Distinguishing between legitimate protection, protectionism remains big task: EPC head

It will become increasingly challenging in the years ahead for nations to differentiate between legitimate protection against issues related to climate change and protectionism, said Fabian Zuleeg, CEO of the European Policy Centre, at a sub-forum of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum on Tuesday.

As an important part of the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Hongqiao International Economic Forum is taking place in Shanghai in tandem with the expo from Tuesday to Sunday, attracting more than 260 distinguished guests from political, business and academic circles.

Speaking at the sub-forum titled "China and 30 Years of the WTO: History and Evolution", Zuleeg noted that climate change should not be influenced by geopolitical and geo-economic issues.

"We have to continue to emphasize that climate change is an existential issue for humanity. It is not something which should be influenced by the current geopolitical and geo-economic problems. Essentially, we are facing an exponential challenge, which every year is getting worse. And our policies are not even denting the overall trends. And that cannot go on forever. So we have to do something, to do more and to do more decisively when it comes to climate action," he said.

"The big question for me in the coming years is we have a rise both in protectionism but also in protection and legitimate protection against certain issues, including environmental degradation and climate change. So how do we distinguish between the two and make the rules enforceable and applicable, so that we can distinguish between legitimate and trade distorting? And that, I think, is a very big task for the next years," Zuleeg noted.

Distinguishing between legitimate protection, protectionism remains big task: EPC head

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight