New Delhi [India] November 11 : Developing countries could be left behind in the race towards a green economy unless they make economic resilience and green industrialisation central to their climate agenda, noted a new set of discussion papers by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
Released on the eve of the UN's 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, the paper series titled "Towards a New Green World" urges developing nations to focus on value addition and localised production to ensure equitable participation in the emerging global green transition.
CSE Director General Sunita Narain said, "Inclusive and affordable development is critical for economic resilience and will help combat climate change." She added, "Countries need an economic stake in the green transition, which requires domestic manufacturing and job creation. For this, we must also reset global trade and finance rules for localisation and value addition. There is an opportunity to rethink these rules so that distributed local-led production systems can become the basis of green industrialisation."
The papers focus on three strategic fronts of the transition, agriculture and forest commodities, critical minerals, and clean technology and manufacturing. It presents a Southern perspective on how developing economies can participate and remain afloat in the new, green order.
According to the series, developing nations supply much of the world's raw resources but capture only a fraction of the profits. From cocoa and copper to lithium and solar cells, the report says the green transition risks "repeating old patterns of extraction and dependence."
CSE programme manager for climate change, Avantika Goswami, noted "We need to reinvent the climate agenda for the Global South. Calling for decarbonisation without economic resilience is no longer viable."
The first paper, on agriculture and forest commodities, notes that developing nations are trapped in a low-value export cycle. For instance, Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce over 50 per cent of the world's cocoa beans, account for only 6.2 per cent of total export revenue from value-added products like chocolate, while manufacturers and retailers in the Global North capture nearly 80-90 per cent of profits. The paper argues that "a shift from raw exports to processing and diversification is critical."
The second paper, on critical minerals, highlights that while the Global South holds most reserves crucial for the energy transition, it captures little of the value generated.
Goswami said, "These countries remain exposed to commodity price volatility, balance-of-payments instability, and geopolitical risk." The paper examines the mineral strategies of Chile, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, calling for policies that centre "equity and justice for the Global South."
The third paper, on clean technology manufacturing, observes that global production is dominated by China, the EU and the US, with developing regions accounting for less than 5 per cent of production value. It urges renewed industrial policies, South-South cooperation and reforms in trade rules.
Concluding, Narain said, "The future green economy must not mirror the inequalities of the old one. The Global South needs not just a greener world, but a fairer one, with economic resilience at its core, in hand with climate action."
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