The Trade Justice Movement’s Ruth Bergan will talk us through these issues and suggest ways in which the UK can develop its post-Brexit trade policy to ensure it is in line with climate commitments.
About the speaker
Ruth Bergan is the Coordinator of the Trade Justice Movement, a national network that campaigns for socially and environmentally sustainable global trade. The role encompasses advocacy at a senior level in the UK and the EU, managing relationships with sixty member organisations, analysing complex trade policy and developing innovative areas of work.
Ruth spent two years volunteering in India, working with women’s groups and in non-formal education centres. This cemented her desire to work in the voluntary sector in international justice, which she has done to the present day.
Past roles have involved project management, on a range of topics from migration to women’s rights. She was a Programme Manager for the Co-operative College, a Campaigns Officer for HomeWorkers Worldwide and a Project Officer for Oxfam. Ruth is passionate about issues of global justice and her current position reflects a desire to bring the sector together around a vitally important issue.
Ruth joined the Green Party in 2007 and has stood for election in local, national and European elections. In her spare time she plays Capoeira.
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