Can global value chains go green? Trade, investment and the net-zero development challenge
Can global trade and investment support economic development while also advancing sustainability? Or is there an inherent trade-off between deeper international integration and environmental goals, one that calls for a more selective approach to globalisation, potentially slowing the pace of development?
Drawing on insights from Green Global Value Chains for Sustainable Development, this discussion explores that question by looking beyond energy to the wider reorganisation of production, technology, skills, finance and markets across borders.
Foreign direct investment and global value chains can diffuse clean technologies, create upgrading opportunities and connect firms and regions to green growth. But they can also “go brown”, shifting emissions, deepening dependencies and locking places into low-value tasks.
The event asks what kind of internationalisation can support sustainable development, and what policies are needed to ensure that green globalisation delivers not only decarbonisation, but also economic upgrading, resilience and inclusion.
Bringing together global leaders from international organisations and leading academic institutions, the discussion considers how countries and regions might use the green transition to build capabilities and support development that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.
Meet our speakers and chair
Erik Berglöf is a Swedish economist, currently the Chief Economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Riccardo Crescenzi is Professor of Economic Geography at LSE and a leading expert on foreign direct investment, global value chains and regional development. He has held a European Research Council grant and advised the European Commission, World Bank, OECD, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He is co-author of Harnessing Global Value Chains for Regional Development and co-author of the forthcoming Cambridge University Press book Green Global Value Chains for Sustainable Development.
Oliver Harman is a spatial economist and economic geographer at LSE's Department of Geography and Environment at the Global School of Sustainability. His research focuses on urbanisation, global value chains and regional development. He is co-author of Harnessing Global Value Chains for Regional Development and of the forthcoming Cambridge University Press book Green Global Value Chains for Sustainable Development. Previously, he spent nearly a decade advising local government ministries and mayoral teams across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean on sustainable urban development and fiscal policy.
Ralph de Haas is Director of Research at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and an adjunct Professor of Finance at KU Leuven. He is also a CEPR Research Fellow in both the ‘Banking and Corporate Finance’ and the ‘Climate Change and the Environment’ programs; a member of the CEPR’s Research and Policy Network on Sustainable Finance; a Fellow at the European Banking Center; and a Research Associate at the ZEW–Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research. He serves as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Banking & Finance.
Daria Taglioni is a Lead Economist in the Prosperity Research Program of the Development Research Group at the World Bank Group. Previously, she worked as Senior Economist at the European Central Bank (ECB) and as Economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). She has published in the American Economic Review, Journal of International Economics, and other scholarly journals. Her work has been featured in international media outlets such as the New York Times and Forbes.
Jonathan Pershing is Dean of the Global School of Sustainability and Professor in Practice at LSE.
More about this event
Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.
The Department of Geography and Environment is a centre of international academic excellence in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change.
Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents
Any questions?
If you have a query see our Events FAQ or take a look at the information below.
You can also contact us at events@lse.ac.uk.
Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow LSE British Politics, LSE Business Review, LSE Impact, LSE European Politics and the LSE Review of Books to learn more about the debates our events series present.
If the event is live streamed, automated live captions will be available. Please note that this feature uses Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, or machine generated transcription and is not 100% accurate.
Photographs are regularly taken at LSE events both by LSE staff and members of the media and events are routinely filmed. Photographs from events taken by LSE staff are often used on LSE's social media accounts, with videos being made available on the LSE Player. If you have any concerns about this please contact the event organiser in advance of the event.
Please contact the Press Office if you would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk. Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each event.
We aim to make all LSE events available as a podcast subject to receiving permission from the speaker/s to do this, and subject to no technical problems with the recording of the event. Podcasts are normally available 1 week after the event. Podcasts and videos of past events can be found online.
Event updates and other information about what’s happening at LSE can be found on our Facebook page and for live photos from events and around campus, follow us on Instagram.
Livestreams and archive videos of past lectures are shared on our YouTube channel while event podcasts can be found on the LSE Player.
Attending our events in-person or online? Join the conversation using #LSEEvents.
If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, as well as on accessibility and special requirements, please refer to LSE Events FAQ. LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public events, but please contact the events organiser as far as possible in advance if you have any access requirements so that arrangements, where possible, can be made. If the event is ticketed, please ensure you get in touch in advance of the ticket release date. Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online.
LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.
Visitors from other participating institutions are encouraged to use eduroam. If you are having trouble connecting to eduroam, please contact your home institution for assistance.
The Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LSE staff and students are encouraged to use eduroam instead.
From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.
LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Subscribe to the LSE Events newsletter
