International trade, a cornerstone of the global economy, has witnessed substantial growth since the 21st century began.
This expansion, largely driven by liberalizing policies and supported by initiatives like the UN Sustainable Development Goals, has deeply integrated economies worldwide, making trade a substantial part of global GDP.
However, this growth also spotlights cultural, social, and environmental consequences. The Planetary Welcare compass offers a comprehensive set of principles to guide and assess production and consumption systems, including trade policies and agreements.
It suggests a significant shift from the traditional welfare state model towards a broader focus on planetary health, equity, and sustainability, ushering in the emergence of a ‘Welcare state’ paradigm for a just and sustainable future.
Based on this paper, this animation introduces the Planetary Welcare compass, an innovative framework designed to navigate these multifaceted challenges and drive transformative change.
This framework integrates diverse perspectives on development, equity, sustainability, and planetary health into five interconnected principles:
- Enhancing WELLbeing;
- Promoting balanced Consumption;
- Fostering Accountability with integrity;
- Embracing Rooted globalism;
- Championing Environmental stewardship.
The article ‘Planetary Welcare principles for just and sustainable futures’, by Thiago Uehara, former fellow at Chatham House, has been published in ‘Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy’. For an in-depth exploration of these transformative principles and their application in the context of the WTO and the International Fair Trade Charter, you can view the open-access paper here. This work has been funded by UKRI’s Trade Hub and the video is the final part of Chatham House’s trade insights series.