WTO Public Forum 2026

About WTO Public Forum 2026

The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest outreach event, providing a unique platform for interested stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest developments in global trade and to propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system. This year’s Public Forum will place services at the centre of the conversation, examining their role as an engine of development, source of income, and driver of job creation and empowerment worldwide, particularly for women and young people.

Services account for more than two-thirds of global GDP and employ more people than any other sector. They are the primary source of new jobs in today’s economy, shaping labour markets and opening pathways to opportunity across regions and income levels.

At the WTO, governments work to strengthen the rules that underpin global trade in services, with the aim of extending market access, increasing transparency of trade measures and enhancing the predictability of services trade. Yet the global landscape is shifting rapidly, bringing both opportunity and uncertainty.

How do we regulate services trade without constraining innovation? How do we ensure that digital trade is inclusive and accessible? How do we expand access to markets, increase connectivity and improve skills so that the benefits of services trade are more widely shared?

As supply chains evolve and digital delivery reshapes how services are traded, and as the WTO seeks to adapt to a more complex global economy, the full potential of trade in services needs to be unlocked.

Join WTO Public Forum 2026 to explore how trade in services is Powering the Future.

Environment @ WTO Public Forum 2026

Day 1 – 15 September 2026

• Opening Session | Trade and cooperation for the future | Organized by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) | WTO, Room CR | 10:00 – 11:15 CEST
• Launch of the World Trade Report 2026 | Organized by WTO | WTO, Room CR | 11:45 – 13:00 CEST

Day 2 – 16 September 2026

• Powering climate action through services trade | Organized by COP31 Presidency (COP31) | WTO, Room S2 | 09:00 – 10:00 CEST
• EUDR enablers and green trade rules | Organized by Trade Policy Hub | WTO, Room Library | 09:00 – 10:00 CEST
• Ensuring global food security amid trade disruptions | Organized by World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) | WTO, Room S2 | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Services in sustainable mining: inclusive trade for LDCs | Organized by Finland and Democratic Republic of Congo | WTO, Room S3 | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Bridging the data gap in trade in agricultural services | Organized by FAO | WTO, Room S3 | 12:00 – 13:00 CEST
• The green services economy– powering the future | Organized by the UK | WTO, Room S3 | 14:15 – 15:15 CEST
• WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: moving forward | Organized by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) | WTO, Room F | 15:45 – 16:45 CEST
• TPH: Trade agreements and women | Water | Organized by Trade Policy Hub | WTO, Room Library | 17:15-18:15 CEST

Day 3 – 17 September 2026

• Trading Culture, Powering Futures: Sustainable Tourism and Creative Services for Youth and Gender Empowerment | WCP Chairs in India, México, Nepal, and Perú | WTO, Room Library | 9:00-10:00 CEST
• Engaging parliamentarians in sustainable trade in services | Organized by Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (European Parliament/Interparliamentary Union) (PCWTO (EP/IPU)) | WTO, Room S2 | 10:30-11:30 CEST
• Circular services for an inclusive circular economy | ApexBrasil, Brazil | WTO, Room S1 | 12:00-13:00 CEST
• Critical mineral supply chain: trade, resilience and development | Organized by World Trade Organization (WTO) | WTO, Room Centre Stage | 14:15 -15:15 CEST
• Trade in Services: Intelligence, Sustainability & Inclusion | Organized by WCP Chairs in South Africa, Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, and Cameroon | WTO, Room Library | 14:15-15:15 CEST
• Maritime disruptions: impacts on energy & food security | Organized by International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)| WTO, Room S2 | 15:45-16:45 CEST
• Green corridors: transport services and Africa’s transition | Organized by Trade Negotiations and Investment Forum (TNIF) | WTO, Room F | 15:45-16:45  CEST
• Driving green growth through environmental services trade | Organized by Switzerland and Costa Rica | WTO, Room W | 17:15-18:15 CEST

Curated Conversations

For the first time, the Geneva Trade Platform, in partnership with the World Trade Organization, will host the Curated Conversations series during the 2026 Public Forum.

The Curated Conversations are a closed-door, invite only series intentionally designed to create an environment for candid cross-sectoral policy exchanges on key topics important to the international trade community. Throughout September 16th and 17th, forty-five roundtables in the WTO’s Salle des Pas Perdus will delve into pressing trade policy issues through focused and dynamic discussions.

16 September 2026

• Re-envisioning International Cooperation Through New Partnership Approaches: A Focus on Clean Technology | Organized by TULIP, ODI, TESS | WTO, Room A | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Making Plastic-Related Public Support Visible: Trade Policy Options for a Full-Life-Cycle Response | Organized by Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) | WTO, Room Y | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Unlocking Trade and Investment for Wind Energy Value Chains | Organized by Unlocking Trade and Investment for Wind Energy Value Chains | WTO, Room A | 14:15 – 15:15 CEST
• Towards an Effective Transparency Regime on Subsidies | Organized Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) | WTO, Room Y | 15:45 – 16:45 pm CEST
• The Role of Trade Cooperation in Protecting Human Health and the Environment From Plastic Pollution | Organized by Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS); Geneva Platform on Resilient Value Chains | WTO, Room C | 17:15 – 18:15 CEST
• Trade Policy, Metal Market Imbalances and Decarbonization: Steel, Aluminium and Copper | Organized by Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters’ Association (IMMEB) | WTO, Room Y | 17:15 – 18:15 CEST

17 September 2026

• Trade Corridors and Carbon Credits: Positioning Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) | Organized by  Terradot Soil Inc, Stanford University | WTO, Room C | 9:00 – 10:00 CEST
• Fostering Inclusive Cooperation on Trade, Circularity, and Sustainable Development in Critical Minerals Supply Chains | Organized by Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) | WTO, Room Y | 9:00 – 10:00 CEST
• CBAM Business Lessons Learned from the Transitional Phase | Organized by International Chamber of Commerce; International Institute for Sustainable Development | WTO, Room A | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Green Rules of Origin: Design Architecture, Sector Priorities and Economic Potential | Organized by TradeWorthy and Astove Conseil | WTO, Room C | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• The New Map of Data and Future of Critical Minerals: Could Turkiye Become Eurasia’s Safe Harbour for Data Centre Investment? | Organized by Electrical and Electronics Exporters’ Association of Turkiye, Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association | WTO, Room Y | 10:30 – 11:30 CEST
• Aligning Trade, Climate, and Industrial Strategy: EU-India Cooperation on Steel Decarbonization | Organized by TULIP Consulting | WTO, Room Y | 12:00 – 13:00 CEST
• Accelerating Nature-Positive Outcomes Through Finance and Trade | Organized by Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) | WTO, Room C | 14:15 – 15:15 CEST
• Trade Predictability at Risk: How Diverging Pesticide and Food Safety Rules Are Reshaping Global Agri-Food Trade | Organized by CropLife International | WTO, Room B | 15:15 – 16:15 CEST

Environment @ Geneva Trade Week

Links

• The TESS Guide to Sustainability at the WTO Public Forum and Geneva Trade Week 2026
• TESS at Geneva Trade Week/WTO Public Forum 2026