A new handbook released on Tuesday aims to boost the interaction between trade and the Green Economy, thus opening up new possibilities to drive sustainable development.

In 2013, the financial volume of global trade amounted to $23.4 trillion, roughly a third of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

At the same time, the world’s environmental indicators revealed that the pressure exerted by trade on the environment is taking its toll.

The Trade and Green Economy Handbook-produced by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an international think tank- suggests that trade can be harnessed as a positive for economic, social and environmental change rather than a driver of environmental degradation.

The Handbook covers a wealth of new information, including the emergence of the Green Economy concept, the latest World Trade Organisation (WTO) jurisprudence and the increasingly important linkages between trade and inclusive Green Economy policies and practices.

These developments are considered amid the changing dynamics of international trade with the increased importance of global value chains and the rise of regional trade agreements.

The Green Economy presents a model for reversing environmental degradation and pollution by altering economic structures and incentives in a way that supports growth, social equity and welfare through the preservation and sustainable use of natural resources and vigilant control of pollution.

“Trade and investment flows, policies and law have enormous potential to transform our economies and societies, and in fact they do so on a daily basis,” said Scott Vaughan, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

“The challenge is to ensure that transformative power is directed toward sustainable development outcomes, both within countries and globally. This Handbook is a guide to that challenge: a rich portrait of the dynamic that is the trade and green economy relationship”.