UNCTAD rolls trade message for Rio+20 Summit
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has fashioned out its message to Rio+ 20 Summit saying international trade is a central vehicle for expanding demand and supply of environmentally friendly goods and services.
UNCTAD experts at a panel debate on the fourth day of the just-ended UNCTAD XIII quadrennial conference held in Doha, said trade is vital for helping countries shift to “greener” development paths.
In a statement April 26, 2012, the UN agency said the panel discussion was titled “Mainstreaming sustainability into trade and development policies: Towards the Rio +20 Summit.”
The Rio +20, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, is scheduled for June 20-22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Opening the panel, UNCTAD Secretary General Supachai Panitchpadki recommended that two new initiatives should be included in the follow up to Rio+ 20.
“One should address concerns about green ‘protectionism’ by creating a “new institutional space, away from current trade negotiations and disputes, so evidence-based dialogue and solution sharing can be fostered,” Panitchpadki said adding that the initiative could be called the Global Trade and Green Economy Forum.
The second initiative, according to the UNCTAD Boss could assist developing countries in seizing the trade opportunities that will arise from the emerging global green economy by helping them to identify promising green export opportunities.
Mr. Supachai said that while markets can help with the structural transformations needed to move towards a green economy, the role of governments as regulators and supporters of domestic industries remains essential.
There is no single template for accomplishing the transition, he emphasized as “each country has to define its own path towards a green economy.”
Trade can improve resource efficiency and spur the diffusion of “clean” technology by transmitting to businesses and developing countries the growing environmental and social preferences of firms and consumers in world markets, he said.
Panelists argued that the critical issue is how economic growth can be pursued without increasing environmental risks, natural resource scarcities, social disparities, and poverty.
They said trade measures must be compatible with Rio principle 12, which calls on countries to refrain from using trade policy measures for environmental purposes as a way of arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminating or restricting international trade.
Participants described the negotiations leading up to Rio+20 as challenging because countries have different capacities for making the transition towards greener, more equitable economies.
While most governments are positive about the benefits that can be realized, many remain genuinely concerned about the competitive disadvantages and potential market dislocations and social and financial hurdles that may arise from such a transition, speakers said.
By Ekow Quandzie