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The World Trade Organization on Monday urged countries to abolish trade barriers in environmental goods and services in order to help fight climate change.
In its annual World Trade Report, the WTO says international commerce should not be pitted against combating the climate crisis.
The report comes as global leaders gather in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference which opened Sunday and runs until November 18.
The WTO said it was misleading to think that trade was nothing but a source of greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that trade could also enable the spread of green innovations and technology.
“Trade is a force for good for climate, and part of the solution for achieving a low-carbon, resilient and just transition,” WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in the report’s foreword.
“The WTO estimates that reducing tariffs and non-tariff measures on energy-related environmental goods could increase total exports of these products by five percent by 2030 and, at the same time, lead to a net reduction in carbon emissions,” the former Nigerian finance and foreign minister said.
(DS)
