There can be no doubt that climate awareness and pressure is mounting, at least amongst developed nations; the Paris Agreement and latest COP summit have served to raise the topic amongst environmentally conscious businesses and consumers. Companies involved in global trade and for whom sustainability is a core part of their ethos, are also becoming more educated as to the scale of carbon emissions in international trade and how that impacts the climate crisis.
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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.
of energy used by global transport supplied by Petroleum
of all transport-related CO2 emissions are from freight
increase in C02 emissions in Africa, predicted by ITF
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.
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of energy used by global transport supplied by Petroleum
of all transport-related CO2 emissions are from freight
increase in C02 emissions in Africa, predicted by ITF
Carbon emissions are often considered the most obvious damaging impact of international trade, leaving many businesses and policymakers considering several important questions, like:
However, sustainable global trade is about much more than decarbonisation. Greening trade requires a widescale review of trade and environmental objectives and a concerted effort to closely align them and implement governance on a global scale.
Greening trade needs strong environmental laws, regulations, globally shared targets, and institutions empowered to implement change. Trade policy can prioritise sustainability through environmental chapters in trade agreements; and said policy can then be enforced both ‘at the border’ (liberalisation of climate-friendly goods and services; Border carbon adjustments; Quotas or bans on ‘high emissions intensity’ products; International cooperation on emission trading systems) and ‘behind the border’ (Climate related standards, labels and due diligence requirements – government and voluntary; Trade disciplines on fossil fuel subsidies; Greening trade rules e.g. on subsidies, government procurement, investment, to support climate action; Investor-state dispute settlement provisions that safeguard space for climate action; Technology transfer and intellectual property rules that spur innovation and affordable access to climate technologies). Global intergovernmental cooperation can then be fostered through bodies such as green Aid for Trade, trade finance initiatives, green trade classifications and sustainability impact assessments. Whilst global education as to the importance of green trade and sustainable supply chains is also imperative.
It can all sound like an unsurmountable challenge, given where we are today and where we absolutely ‘have’ to be tomorrow. However, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an excellent framework on which every nation can base its objectives and policies. Advances in environmental, economic, and social priorities will come as a direct result of global implementation of these SDGs. Indeed, green trade is reflected in several of the SDGs and place a number of initiatives high on the environmental and trade agenda, most notably:
