Geneva, 29 October 2021 (TDI): The Second Part of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Trade and Development Report 2021, called for a transformative approach. The First Part of the Report was released in September. The UNCTAD released the second part of the report on 28 October.
The Trade and Development report calls for a transformative approach to climate adaptation counts with large-scale public investment programs. According to the organization, this is to adapt to current, and future threats, also green industrial policies, to drive growth and job creation.
It also mentioned that 2021 has been a year of extreme climate events. Those are cyclones, heatwaves, and droughts. In many developing countries vulnerability to economic, and climate shocks, is locking countries into an eco-development trap.
REBECA GRYNSPAN STATEMENT
UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan, issued a statement. Grynspan mentioned that the report demonstrates that adapting to the climate challenges, will require a transformative approach. Grynspan then added that approach needs to be proactive and strategic.
She also stated that developing countries need adequate policy, to be able to mobilize large-scale public investment. That investment is to face future climate threats, and also to ensure that they complement goals.
The organization also remarks that adaptation costs for developing countries have doubled in the last decade. The report stated that these costs will only increase, to an estimated 300 billion in 2030, and 500 billion in 2050.
CLIMATE CHALLENGE ADAPTATION AND STATEMENT OF THE LEAD AUTHOR
The Trade report also argues that adaptation is a matter of development planning, and the state plays here a role. The State’s role is to be a platform for climate impacts. The lead author; and director of UNCTAD’s globalization and development strategies division, issued a statement.
Richard Kozul-Wright stated that climate adaptation and development are connected. Wright then added that policy efforts to tackle adaptation must acknowledge it, to have a sustainable impact. Wright suggested that the only solution is to establish more resilient economies.
He then mentioned that the solution of resilient economies is through a process of structural transformation, and reducing the dependence of developing countries. The report also proposes a retrofitted development state. For the report, this state is the only way forward because it is empowered to implement green industrial policies.
The report suggests that activities related to renewable energy can operate at a low scale. This opens business opportunities for small firms and rural areas, and it will help to diversify economic production structures. It will also help to reduce the dependence of some countries, on the production of a narrow range of primary commodities.
The report mentions that the development state needs to become a regulator and coordinator of private green finance. The UNCTAD included some key features, like abandoning austerity and doing large-scale public investment. Also, the report includes other features like adopting a green industrial policy and adopting green agricultural policies.
