GENEVA: Global trade slowed down in the second half of 2022 but ‘green goods’ showcased strong performance indicators throughout the year, according to a recently released report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update said that trade in “green goods”, also referred to as “environmentally friendly goods”, which use fewer resources and cause less pollution, grew by four per cent in the second half of the year, reaching a record $1.9 trillion in 2022.
Among the best performing environmentally friendly goods in 2022 were electric and hybrid vehicles (+25%), non-plastic packaging (+20%) and wind turbines (+10%).
UNCTAD economist Alessandro Nicita termed the findings ‘good news for the planet’, saying that green goods were key to protecting the environment and fighting climate change.
Overall, global trade was worth a record $32 trillion in 2022, but deteriorating economic conditions and rising uncertainties contributed to a downward trend as growth turned negative in the second half of the year and is set to stagnate in the first half of 2023.
The outlook for trade remains “uncertain”, the UN body said as it cited geopolitical tensions, high commodity prices and record levels of public debt alongside high-interest rates, as reasons for concern.
In the second half of the year, however, “positive factors” including a weaker US dollar, stabilized shipping costs and fewer supply chain disruptions, could give the trade a boost.
IPCC urges controlling global temperatures
The findings come days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its flagship report that greenhouse gas emissions needed to be controlled, and slashed by almost half by 2030 if the goal of keeping global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is to be achieved.
Despite global economic uncertainties, UNCTAD said that growth in green goods will persist, fueled by momentum on climate action. The UN body’s latest Technology and Innovation Report released last week called this moment the “beginning of a green technological revolution”.
The report forecasted that the market for electric cars, solar and wind energy, green hydrogen and other more environmentally friendly technologies would quadruple in value by 2030 to surge to $2.1 trillion.
It added said it believes that international trade patterns will more and more closely reflect the ongoing green economic transition.
UNCTAD also warned that developed countries were benefitting from most of the economic opportunities with regard to environment-friendly technologies while developing countries were falling behind.
