WTO institutional reform: as a site of climate ambition

Purpose With its Appellate Body incapacitated and institutional reform efforts gaining momentum, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can be reimagined against the backdrop of the escalating climate crisis. While climate-related trade measures have attracted scholarly attention, the systemic question of how climate governance principles can be integrated into the WTO’s institutional reform process remains underexplored. The purpose of this paper is to examine that gap. Design/methodology/approach This article draws on doctrinal analysis of WTO agreements and case law to identify institutional blind spots in the current trade-climate interface. These include the constrained operationalisation of environmental objectives and the limited accommodation of climate science and expertise in adjudication. It then maps the legal and procedural pathways available for integrating climate governance principles within two areas of reform: dispute settlement and interpretive frameworks. Findings The article advances institutionalised environmental expertise in panels, structured engagement with climate science and soft law development through ministerial conference and general council decisions. Originality/value This approach complements existing scholarship on trade-climate conflict by offering a structural and forward-looking contribution to both WTO law and global climate governance. The article contributes to the literature by bridging international trade law and climate law through the lens of institutional design.