The report forecasts global economic growth to 2.6% in 2024, barely above the 2.5% threshold commonly associated with a recessionary phase. The report says the prevailing focus on inflation overshadows urgent issues like trade disruptions, climate change and rising inequalities. It advocates for structural reforms and coordinated global efforts, proposing …
Solar photovoltaics (PV) has become a mainstay of low-carbon sustainable energy strategies, with the cost of electricity generated by PV plants declining by 77% between 2010 and 2018. Trade and the globalisation of the solar PV market have been major factors driving the decrease in technology prices as manufacturers are …
This policy brief assesses the impact and opportunities for developing countries of the boom in demand for raw materials entering into the production of electric vehicle batteries. In particular, it describes how trade policy could play an important role in helping them capture value from this expansion while managing the …
Wind and solar projects typically involve a mix of components manufactured in a few places at very large scales, but also components that can be produced in many countries. Given the boom in the construction of renewable energy projects, national governments are increasingly keen to maximize local economic benefits. In …
This report explores ways in which trade policy can further support a transition to a more circular economy using regional trade agreements (RTAs) as a vehicle. In doing so, it suggests possible options to incorporate circular economy-related provisions in future RTAs, building on precedents with similar objectives in agreements currently …
The Bhutan Development Update (BDU) is published annually. It assesses recent economic and social developments, prospects, and policies in Bhutan. The BDU also provides an in-depth analysis of selected economic and policy issues. In this edition, the special section focuses on e-trade, outlining opportunities and challenges in harnessing digital trade …
Open global trade has had positive effects for African industrialization and development. This report looks at efforts to help African countries strengthen their trading capacity and take fuller advantage of the benefits that trade brings. The report looks into the effects of COVID-19 on Africa, the latest trends in African …
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A) released on 15 April 2021 the African Trade Finance Survey Report which provides a better understanding of the trade finance landscape across …
The African agricultural and food market is expanding quickly as indicated by World Bank projections that show that the value of Africa’s agriculture and agribusiness industry is expected to more than triple to reach USD 1 trillion by 2030, compared to 2010 (World Bank, 2013). This provides an opportunity to …
This report examines how trade policy can help governments anticipate and respond to food system shocks while avoiding harm to producers and consumers in other countries. It also makes the case that major importing and exporting nations have a particular responsibility to help safeguard the stability of global food markets.
This edition of UNCTAD's Trade and Environment Review examines the physical impacts of climate change and their effects on developing country economies and trade; the vulnerabilities of developing countries to climate change; costs and finance for climate change adaptation; and finally, ways that developing countries can enhance their trade-climate readiness, …
The past four years have been chaotic for US agriculture. Trade wars, initiated by the Donald Trump administration in 2017, and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic have led to volatile domestic and international market conditions and considerable uncertainty about future prices and farm businesses’ financial situations. In response to lower prices …
In 2018 alone, over 3.5million hectares of land were harvested for tobacco. Tobacco growing is destroying our environment and threatening our health. As regulations tighten in middle- and high- income countries, tobacco companies are increasingly targeting African countries to scale-up tobacco leaf production. In Africa, tobacco crop yields increased by …
This report analyses the impacts that changes in trade structures, economic growth and technology have had on the greenhouse gas emissions (GhG) generated in the continent. It sets out climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in the context of Africa’s economic transformation and development. In this sense, it aims to …
International trade of food and agricultural products plays a major role in ensuring food security and livelihoods across the African continent. Yet formal intracontinental trade data give only a glimpse of trade’s importance for African consumers and producers because—depending on the country and bor-der—up to 99 percent of agricultural trade …
On behalf of the German Environment Agency, a research project with the title “Impact CHAIN: the impacts of global climate change on the economy and society in Germany” was commissioned to examine the potential impacts of global climate change on the German economy through foreign trade flows. The results of …
Since the last session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development four years ago, fractures and fault lines have deepened across the world economy, compromising the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. These fractures include widening inequalities that have fuelled popular discontent with globalization, deepening digital divides and …
With trade recognized as a means of implementation under Agenda 2030, policy-makers will need to ensure that trade, and policies affecting trade and markets, are taken into consideration as part of their efforts to achieve SDG 2. The five targets that set out the level and ambition of SDG 2 …
The high prevalence of aflatoxins in maize and other staple foods in the EAC has become an important obstacle to domestic and regional food trade. While EAC Member States have made good progress in promulgating regionally harmonized standards that include mandatory upper limits on aflatoxins, the high cost and complexity …
A growing number of governments have adopted policies aimed at promoting innovation and technological progress for their economies, a trend which has implications for trade flows and the rules that govern global commerce, according to the 2020 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report. The flagship publication maps out the …
This paper outlines food security’s impact across areas such as natural resources, trade, violent conflict and climate change, and its implications for achieving SDG 2: Zero Hunger. It also seeks to give geopolitics a more prominent place in the food security debate. Assessing the prospects for Zero Hunger—Sustainable Development Goal …
