Por the first time, a climate conference – the COP28, which will be held in Dubai from November 30 – will examine the role of world trade in global warming.
Opponents of free trade argue that the long-neglected environmental costs far outweigh the trade benefits. France thus opposed, in 2020, the signing of a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the four Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), because it risked accelerating the deforestation of the Amazon, leading to a “climate change”.
Another argument put forward: the relocation of factories to countries where fossil fuels are abundant and cost less than solar or wind power has aggravated global warming. Finally, maritime transport, which accounts for 80% of the world’s trade in goods, contributes 3% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, without these, excluded from the Paris agreement, are counted in the States’ contributions. Should we conclude that free trade is the enemy of the climate?
This would be to forget that it also promotes the dissemination of clean technologies. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has calculated, for example, that globalization and its value chains have been responsible for 40% of the drop in solar panel prices since 2001. According to the WTO, reducing customs barriers on certain clean products and technologies could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.6%.
Common method
Unfortunately, the liberalization of trade in these clean technologies is not always compatible with economic patriotism. India, to protect its industry, has imposed customs duties of 30% on average on imports of photovoltaic panels. And France would give in to the same protectionist temptations by only distributing a purchase bonus for electric vehicles coming out of European factories. “We are going to support batteries and vehicles that are produced in Europe because their carbon footprint is good”, justified Emmanuel Macron in a speech given on May 11. But this argument is surprising, given that Chinese or American electric vehicles have a carbon footprint at least as good as those assembled in Germany, which has reopened coal plants.
The argument of the fight against global warming is sometimes wrongly used to justify a policy of “industrial sovereignty”, the new name given to protectionism. However, this complicates adaptation to global warming. When a country affected by a cyclone or floods seeks to recover as quickly as possible, the transport of construction materials, foodstuffs or medicines can be slowed down by such barriers. Global trade makes it easier to absorb the shocks caused by natural disasters.
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