Green Trade Lab Workshop 2025

 Early Career Researcher Workshop

The greening of trade as a way out of the polycrises? 

Regress, reforms and rebuilding international cooperation in the environment-trade nexus. 

3rd and 4th July 2025

 University of York (York, UK).

As the world edges over planetary tipping points, with 2024 being the first year exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, international cooperation is waning at a time when it is needed the most. Resurgent threats to democracy, reignited economic nationalism, heightened geopolitical conflicts and threatened tariff wars have heavily affected the environment-trade nexus in recent years. Both, trade and environmental policies, including those aiming to green domestic, regional and global trade flows, face enlarged political and economic pushback. The USA –once the first state linking trade and environmental policies through the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement– seems to have renounced political, economic and environmental cooperation altogether. The European Union, until recently a self-declared leader in environmental trade governance, has postponed key regulations, e.g. its deforestation regulation. The enlarged group of BRICS states have mostly remained remarkably silent on how to achieve equitable welfare within planetary boundaries through trade. At the same time, some reform initiatives are already visible, such as the bilateral Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability and the Multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, or the Villars framework as a more fundamental attempt to rehaul the international trade regime. Against this backdrop, this workshop seeks to engage early career researchers reflecting on the accelerating dynamics in the environment-trade nexus.

Venue

University of York, Heslington, York, UK. 

Date

3-4 July 2025 

Practicalities

This workshop aims to provide a platform for early-career researchers. However, we accept applications from scholars at different stages of their careers. The Green Trade Lab is committed to promoting the work of historically marginalised groups and voices, please, when filling up the form (link below) for submission, make sure to provide the information related to EDI criteria to assess any potential support that is available. 

The workshop will take place in a hybrid format in two days on 3-4 July 2025 at the University of York, UK. To participate, please send your abstract (max. 500 words) by 18th April 2025 via this form https://forms.gle/rjsH8X5j4C8PWHGr6. Your abstract should outline the research question, theoretical approach, methodology, and expected contribution. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by 2nd May 2025.

Finance

Participation in the workshop is free. The workshop benefits from support from the York Environmental Sustainability Institute at the University of York (YESI; Resilient Socio-Ecological Systems theme) and the VUB Jean Monnet Chair ECOValence (Grant 101085564).

Important Dates

18th April 2025  Deadline for Abstract (max. 500 words)

2nd May 2025 Notification of Acceptance

16th June 2025 Deadline Draft Paper submission (max. 8,000 words)

3rd-4th July 2025  Workshop

Should you have any questions, please contact us at greentradelab@gmail.com. We look forward to your contributions!

Paulina Flores Martinez, University of York 

Charline Depoorter, University of Basel

Scott Hamilton, Antwerp University

Simon Happersberger, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Geraldo Vidigal, University of Amsterdam