Background
In light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, environmentally sound technologies increasingly gain the attention of the global community due to the important role they can play in the fight against climate change and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Environmentally sound technologies, often also referred to as “clean technologies”, are a subset of environmental goods, which are defined as goods that directly contribute to environmental protection and climate change mitigation.
To promote the diffusion and to scale up the uptake of environmentally sound technologies, the international regulatory and political framework for trade and investment in such technologies needs to be decisively reshaped. An essential step is to remove barriers to trade in certain goods (e.g. wind turbines, solar panels, carbon dioxide scrubbers, recycling machinery, etc.) of particular importance for environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation, as has for example been discussed in the negotiations of the Environmental Goods Agreement. At the same time, countries are also promoting trade and investment in environmentally sound technologies through regional and bilateral trade agreements.
What is apparent is that not many developing countries have yet benefited from trade liberalization in environment goods and services. Many still lack the knowledge and capacity to harness trade and investment opportunities for environmental goods and services. Addressing such gaps requires concerted action for an inclusive, transparent and sustainable trading system. UN Environment is, therefore, undertaking a project to support and enable developing countries to objectively assess opportunities, benefits and challenges of liberalized trade in environmentally sound technologies.
Objective
The project aims to contribute towards sustainable, environmentally credible and inclusive value chain integration and trade in environmentally sound technologies, by providing support to developing countries to identify, assess and harness opportunities of liberalized trade in environmentally sound technologies, and to host dialogues with a broad range of stakeholders to discuss environmental technology trade opportunities and perspectives in developing countries.
Key Activities
Activity 1 – Regional assessments of opportunities for intra-regional trade liberalization of environmentally sound technologies
Assessments to identify opportunities for trade liberalization in selected environmentally sound technologies are being conducted in the region of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East African Community (EAC). As part of each regional assessment, one national case study is being developed, in order to assess the implications from enhanced regional value chain and trade cooperation in a particular country context. For the ASEAN region, a closer look is being taken at the solar photovoltaic industry in Malaysia, while in the case of the EAC, trade and value chain development of solar photovoltaic products are being assessed in Kenya.
Activity 2 – Policy dialogue and capacity building workshop on trade in environmentally sound technologies
The events will collect and disseminate national and regional best practices for value chain integration and trade in environmentally sound technologies, and seek to build developing country understanding and capacity for effective integration in environmentally sound technology value chains and active involvement in trade negotiations. Ultimately, the dialogue and capacity building events aim to enable policy makers to better assess options related to relevant trade liberalization processes. It could also help to build consensus, generate momentum and advance the agenda for future work.
- One workshop was held in Malaysia on 13 October 2017 on “Unlocking Trade in Environmentally Sound Technologies: A Regional Perspective from ASEAN”. Supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) and the University of Malaya, the workshop was held in conjunction with the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2017), a flagship trade event in the region. The workshop brought together 40 participants from government agencies, private sector associations, and civil society groups to discuss key challenges and opportunities for trade and value chain integration in environmentally sound technologies in Malaysia and in the ASEAN region.
- A high-level dialogue entitled “Unlocking Trade in Environmentally Sound Technologies to Tackle Air Pollution” was held at the third United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi in December 2017. Policymakers and business leaders gathered to discuss the role of trade in scaling up clean technologies and called for joint action to remove barriers and foster partnerships.
- A regional workshop was held in Nairobi in December 2017, with trade and environment stakeholders from Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and the World Trade Organization. Following the high-level event at United Nations Environment Assembly, the workshop brought together 24 representatives from East African countries to discuss key opportunities and barriers to trade in environmentally sound technologies in the East African region.
Activity 3 – Global analysis of the role and implications of trade liberalization of environmentally sound technologies for developing countries
The global study will outline the history, context and status quo of international and regional negotiations on trade in environmentally sound technologies, explain the modalities of trade liberalization and implementation, and define key related concepts. On the basis of this conceptual foundation, the analysis will zoom in on developing country participation in trade in selected environmentally sound technologies, identify opportunities and key challenges, and highlight potential capacity needs. Building on this, it will provide recommendations for harnessing opportunities and addressing risks.
This project is supported by the European Commission through the Global Public Goods and Challenges (GPGC) programme.
Partners
- UN Environment DTU Partnership
- Technology and Management Centre for Development – University of Oxford
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU
- African Centre for Technology Studies
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Work by the Hub on Environmentally Sound Technologies (EST)
- Report on South-South Trade in Renewable Energy
- Trade and Climate Change-a joint report by UN Environment and the World Trade Organization
- Scoping Study on Intra-ASEAN Value Chain Cooperation and Trade in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies
- Mapping of Trade in Environmental Goods
- Green Economy-Trade Opportunities Project: Ghana Project
Relevant links
- The Third United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA)
- Resolution on “Investing in innovative environmental solutions for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals”
- Climate Technology Centre and Network
- Climate and Clean Air Coalition
- Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade
- UN Environment Regional Office for Asia Pacific
- UN Environment Regional Office for Africa
- UN Environment Energy
- UN Environment International Environmental Technology Centre
