Online Course for Government Officials – Trade and Green Industrial Policy

TULIP developed and taught a comprehensive online course on trade and green industrial policy for government officials from developing countries, commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The training module, delivered in podcast and video format to maximise accessibility for officials with limited bandwidth or time constraints, was designed to build the capacity of policymakers to navigate the rapidly evolving interface between trade, industrial policy, and environmental sustainability.

Green industrial policy has emerged as one of the most dynamic and contested areas of global economic governance. As major economies deploy unprecedented levels of public support for clean energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable manufacturing, governments around the world are grappling with how to respond. For developing country officials, understanding how to design their own green industrial policies within the constraints of WTO rules and trade commitments, while also managing the trade implications of other countries’ measures, requires a new set of knowledge and skills.

This new training module was structured around several interconnected modules. The first provided an overview of green industrial policy as a concept, examining the rationale for government intervention in the context of the climate transition, the range of policy instruments available, and the evidence on their effectiveness. It addressed the renewed legitimacy of industrial policy in the post-pandemic, geopolitical realignment context, while also examining the risks and limitations of different approaches.

Subsequent modules addressed the trade dimensions of green industrial policy, examining how WTO rules — including the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM), the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) — affect the policy space available for green industrial policy instruments. The course examined recent disputes and advisory opinions relevant to this question, drawing on concrete examples to illustrate how WTO disciplines apply in practice.

The course also addressed the interface between green industrial policy and sustainability standards, including how developing countries can use trade policy to support the green transition while managing the risks associated with unilateral measures adopted by major trading partners. Throughout, practical case studies from different developing country contexts were used to illustrate how the concepts covered in the course apply in real policy environments, making the learning accessible and directly relevant to participants’ work.