Harnessing Trade to Advance National Climate and Development Goals

The course takes place from 7 November to 16 December 2025. It no longer accepts new registration.

Course overview

This online course equips participants to harness trade as a driver for climate mitigation, adaptation, and low-carbon development. Built on UNCTAD’s research and technical cooperation experience on trade and climate change, and on Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), the course guides participants to identify climate-strategic sectors and formulate trade-related measures to support the formulation and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other relevant national strategies. Delivered over a 6-week period, it combines short self-paced modules, curated readings and two live webinars with UNCTAD experts and partners.

Why take this course

Trade can be used as a delivery tool for climate solutions. Well-designed trade measures facilitate access to environmentally preferable goods and services, lower costs, provide low carbon economic diversification opportunities, contributing to technology transfer and upgrading, while improving value-chain resilience. Despite the inclusion of some trade-related measures in national climate plans, recent UNCTAD analysis and findings from technical cooperation project show that a structured approach for the designed and adoption of such measures is needed to better harness their potential to advance national climate goals.

This course translates UNCTAD’s Guide on trade and investment policies to advance climate plans into a comprehensive learning program/tool. It also incorporates findings from recent mappings of trade‑related measures in NDCs and of climate‑related non‑tariff measures. It will guide participants through a sequenced approach — from key elements of the trade and climate nexus to the identification of climate‑strategic trade sectors and the design trade‑related measures. It will also cover sustainable finance instruments.

Learning objectives

• Understand the linkages between trade and climate change and the potential contribution of trade to climate action, including to NDCs

• Identify key categories of trade‑related measures used to promote low‑carbon economic diversification, climate resilience (adaptation), and climate change mitigation.

• Contribute to the formulation, adoption, and implementation of trade‑related measures and policies to advance climate and sustainable development goals in NDCs and other relevant national plans and strategies.

The course is closed for registration. Due to the large amount of participants, we regret not being able to accommodate new request of participating in the course.