Advancing a Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for African, Caribbean and Pacific States

The author argues that the OACPS should move beyond traditional tariff liberalization to a 'muscular' trade and sustainability agenda at the WTO. This proposed plan includes negotiating a plurilateral agreement on green industrialization, creating a dedicated technical facility for sustainable development, and establishing a coherence platform to align trade with global sustainability initiatives like the UNFCCC and UN SDGs. To support this, the document suggests replicating EU models of strategic partnerships on critical raw materials and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs), which combine private investment with public guarantees and technology transfer. The author emphasizes that such an integrated approach is essential for OACPS members—particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and commodity-dependent nations—to mitigate climate vulnerability and transition toward green industrialization.

• The author proposes a five-part plan for the OACPS to advance a trade and sustainability agenda at the WTO: 1) negotiating a plurilateral agreement focused initially on green industrialization (market access, regulatory measures, and technical assistance); 2) using a 'rendez-vous clause' to later include sustainable tourism, food security, the blue economy, and renewable energy; 3) establishing a trade-related technical facility modeled on the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF); 4) creating a coherence platform to align trade with initiatives from the UNFCCC, FAO, UNIDO, UNCTAD, and UNEP; and 5) developing innovative trade capacity building for green industrialization, such as the EU's strategic partnerships on critical raw materials.
• The document identifies EU strategic partnerships on critical raw materials and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs) as viable models for OACPS green industrialization. These models integrate trade, investment, infrastructure, and logistics, combining private sector investment with public financial guarantees, new procurement rules, and guaranteed offtake agreements. An example is the November 2022 MOU between the EU and Namibia for green hydrogen development, and recent CTIP negotiations between the EU and South Africa for cleaner supply chains and battery production.
• The need for this agenda is driven by the extreme climate vulnerability of OACPS members, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and high levels of commodity dependence. UNCTAD data indicates that 81% of landlocked developing countries, 74% of least developed countries, and 61% of SIDS are commodity-dependent. A green industrialization agenda is presented as a means to both mitigate climate change and escape this dependence.
• The author asserts that reliable and cost-efficient renewable energy is a prerequisite for industrialization and beneficiation in OACPS countries. As an example of the potential link between trade and sustainability, the author suggests the Democratic Republic of Congo could use its share of 70% of global cobalt exports to locally develop lithium batteries and increase its electrification rate, which is currently 19%.

APA

Lodge, J. (2025). Advancing a Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for African, Caribbean and Pacific States. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-a-trade-and-sustainable-development-agenda-for-african-caribbean-and-pacific-states

Chicago

Lodge, Junior. Advancing a Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for African, Caribbean and Pacific States. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2025. https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-a-trade-and-sustainable-development-agenda-for-african-caribbean-and-pacific-states.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lodge |first1=Junior |title=Advancing a Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for African, Caribbean and Pacific States |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=25 March 2025 |url=https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-a-trade-and-sustainable-development-agenda-for-african-caribbean-and-pacific-states |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lodge2025advancing, author = {Lodge, Junior}, title = {{Advancing a Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for African, Caribbean and Pacific States}}, institution = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://tessforum.org/latest/advancing-a-trade-and-sustainable-development-agenda-for-african-caribbean-and-pacific-states}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }