The Green Economy and Trade Opportunities Project (GE-TOP) was carried out by UN Environment Programme’s Economy and Trade Branch between 2012 and 2016, as financially supported by the European Commission. The overall objective of the project was to provide national-level policy analysis and advisory services to identify trade-related opportunities associated with a transition to an inclusive green economy, with a view to supporting the design and implementation of sustainable policies and tools. The project identified, assessed and informed trade opportunities arising from the transition to a green economy, through research at the global level, sector specific GE-TOP assessments at national level and a range of international and national stakeholder dialogue events on Green Economy and Trade.
With GE-TOP, UN Environment Programme aims to inform the international, regional and national debates through cutting-edge research, and by providing concrete policy advice and roadmaps to countries which have asked UN Environment Programme for support (on a demand-driven basis) with the design of measures and policies to use trade as an engine for an inclusive green economy transition.
GE-TOP was divided in two phases. In the first phase (see link to GE-TOP Report) of the project, GE-TOP developed a global framework that demonstrated the mutually beneficial relationship between trade and green economy. This included 3 regional workshops in the run up to Rio+20, and the development of the report Green Economy and Trade – Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, which focused on a global assessment of inter-linkages between international trade and green economy. The first phase culminated with the high-level launch of the report in May 2013.
On the basis of the conceptual framework of this report and in cooperation with national partner institutes, the second phase (see link to GE-TOP Country Projects) of the GE-TOP project consisted of five national-level projects that identified and assessed concrete trade opportunities associated with the transition to a green economy at national and sector-specific level in Chile, Ghana, Peru, South Africa, and Vietnam.
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