The Weekly Tradecast looks at the devastating impact of the Israel-Gaza war on the Palestinian economy with Rami Alazzeh, an expert in conflict and development economics at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

On October 7 last year, Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

Since then, the response by Israel's military has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Much of the tiny territory has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2 million people have been displaced in a humanitarian crisis. A new report by UN Trade and Development says the economy in Gaza has collapsed and few people have any work.

Beyond Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank are increasingly feeling the effects of the war on trade, tourism and jobs.

Tune in to UN Trade and Development’s Rami Alazzeh to hear more about the economic impact and what it will take to help the Palestinian economy recover and rebuild.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at international aid and how more is needed to boost economies and people with Julia Gruebler from the technical team of the UN Global Crisis Response Group.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) is more than just cash. The grants, loans and technical assistance from various governments can support societies with access to electricity, clean water, healthcare and education. Along with remittances and foreign direct investment, ODA is one of the most stable kinds of external financing for developing countries, especially in times of crisis.

The good news is ODA jumped to record levels in 2022, even during a pandemic. But developing regions actually saw ODA shrink by 2 percent – affecting more than 70 countries and nearly 3 billion people.

As conflict, geopolitics and financial pressures reshape priorities, the aid landscape is undergoing huge shifts that could undermine development in many countries.

Listen in to UN Trade and Development’s Julia Gruebler for more on aid under pressure and the future of ODA.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the economic power and potential of creativity with our special guest, John Howkins, who coined the term "creative economy".

Countries, companies and universities around the world are eager to embrace innovation and people with fresh ideas.

The creative economy – ranging from art, film and theatre to advertising, fashion, music and video games – is already worth at least $1.5 trillion and it's growing fast.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the industry and its creative solutions can support sustainable development, promote diversity and help overcome global challenges. 

So how do we make money from ideas and how can that power a brighter future for everyone?

To find out listen in to John Howkins visiting professor at the University of Lincoln and vice dean and visiting professor at the Shanghai School of Creativity.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at cocoa and the impact of climate change with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) senior economist Rodrigo Cárcamo-Díaz.

Cocoa beans are the key ingredient of chocolate and also an important part of health supplements, cosmetics, fragrances and more.

But cocoa prices have risen sharply this year, driven up by poor harvests in West Africa, which produces the bulk of global supplies and the El Niño weather phenomenon earlier this year. Hotter temperatures and shifts in rainfall caused by climate change also have an impact on harvests.

Soaring prices are squeezing chocolate makers and hitting consumers. But the higher prices are not translating into gains for farmers – who are struggling with higher production costs and lower crop yields.

Tune in to UN Trade and Development's Rodrigo Cárcamo-Díaz to find out if we’re in a cocoa crisis?

The Weekly Tradecast looks at lead-acid batteries and why they remain so popular despite the world moving towards greener energy with UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Henrique Pacini.

Invented more than 160 years ago, lead-acid batteries are still the most widely used rechargeable batteries. Reliable and relatively cheap, they're found in everything from cars and trucks to electric wheelchairs and backup power supplies.

But they carry significant costs for the environment and our health. Making the batteries creates greenhouse gases, and lead is a toxic metal that is especially harmful to children and pregnant women.

In developing countries, economic need often outweighs safety as people melt down the valuable lead to repair and reuse old batteries.

Listen in to UN Trade and Development’s Henrique Pacini to see how we can make recyclable batteries that are affordable – and also safer for our health and our environment.

As we celebrate International Youth day, The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of investing in the skills and opportunities of the young with Chidinma Udeogu and Arlette Verploegh.

Chidinma Udeogu is part of the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) youth network, and Arlette Verploegh created and coordinates the global group of 18- to 30-year-olds to share their ideas, experiences and voices to shape trade and development.

In many countries, there are too many young people chasing too few jobs. That's bad for the economy and can also fuel tensions in society.

At the same time, there are not enough workers with the skills needed for the economy of the future.

Tune in to Chidinma Udeogu at the Nigeria Economic Zones Association and UN Trade and Development’s Arlette Verploegh to find out how we can help young people get ready for work, encourage entrepreneurs and support trade and development in the future.

As 2024 is UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 60th birthday, The Weekly Tradecast takes a step back in time with Danielle Hughes, chief of the records management unit.

The United Nations was created after the Second World War to preserve peace as the forum for countries to work together towards common goals.

But it was not until 1964 that UNCTAD was set up in Geneva as its own agency to promote the interests of developing countries in world trade.  

Tune in to Danielle Hughes for stories from the formation of UN Trade and Development and our evolution over the last 60 years to keep improving the lives of billions of people around the world.

With the summer holidays starting, The Weekly Tradecast looks at travel and consumer protection rights with Alicia Gomez, Legal Counsel at the UN World Tourism Organization.

With millions of people on the move this summer, many holiday makers have no idea of their rights or the protections in place when something goes wrong.

During the pandemic, millions of flights were cancelled and many tourists stranded abroad. The crisis exposed the disparities of consumer rights, highlighting the need for an international legal framework to help tourists in distress.

Tourism is worth nearly 10 trillion US dollars and provides one in 10 jobs, so there's an economic urgency to keeping the industry moving and consumers confident, especially in Developing countries where tourism can make up a major part of the economy.

Listen in to Alicia Gomez for more on how an international code to protect tourists - created by the UN - offers better legal support in a world with new risks from technology and the rise of online tourism.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the Sustainable Development Goals with a special guest - Marina Ponti, Director of the UN SDGs Action Campaign.

In 2015, UN members signed up to 17 SDGs that range from ending extreme poverty to tackling the climate crisis. The goals are supposed to be met by 2030 to fulfil the promise of a better future for people and the planet.

But trillions of dollars are needed to meet the targets - and efforts are faltering at a time of turmoil and tensions.

Since 1964, when UN Trade and Development was created to promote a fairer economic system, the world has seen many sets of challenges and opportunities. Now - and into the future - the SDGs are vital ways to improve people's lives by addressing inequality, sustainability and climate change.

Tune in to the UN's Marina Ponti to find out how can we get back on track.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the Digital Economy Report from UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with Torbjorn Fredriksson.

Around the world, greater access to technology has revolutionised the way we live and work. While the changes are delivering many benefits, the new report says how we manage the digital transformation will have a major influence on the future of humanity and the health of our planet.

With technology and digitalisation evolving quickly, the environmental footprint is also growing - from the rising demand for minerals, water and energy to the creation of more pollution and waste.

For many developing countries, they are seeing only limited benefits from the digital economy but are highly exposed to the environmental impact.

Listen in to Torbjorn Fredriksson, Head of the E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch, to hear how new business models, policies and strategies can help maximise the positive aspects of digitalisation and minimise the negative effects.

The Weekly Tradecast dives into the benefits and potential of seaweed with UN Trade and Development lawyer David Vivas.

Climate change is affecting harvests around the globe. But seaweed is one of the few food crops that have a positive effect on the environment. 

It’s also high in protein, making it a promising substitute for meat and an even more sustainable alternative than soya.

Seaweed also has potential in pharmaceuticals and as a substitute for some plastics, reducing the use of fossil fuels that are a main cause of climate change.

To find out more, listen in to UN Trade and Development’s David Vivas for how this versatile plant could transform many parts of our lives.

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The Weekly Tradecast looks at why we need to chart a new course for development – with insights from our Global Leaders Forum. 

UN Trade and Development is celebrating our 60th year of promoting a fairer economic system and access to the benefits of global trade. As we mark this milestone of transforming people’s lives, we're also evolving to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.

"Charting a new development course in a changing world" was the focus of our recent anniversary event in Geneva with hundreds of senior officials and leading thinkers. 

In the face of crises and complexities, tune in to this week’s episode to find out how we can build a better future.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the World Investment Report 2024 and the latest trends with UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Richard Bolwijn. 

Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) declined by 2% to $1.3 trillion dollars last year. 

The headline number included big swings in a small number of conduit economies – which often act as intermediaries for FDI destined for other countries. Without those drivers, FDI globally would have been even lower. 

This year should be better but risks and uncertainties persist – especially for developing countries that need investment to grow now and adapt in the future. 

Tune in to Richard Bolwijn, Head of Investment Research, to hear how investment policies and decisions are being shaped by technology, sustainability and geopolitical tensions.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at today's challenges and the opportunities of tomorrow with special guest UN Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

We’ll be talking about her vision for UN Trade and Development, how to address new challenges and why we must move forward together to create an inclusive and sustainable future.

Founded in 1964 as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development – or UNCTAD – our organization promotes a fairer economic system and helps developing countries to access the benefits of global trade.

Now UN Trade and Development is building on six decades of success as our work evolves to keep improving the lives of billions of people around the world.

Tune in to Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan to find out what it takes to lead this global organization and get her perspective on the course of development in a changing world.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the evolution of science and technology with one of the most influential women in UK tech, special guest Sana Khareghani.

Since 1964, when UN Trade and Development was created, the world has seen a series of new realities, challenges and opportunities. 

These days, advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies are racing ahead, transforming education, finance, medicine and many other fields at a lightning pace.  

The benefits are enormous but so are the risks. As some countries, sectors and workers see great gains, others may lose out.  

With technology such a driving force, listen to Sana Khareghani, professor of practice in AI at King’s College London, to find out how to get on track to a better future for all. 

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the need for rules to balance the benefits and risks with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) legal expert Arnau Izaguerri Vila.

Innovations in AI are racing ahead as machines get better and faster at analysing information on a vast scale. Already, the advances are transforming many fields of work and also reshaping our social interactions.

The potential benefits are enormous but so too are the risks. As some countries, sectors and workers see great gains, others may lose out. And as AI blurs the boundaries of reality, it creates worrying new tools for disinformation.

To keep up with these astonishing advances, tune in to Arnau Vila and find out why the United Nations says we need bold strategies and broad cooperation to develop shared standards around AI.

As the United Nations first Global Supply Chain Forum gets underway, The Weekly Tradecast gets an update on shipping disruptions that are adding to the global challenges with UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Jan Hoffmann. 

Ships carry about 80% of goods globally – from production to consumption. With tensions high in the Middle East, attacks by Houthi rebels on vessels in the Red Sea have diverted large amounts of traffic from one of the world’s most important shipping shortcuts. 

Another shortcut – the Panama Canal – is suffering its own disruptions as low water levels reduce the number and size of ships that can pass through. 

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development, and Jan Hoffmann, head of the organization’s trade logistics branch, have just been on the ground in Panama. 

Tune in to Jan Hoffmann to get an overview on the disruptions and how countries, businesses and consumers are coping. 

The Weekly Tradecast looks at low-lying coastal countries and the unique threats they face from climate change with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) senior economist Mussie Delelegn. 

The resilience and prosperity of these countries is the focus of the UN’s fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in late May.

Known as SIDS, these dozens of small island states are the most vulnerable to extreme weather, rising seas and coastal erosion brought on by climate change.

The human and economic costs are enormous. If climate trends continue, some of the islands could soon disappear under the waves. 

Listen in to Mussie Delelegn to learn how the SIDS can build their economies, protect their people and mitigate the impact of climate change.

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of science, technology and innovation for global development – and our future – with Virginia Dignum, Director of the AI Policy Lab at Umea University.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is very much in the news but it’s just one of many emerging technologies with huge implications for our economies, our societies and the environment.

How do we create benefits that are inclusive and sustainable? How do we plan for a future that’s evolving so rapidly? 

Tune in to Virginia Dignum, a member of the UN’s AI Advisory Board, to explore the disruptions, opportunities and innovations that are transforming our world and our lives.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at a new report by the United Nations on trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) with Bruno Casella, a senior economist at UN Trade and Development.

By tracking 20 years of FDI, the report says global flows are slowing down in the long term. Services are still growing quickly but manufacturing activity has suffered the most. 

The stagnation was already happening but the report says recent shocks – ranging from the pandemic to geopolitical tensions – have highlighted how the global economy is becoming more fractured.

All of these factors, it says, will reshape investment decisions, international production and global value chains.

Tune in to Bruno Casella, who led the new FDI report, to find out the implications for developing countries industrializing their economies.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the rare metals and minerals used in mobile phones, laptops and electric car batteries with Clovis Freire, chief of the commodity research and analysis section at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Electric vehicles are seen as clean because they don’t belch out exhaust fumes that fuel climate change. But some of the materials that go into them – especially the minerals and rare elements in their batteries – have large carbon footprints. 

The environmental impact of extracting materials like cobalt, copper, lithium and graphite is a major concern. 

In countries where much of the mining is done, there can be issues over human rights and the benefits to communities. With demand high and supplies limited, these materials also drive concerns about market domination by just a few producers. 

Tune in to UN Trade and Development’s Clovis Freire to find out more about these rare metals and minerals and how to make them greener.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the update to the UN’s Trade and Development Report with UNCTAD director Richard Kozul-Wright.

On the positive side – despite high inflation, high interest rates and gloomy forecasts – the global economy grew 2.7% last year.

The bad news – the update says – is that the positive momentum is going to waste and that growth looks set to be slower this year at 2.6%.

Tune in to UN Trade and Development’s Richard Kozul-Wright to find out how we address not only rising interest rates and inflation but also the urgent challenges of climate change, underinvestment and inequality before it’s too late.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the connection between food, health and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with Bojan Nastav, a statistician with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 

UN Trade and Development has teamed up with the World Health Organization to study the global trade of healthy and less healthy food. 

At least 10% of the world’s people live in hunger. At the same time, more than 40% of all adults are overweight.  

So, it’s not just a matter of quantity – or getting enough to eat. It’s also about quality by ensuring people have access to safe and nutritious food to help them stay healthy. 

Greater insights into the trade flows of food offer new ways for the WHO and others to analyse and address diseases that are linked to nutrition. 

Tune in to Bojan Nastav, one of the authors of the report, to find out how this research can help governments better understand food markets and develop nutrition-related trade policies. 

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that measures its success in "Gross National Happiness" with UNCTAD director Paul Akiwumi. 

Bhutan and its 800,000 people now have an extra reason to be happy – after graduating from the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) into full developing country status. It's only the seventh nation in 50 years to make that jump.   

Bhutan was included in the first group of LDCs in 1971. Over the last few decades, it has made remarkable progress on various social and economic metrics, including big improvements in poverty levels, education and life expectancy. 

Tune in to UNCTAD’s Paul Akiwumi to find out how Bhutan achieved this feat and what the 45 countries still classified as LDCs can learn from its development path.

Just ahead of Zero Waste Day, this episode of The Weekly Tradecast talks trash with UNCTAD economist Henrique Silva Pacini Costa.

From plastic packaging to fast fashion to car batteries, we have been creating mountains of waste for decades. It’s everywhere – in landfills, in the air, in plants and animals and in our oceans – and it can take decades or even centuries to degrade.   

We’ve recycled just nine percent of the plastic we started making 70 years ago, so that’s not going to solve the problem.   

Tune in to UNCTAD’s Henrique Silva Pacini Costa to find out what we must do to reduce our rubbish and why we must do it quickly. 

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at K-pop and other lessons for success from the creative economy of the Republic of Korea with UNCTAD economist Katalin Bokor. 

Whether we've danced Gagnam style, listened to the songs of BTS and Blackpink, played video games or watched Korean TV shows and movies, the country's cultural impact is hard to ignore.  

That catchy creativity is also paying big financial dividends. Around the world, the creative economy is one of the fastest-growing sectors and is already worth at least $1.5 trillion. Few places do it better than the Republic of Korea, more commonly known as South Korea. 

Tune in to UNCTAD’s Katalin Bokor to find out how other countries can emulate that success and build up their creative economies.

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at how we can fight climate change by cutting the carbon emissions of our fisheries with David Vivas, an UNCTAD legal officer working on trade and environmental issues.

The fishing industry is a vital source of food. And it provides work – directly or indirectly – for one in every 13 people on the planet.

But there's a deep downside for the environment from the emissions spewed out by the sector's ships and processing plants. One recent study shows that bottom trawling – a common fishing practice – emits as much carbon dioxide every year as airplanes. 

How do we make fisheries greener while also keeping people in their jobs?

Listen in to UNCTAD’s David Vivas to find out how we can stay in line with global climate goals and cut down the carbon emissions of our fisheries.

As we mark International Women's Day on 8 March, this episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of investing in women with special guest Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the UN’s trade and development body.

Overall, the outlook for gender equality is not as bright as it should be.

Women and girls make up nearly half of humanity but still lack equal opportunities in societies and economies. That means they often get less access to education and healthcare, are paid less than men and are more likely to leave work to care for families.

Projections now show that closing the global gender gap will take almost 132 years – about 30 years more than estimated in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tune in to UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan to find out how inclusion, investment and opportunities for women support sustainable development, build economies and strengthen societies.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of remittances with UNCTAD economist Bruno Antunes.

Around the world, migrants send home more than $830 billion in remittances, of which about $650 billion go to developing countries, according to estimates from the World Bank.

That money helps to reduce poverty, improve nutrition and broaden access to education. 

Listen in to Bruno Antunes to find out how policies and reforms can help us better use remittances and the opportunities they offer.

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the impact on shipping, supply chains and trade from insecurity in the Red Sea with Jan Hoffman, head of UNCTAD's trade logistics branch. 

About 80% of the world’s goods move by sea. But escalating attacks by Houthi rebels on ships passing through the narrow waters towards the Suez Canal have disrupted shipping routes and raised geopolitical tensions.  

Red Sea shipping lanes carry around 15% of global trade but many ships have been diverted. UNCTAD estimates the trade volume going through the Suez Canal fell 42% over the last two months.

Without the Red Sea shortcut, longer routes between Asia and Europe add significant time and cost to shipments. That's fuelling fears of more shocks to the economy – with inflation still high and supply chains still shaky after disruptions during the pandemic. 

Tune in to UNCTAD's Jan Hoffmann to find out more about the Red Sea disruptions and other threats to maritime trade from clogged shipping lanes and climate change.