On June 24, 2025, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Climate Action Network (CAN) International convened a dinner roundtable on the sidelines of the UNFCCC's SB 62 climate conference in Bonn, Germany. The gathering brought together climate negotiators, civil society representatives, researchers, and trade justice campaigners to discuss the growing tensions and opportunities at the intersection of green industrialisation, international trade, and climate cooperation. 

The backdrop to the conversation was a rapidly shifting global landscape: the resurgence of 'industrial policy' tools, the implementation of carbon border measures like the EU's CBAM, rising competition over critical minerals, and a fragmented multilateral system struggling to keep pace with climate imperatives. At the same time, developing countries are under pressure to decarbonise without adequate financial, technological, or institutional support, while facing trade constraints that restrict their policy space.