Sustainable Global Trade
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The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a UN body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade, lays out a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This framework is essentially a global plan to address three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environmental; successful implementation will require unprecedented cooperation among all actors at national and international levels i.e. private sector and civil society.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges that global trade has served to lift millions out of poverty and remains a significant engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, whilst also enabling the achievement of SDGs.
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The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a UN body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade, lays out a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This framework is essentially a global plan to address three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environmental; successful implementation will require unprecedented cooperation among all actors at national and international levels i.e. private sector and civil society.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges that global trade has served to lift millions out of poverty and remains a significant engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, whilst also enabling the achievement of SDGs.
Smaller Title Here
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a UN body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade, lays out a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This framework is essentially a global plan to address three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environmental; successful implementation will require unprecedented cooperation among all actors at national and international levels i.e. private sector and civil society.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges that global trade has served to lift millions out of poverty and remains a significant engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, whilst also enabling the achievement of SDGs.
There are three SDGs in particular that impact global trade:
SDG 14 focuses on ‘Life Below Water’ and puts the sustainable use of ocean resources and the ‘Blue Economy’ High on the environment-trade agenda for a number of developing countries and Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs). It also imposes a deadline for a WTO deal to address the annual $20 billion of taxpayers’ money that funds environmentally harmful fisheries subsidies.
SDG 15 focuses on ‘Life on Land’ and places emphasis on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable forest management, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, as well as halting biodiversity loss. It also includes targets related to combatting illegal trade in endangered species.
SDG 17 focuses on ‘Partnerships for the Goals’ and recognised trade as a “means of implementation” for the 2030 Agenda as a whole and underlines the importance of a “universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system.” The goal suggests that a realignment of trading relations in favour of developing countries is vital to advance progress on a suite of issues, from sustainable agriculture to environmentally sustainable natural resource extraction
Despite Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIAs) being a trade-specific tool for supporting major global negotiations, and many trade agreements containing sustainability chapters, our trade policies by enlarge remain out of sync with our sustainability objectives. Whilst this misalignment is permitted to continue, damage (some irreversible) will continue to be afflicted on global society, environment, and economics.
Whilst it is easy to think of sustainability as being a government responsibility where little is achieved without legislation or large corporations implementing radical changes, with over 6 million SMEs in the UK, and almost 213 million globally, it is important to think of our ‘collective’ power and our ability to make small changes in high volume.
Whilst the 17 SDGs provide a best practice framework, that when followed closely can lead to innovation and competitive advantage for SMEs as well as the ‘feel good’ factor that they are contributing to a more sustainable and prosperous world for all; the truth is, as small cogs in large supply chains, SMEs will sooner or later be forced to follow stringent sustainability requirements like reporting on labour practices, reducing carbon emissions, reducing use of harmful materials, etc. proactive SMEs can use this time to get ahead of the game. This is where Global Trade Department can help>
