Trade Solutions in a Global Green Economy: Small and Vulnerable Economies and the Rio+20 Conference

This issue of Commonwealth Trade Hot Topics argues that SVEs have three interrelated reasons for an ambitious outcome at the Rio+20 conference and the most important but often overlooked reasons relate to trade. First, SVEs are affected disproportionally by global environmental changes, e.g. climate change, while they have contributed least to the problem. Hence, global action to avert environmental damages is important. Second, SVEs, due to their size and flexibility, should be well placed to implement green policies that reduce inefficiencies in their own policies and enhance growth and foster structural transformation and innovation. Thus a green economy roadmap will also be important for SVEs themselves. And third, SVEs are affected indirectly because global environmental trends such as increasing natural resource scarcity will affect the volume and terms of international trade and investment flows which are very important for growth in SVEs.