The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has suggested that the carbon footprint of global trade be reduced through lower tariffs and the transport of goods in a more climate-friendly way.

WTO simulations suggest that eliminating tariffs and reducing non-tariff measures on a subset of energy-related environmental goods could boost exports by five per cent by 2030.

This increased energy efficiency and renewable uptake would reduce global emissions by 0.6 per cent, the organisation calculated in its annual World Trade Report, which was presented on Monday at the COP27 world climate conference in Egypt.

The report also highlighted that the production and transport of export goods are responsible for nearly 30 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

However, from the WTO’s point of view, the solution is not a return to domestic or regional production with shorter transport routes.

According to WTO calculations, this would reduce emissions slightly and cause global economic damage.

Instead, it suggested that countries should remove tariffs and bureaucratic trade barriers to enable the global spread of sustainable technologies.

The 0.6 per cent possible CO2 savings through liberalisation are based on calculations for two narrowly defined product groups.

From the point of view of the WTO, the free movement of other ecological goods and services could lead to an even greater reduction.

The organisation also highlighted the efforts of the logistics industry to switch to more environmentally friendly transport.

The WTO did not calculate the CO2 savings potential of this sector, however.

(dpa/NAN)