South-South Renewable’s Trade Increases as Countries Seek Cleaner Power

A new report from the United Nations Environment Program shows that renewable energy trade between South-South countries has exploded over the past year, led by regional-heavyweight China.

The South-South — an academic term for trade between developing countries, also known as countries in the global south — are taking advantage of decreasing manufacturing costs, increased investment into the industry, and the falling costs of renewables as the technology’s mature.

In fact, south-south renewable energy trade is growing faster than global and north-south trade.  And while the current trends are a direct result of the industry’s development throughout global north — with global figures for low-carbon and energy efficient technologies projected to triple by 2020 — it’s the global south country’s making the most of what has come before today.

“The EGS [environmental goods and services] market – which is expected to grow to around $US1.9 trillion by 2020 – offers developing countries an unprecedented opportunity to drive the green economy transition,” said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

South-South Renewable’s Trade Increases as Countries Seek Cleaner Power