Topic outline
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Short Courses for Geneva-based Diplomats - 2024 series
The UNCTAD secretariat is pleased to announce another series of short courses in 2024 on key international economic issues for delegates from permanent missions to the United Nations Office at Geneva and the World Trade Organization.
The aim of the courses is to give delegates from permanent missions an opportunity to become better acquainted with topical issues and developments in the international economic agenda as they are reflected in the work of UNCTAD. More detailed information on the content of individual courses may be found below.
In the second semester, three courses will be provided at Palais des Nations - on 12 September, 3 October and 21 November 2024 respectively.
The second semester in 2024 includes:
- Thursday 12 September 2024, 10 a.m. (Room XXVI) - The Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future
- Thursday 3 October 2024, 10 a.m. (Room XXVI) - Productive Capacities and the Productive Capacities Index (PCI): Reformulating the Paths of Structural Transformation and Sustainable Development
- Thursday 21 November 2024, 10 a.m. (Room XXVI) - The UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2023-2024: Challenges and Opportunities for fiscal space and economic diversification
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Thursday 12 September 2024, 10 a.m. - The Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future
The Digital Economy Report is the flagship publication of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) related to the development implications of digitalization. The 2024 edition turns attention to the environmental footprint of digitalization in the context of trade and development, a topic that has been understudied. It discusses environmental impacts along the life cycle of digital devices and ICT infrastructure, including raw material extraction and processing, manufacturing, distribution; use and the end-of-life phase. The Report also includes a chapter dedicated to e-commerce. The session will present global trends and explain the digitalization and environmental sustainability nexus, discuss policy options while underscoring the importance of ensuring inclusive outcomes.
By the end of the short course, Geneva-based delegates are expected to have gained knowledge on:
- Main environmental impacts of digitalization
- Good practices in terms of assessing the environmental impacts of digitalization
- The environmental dimensions of digitalization and how they affect countries at different levels of development
- Development opportunities that emanate from environmental sustainability and inclusive digitalization
- The role Governments and other stakeholders can take on to ensure sustainable and inclusive outcomes from digitalization
- How can the voices and concerns of developing countries be better reflected as the world develops its responses to digitalization
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Thursday 3 October 2024, 10 a.m. - Productive Capacities and the Productive Capacities Index (PCI): Reformulating the Paths of Structural Transformation and Sustainable Development
Productive capacities are productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine countries’ abilities to produce goods and services that help them grow and develop. Economy-wide, domestic productive capacities are necessary to advance structural transformation and economic diversification, and to enable countries’ more effective engagement in the global economy through international trade, investment and production value chains. Productive capacities aim at putting developing economies in the driving seat of their national development.
UNCTAD’s innovative Productive Capacities Index (PCI) measures the level of productive capacities in 194 countries and territories and subsequently facilitates identification of the gaps in policy and institutional architecture, including in PCI’s eight components: natural capital, human capital, transport, energy, ICT, private sector, institutions and structural change.
The fragmented models of development and international support have run their cycle producing limited results, and a new approach is required, one which is holistic, comprehensive, multisectoral, gender-balanced, climate-resilient and long term. Fostering productive capacities lies at the core of this new approach, which emphasises the importance of reformulating structural transformation and sustainable development trajectories. Moreover, the sectoral underdevelopment of certain PCI components and the overall weak productive capacities inhibit countries’ path to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, urgent actions need to be implemented to build domestic productive capacities in developing countries, particularly LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.
The course will enable participants/delegates to acquire knowledge on productive capacities and on the Productive Capacities Index (PCI), including on UNCTAD’s work in the area. The participants/delegates will learn about inclusive and comprehensive policy formulation to advance structural transformation and economic diversification through the building of productive capacities.
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Thursday 21 November 2024, 10 a.m. - The UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2023-2024: Challenges and Opportunities for fiscal space and economic diversification
The annual Trade and Development Report provides the latest on the global economy, offering analysis and data on the state of the world economy and current developments. Through UNCTAD's lens, the Report analyses conditions of global growth, trends in international trade and in key markets, evaluating growth prospects, financial and fiscal constraints and policies to safeguard policy space in developing economies.
The second session will present TDR analysis of global trends, focusing on lessons on global integration stemming from the Global South. This session will concentrate on responses to crises, building economic resilience, strategies for enhancing productive capacities, adding value, and promoting economic diversification.
By the end of the short course, Geneva-based delegates are expected to gain knowledge on:
- Current trends in the global economy, international trade and key global markets
- A deeper understanding of shifts in global integration and governance of policy space
- Strategies for building resilience and crisis response
- Approaches to enhancing productive capacities, adding value, and promoting economic diversification that center on equitable and sustainable development
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Thursday 2 May 2024, 10 a.m. - Status of Trade in National Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement aims to achieve its long-term climate and global temperature goals through the implementation of National Determined Contributions (NDCs). NDCs are efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. All Paris Agreement Parties are required to prepare, communicate, and maintain successive NDCs. Trade and trade-related measures can play an important role in implementing mitigation and adaptation actions and in supporting the transition towards a low-carbon economy, particularly in developing countries.
This course will present:
- The legal nature, composition, and structure of NDCs, and analyze how trade and trade-related measures have been incorporated into them under the Paris Agreement, with practical examples, including how to green the AfCFTA.
- A deeper view of the case for decarbonizing fishing fleets, ports, and the seafood value chain as an illustrative example of an integrated sectoral approach on how NDCs are covering mitigation, adaptation, and hybrid measures when relevant to trade, food security, and conservation.
- This will be done by presenting the applicable multilateral regulatory environment, available low and zero carbon technologies, some practical case studies in the field of fisheries, as well as potential policy recommendations for developing countries, particularly SIDS and LDCs.
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Thursday 7 March 2024, 10 a.m. - Inclusive Diversification and Energy Transition: Prospects and challenges
Most economic value chains originate in commodities, such as crude oil, copper, cotton or wheat. Developing countries that depend on exporting these primary products are often very vulnerable to macroeconomic instability, delayed industrialization or deindustrialization, and volatility of export revenue caused by commodity price fluctuations. Many commodity dependent developing countries (CDDCs) are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and droughts. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have further exposed CDDCs’ vulnerabilities and highlighted the urgent need for these countries to become more resilient by moving up value chains and diversifying their economies.
However, CDDCs now have to diversify in ways never done before: through low carbon paths in the context of climate change and energy transition.
Additionally, these countries need to carefully make growth less carbon-intensive without compromising their economic development. Inclusive and green diversification is possible if the right to development of CDDCs, the need to address climate change, and existing inequalities are addressed in a common and balanced way. CDDCs should leverage untapped potential in renewable energy sources to explore new energy markets and green products that can help create new jobs, boost incomes, and reduce inequalities. For example, linking mining of clean energy minerals such as cobalt and lithium with local value addition. Green industrial policy can help to achieve just diversification pathways in CDDCs. This short course will discuss ways in which CDDCs can become more resilient by diversifying production and moving up value chains to produce and export a wider variety of products – and do so in ways that are inclusive and protect the global climate.
Therefore, the course will achieve the following objectives:
- Raise awareness of delegates from Member Countries on the prospects and challenges for inclusive diversification and energy transition in commodity dependent developing countries.
- Gain an understanding of the enablers of export diversification, the factors that affect inequality in this process, the historical relationship between diversification and carbon emissions, and the policy tools to foster inclusive and greener economic diversification.
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Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. More than 80% of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and this percentage is higher for most developing countries. Since 1968, the Review of Maritime Transport is published on annual basis and is considered an UNCTAD flagship report. It provides analysis of structural and cyclical changes affecting seaborne trade, ports, and shipping, and statistics from maritime trade and transport.
The latest edition lays special emphasis on resilience building in the face of supply chain crisis and devotes a chapter on issues associated with the process of consolidation in container shipping.
In the post pandemic recovery, the findings of the report will update delegates and engage them on:
- Key developments in seaborne trade, maritime and port business, freight rates, key performance indicators, seafarers’ concerns, trade facilitation, among other aspects.
- The links between maritime transport and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
