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2019
On 25 September 2019, the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, alongside her counterparts, Prime Minister of Fiji Hon. Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister. of Iceland H.E. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Norway H.E. Erna Solberg, Vice Minister for Foreign Trade of Costa Rica Mr. Duayner Salas announced the launch of The Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) in the margins of the UN General Assembly Leaders’ Week in New York.
This was further supported by a Joint Statement by the ACCTS Climate Change Ministers in the margins of COP25 in Madrid in December 2019.
2020
In January 2020, the ACCTS Trade Ministers released a Joint Statement expressing their strong support for the initiative. The Statement also announced Switzerland as a new participant in the negotiations.
2021
The ACCTS Climate Ministers reaffirmed their 2019 statement with a Joint Statement issued in the margins of COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. The Ministers reiterated their determination to maximise the climate impact of ACCTS and to increase the alignment and mutual responsiveness of trade and climate policy measures.
The ACCTS Trade Ministers released a Joint Statement in Paris in October 2021. The Ministers stated their united support for the ongoing negotiations and their ongoing commitment to harnessing trade policy to achieve collective climate change action.
2022
At COP27 (November 2022) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, New Zealand’s Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw, convened a meeting of ACCTS participants to discuss progress in the ACCTS negotiations. ACCTS Ministers subsequently issued this Joint Statement.
The ACCTS Trade Ministers issued a Joint Statement in the margins of MC12 in Geneva on 15 June 2022. Ministers emphasised the importance of the ACCTS in demonstrating a path forward on trade and environment issues for multilateral action and highlighted their commitment to conclude the ACCTS negotiations as swiftly as possible.
2023
After Round 13 of negotiations (30 May to 9 June 2023) New Zealand issued a Chair’s statement to summarise progress in negotiations to date, which included the conclusion of the principles-based guidelines for voluntary eco-labelling.
2024
On 21 June 2024, Ministers for Trade from Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland announced conclusion of negotiations for the ACCTS [Link to Joint Statement].
On 2 May 2024, Minister McClay chaired an ACCTS Ministerial event(external link) in the side-lines of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, where advanced progress of negotiations was affirmed.