Greening Aid for Trade

This policy brief argues that Aid for Trade (A4T) is a critical tool for advancing sustainable development and addressing environmental crises. It proposes six pathways to 'green' A4T, emphasizing that developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) must lead the prioritization of these resources to ensure a just and fair transition to a sustainable global economy.

• Aid for Trade (A4T) represents a significant portion of development assistance, accounting for 23% of total official development assistance in 2019, with disbursements totaling USD 46.6 billion.
• There is a significant discrepancy in how environment-related A4T is reported and measured. While some estimates suggest it comprises 25% to 40% of A4T, a preliminary review by OECD staff indicates that fewer than 2% of A4T projects have a clear environmental purpose.
• Developing countries emphasize that the transition to a green economy must follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, arguing that the economic burden should not fall on the poorest economies and that developed countries have a responsibility to provide financial resources and technical assistance.
• The document outlines six complementary pathways for greening A4T: mainstreaming environmental goals in planning; securing new and additional resources; fostering coherence with global policy agendas (such as the SDGs); improving monitoring systems to accurately capture environmental impacts; integrating trade considerations into existing climate and environment funding; and strengthening South–South cooperation.
• Developing countries have identified specific environment-related A4T priorities, including scaling up sustainable exports, investing in climate-resilient trade infrastructure, tackling plastic pollution, and strengthening institutional linkages between trade and environment policy-making at the national level.
• To achieve a just transition, the brief recommends several short-term actions for the WTO and OECD, including conducting an environmental review of A4T, developing indicators for monitoring environmental impacts at the project level, and holding a high-level summit on Financing a Just Transition to Sustainable Trade in 2023.

APA

Birkbeck, C. D. (2022). Greening Aid for Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-07/greening-aid-trade-brief.pdf

Chicago

Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere. Greening Aid for Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-07/greening-aid-trade-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Birkbeck |first1=Carolyn Deere |title=Greening Aid for Trade |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 July 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-07/greening-aid-trade-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{birkbeck2022greening, author = {Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere}, title = {{Greening Aid for Trade}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-07/greening-aid-trade-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }