UP Law Center Hosts High-Level Roundtable on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development: Towards a Trade-Related Climate Strategy for a Climate-Resilient Philippines

The Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS) of the University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center, in partnership with the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) and the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO), hosted the High-Level Roundtable on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development: Towards a Trade-Related Climate Strategy for a Climate-Resilient Philippines on 2 October 2025.

The event gathered representatives from key government agencies and institutions, including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Climate Change Commission alongside members of civil society, the business sector, academia, and development partners.

Hon. Manuel Teehankee, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the WTO, delivered the opening remarks, while Hon. Raphael P.M. Lotilla, Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, presented the keynote address. This was followed by Atty. Romel Antonio O. Cuenca, Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director of the CCC, who discussed the Philippine Climate Goals through an advanced preview of NDC 3.0 and the country’s roadmap toward COP30.

In the afternoon session, Mr. Christophe Bellmann, Head of Policy Analysis and Strategy at TESS, presented the objectives and methodology of the ongoing study. He was followed by Atty. Vicente Paolo Yu, Independent Consultant for TESS, who discussed Trade at the Nexus of Climate and Sustainable Development in the Philippines.

In his closing remarks, UP President Angelo A. Jimenez highlighted the University of the Philippine’s role as an SDG Impact University, emphasizing its commitment to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction through education, advocacy, and evidence-based policymaking.

The roundtable was moderated by IILS International Environmental Law Program lawyers Atty. C. Therese Guiao and Atty. Jurella Guiahara Santos, and hosted by Atty. Ma. Golda Gigi N. Miñoza, Director of the IILS International Financial Law Program.

Through this roundtable, IILS continues its commitment to serving as a platform for experts and stakeholders across sectors to engage in meaningful dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration in advancing the Philippines’ trade and environmental governance agenda on the global stage.