Green goods, such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, managed to maintain their exports last year despite the global trade slowdown, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (unctad).
Economic growth turned negative in the second half of 2022 amidst increasing economic uncertainty. However, the good news is that the green products trade was one of the few sectors that continued to grow throughout the year. Green goods are products designed to use fewer resources or emit fewer pollutants than their traditional counterparts. Their growth increased by about 4% in the second half of the year, in contrast to the general downward trend. Their cumulative value reached a record $1.9 trillion in 2022, an increase of more than $100 billion from the previous year.
Unctad believes that the growth of green industries will continue as countries step up their efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Green goods that did particularly well included electric and hybrid vehicles (+25%), non-plastic packaging (+20%) and wind turbines (+10%).
UN predicts that the global market for electric cars, solar and wind power, green hydrogen and a dozen other green technologies will reach $2.1 trillion by 2030, four times their current value. “This is good news for the planet,” said Alessandro Nicita, one of the report’s authors, “because these goods are essential for protecting the environment and fighting climate change.”
In sum, although the global economic downturn affected many sectors, green goods continued to grow and prosper. Exports of green goods grew at a record pace in 2022, and UN expects even greater growth in the future. This data shows that green industries are not only essential to protect the environment, but also to stimulate long-term economic growth.
