The newly launched Introductory Learning Companion on Trade, Development and Nature by the UN Environment Programme under the UKRI GCRF TRADE Hub project is a great resource to understand the connections between trade, environment, and development.
It has been developed with the aim of providing an up-to-date, evidence-based, interdisciplinary resource for all types of learners, including those with little or no prior knowledge on economic and trade policy, or the interactions between trade and nature. The companion may also serve as a useful resource and reference manual for lecturers and trainers in the professional or higher education contexts.
What does the Learning Companion cover?
This resource will help readers:
1. Understand the role of trade in the global economy, and the major trends that have shaped the evolution of globalization.
2. Describe the mechanisms via which trade can promote or retard economic growth.
3. Appreciate the complex relationship between trade and inequality -between countries and within countries.
4. Understand the various mechanisms via which trade can affect nature - positively and negatively.
5. Appreciate trade's increasingly important role as a tool of sustainable development in general, and environmental sustainability more specifically.
