Trade
Making trade fair for everyone – including the world’s poorest.
Trade and climate change
Trade and climate change
We need trade policies that promote the sustainable use of natural resources and encourage transfer of technology.
Trade is important in promoting sustainable development and tackling climate change. It encourages efficient production of goods and services and can increase incomes in poor countries. There is no doubt that good trade policies help accelerate development and increase the use of low carbon goods, services and technologies.
A good example is the work of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment that is looking at ways to reduce tariff and non tariff barriers for a range of low carbon products, such as wind turbine parts and photovoltaic cells.
Removing tariff and other barriers encourages the spread of sustainable technologies and the skills needed to use them.
We support the principle of sustainability standards for particular products – standard-setting that involves developing countries and civil society.
If developing countries are to achieve sustained economic growth, they need to adopt new climate resilient technologies. For example, the multi-donor Clean Technology Fund – with UK backing – is supporting programmes which demonstrate low carbon development technologies in action.
We are also looking at dynamic new proposals for Europe to work with the Chinese government on Low Carbon Development Zones in China. These zones would provide a far-reaching opportunity for us to try out a new range of trade, investment and development policies which would put China and the EU on a faster track to an energy-secure, low carbon economy.
Research on trade and development
DFID commissions and finances considerable
research on trade and development issues, focusing on areas and concerns identified by developing country partners. We also support a number of civil society organisations carrying out further research on behalf of developing countries.
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Heavily loaded market stalls sheltered by umbrellas in northern Nigeria.
If developing countries are to achieve sustained economic growth, they will need to adopt new climate resilient technologies.
Gareth Thomas Minister of State
