How would a trade war affect the fight against climate change?

As consumers continue to feel the pay the price for climate change with declining resources, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed that a trade war could be a disaster if we’re going to improve the issue. In the report, the group warned that the risk is now at “crisis levels”, due to political tensions between major global economies.

And the risks are set to increase even more. In fact, leaders at the Davos summit in Geneva say that the decline in international cooperation seen recently is the biggest immediate risk worldwide. Furthermore, 85% of leaders surveyed by the WEF believe that the tensions will rise even more this year – in particular, between the US and China, which are the largest economies in the world.

Currently, there are ongoing disputes between US president, Donald Trump, and the Chinese government, over increased tariffs on certain imports. Donald Trump has blamed unfair trade policies, which he claims threatens economic growth. Other trading partners have had similar fall-outs with the US, and there are concerns that it could trigger a global trade war.

The WEF has warned that the economic, environmental, and political impacts of a trade war could put consumers at risk, as well as slowing progress in the battle against climate change. Especially since the US government has relaxed its environmental policies to boost growth, and China has recently backed more coal power plants.

In an interview, president of the WEF, Borge Brende, said: “With global trade and economic growth at risk in 2019, there is a more urgent need than ever to renew the architecture of international cooperation We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards. What we need now is coordinated, concerted action to sustain growth and to tackle the grave threats facing our world today.”