UNCTAD calls for aligning trade with Paris Agreement

The Global Trade Update shows that sustainable trade can turn climate ambition into measurable progress when trade and climate policies work together. By lowering the cost of clean technologies and opening markets for low-carbon goods, trade becomes a direct instrument of climate action.

The report finds that trade-related measures are increasingly used in national climate commitments to promote renewable energy, improve efficiency and develop sustainable value chains. However, direct trade policies such as tariff reduction, liberalisation of environmental services and harmonisation of sustainability standards could be further leveraged to support affordable access to low-carbon technologies.

UNCTAD’s mapping of 60 developing countries’ national climate plans shows that most already integrate trade measures, though they remain underused with depth and ambition varying widely across regions.

UN Trade and Development’s Guide for Policymakers on Trade Policies to Advance National Climate Plans - now part of the COP30 Presidency’s Climate and Trade Toolbox (COP30 Key Objective 24) - offers concrete steps for aligning trade, investment and climate strategies.

Nearly 90 per cent of newly submitted national climate plans come from developing countries showing their commitment to addressing climate change. To ensure they can be fully implemented access to finance, technology and capacity-building, will be necessary.

The report warns that persistent inequalities in access to clean technologies and affordable finance risk widening the gap between economies if global reforms lag. Better integration of trade policy supported by international cooperation can help these countries meet their goals while strengthening competitiveness and resilience.

The Global Trade Update calls for regional and South–South cooperation to reduce tariffs, and South-South North cooperation to harmonise sustainability standards and facilitate affordable access to climate-relevant technologies. Aligning trade, industrial and climate policies can unlock new value chains in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and circular-economy sectors, creating jobs and revenues to finance climate action.

UNCTAD stresses that by incorporating trade policy instruments in climate policy countries will be better suited to achieve a just and inclusive transition.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (RR)