G20 Working Lunch: Leaders focused on efforts to fight trade protectionism and climate change

Press Release

Distribution date: Friday, November 12, 2010

G20 Working Lunch: Leaders focused on efforts to fight trade protectionism and climate change 

President Lee presided over a G20 Working Lunch following the third G20 Plenary Session. At the lunch, which began at 12:40, the G20 leaders discussed issues related to trade, climate change, and green growth.

In the first part of the lunch, scheduled to run fifty minutes, the leaders focused on trade issues. They discussed how the G20 nations could continue to work together to prevent the further spread of trade protectionism and the issues related to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

President Lee initially proposed the “standstill” agreement at the 2008 G20 Summit in Washington D.C. to prevent the rise of trade protectionism as the global financial crisis spread. During the Seoul Working Lunch, Lee complimented the effective collaboration of the G20 nations, saying that the standstill agreement had the desired result, and the spread of protectionism limited. The President went on to stress the importance of free trade and open markets.

The second part of the Working Lunch was focused on climate change and green growth. The G20 leaders discussed ways to promote green growth to lower the production of carbon dioxide and to confront challenges related to climate change. The leaders then discussed how to maximize the outcome at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is scheduled to be held in Cancun, Mexico later this month.