Archive · 11 Nov 2025
Developing Nations Risk Being Left Behind in Green Economy Transition
Imagine the world is building a new, clean economy, like a new kind of factory that uses green energy.
Developing countries are worried they won't get a fair chance to build and profit from this new economy.
They often provide the raw materials, like cocoa beans or special minerals, but the companies in richer countries make most of the money by turning those materials into finished products like chocolate or batteries.
The CSE think tank says this isn't fair and is like the old economy where developing countries didn't get much reward.
They believe new rules are needed so these countries can also process their own resources, make more things, and create jobs at home.
This way, everyone can help fight climate change and also build a stronger economy for themselves.
Developing nations risk being excluded from the global green economy, according to a CSE report released before COP30.
The CSE paper 'Towards a new green world' calls for economic resilience, value addition, and green industrialization for developing countries.
Developing countries supply resources like cocoa, copper, lithium, and solar cells but capture minimal value, with richer nations profiting most from processed goods.
The green transition risks repeating historical patterns of extraction and dependence, requiring reforms in global trade and finance rules.
Focus areas include agriculture, critical minerals, and clean technology manufacturing, where developing countries need to build domestic capacity and capture greater value.
- Who
- Developing nations and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
- What
- Risk of being left behind in the global green economy transition due to low value capture and existing patterns of extraction and dependence.
- When
- On the eve of COP30, coinciding with the start of the conference.
- Where
- Discussed in relation to the global green economy, with specific examples from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana, Chile, Indonesia, Congo, China, India, and Mexico.
- Why
- Existing global trade and finance rules favor value capture by developed nations, repeating old patterns of extraction and dependence even in the new green economy.
- Event
- COP30 (UN Climate Change Conference)
- Location
- Belem, Brazil
- Think Tank
- Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
- Focus
- Ensuring developing countries benefit from the green economy
- Key Areas Discussed
- Agriculture, Critical Minerals, Clean Technology Manufacturing