14. Globalisation 2.0 and Trade: An Opportunity or Threat to the Environment?

This chapter inspects the complicated relationship between Globalisation 2.0 and environmental sustainability and governs whether the current globalisation trends are friendly to environmental protection. In the era of a digital revolution, it examines the impact that international trade, trade liberalisation, and economic integration have on the environment. The research employed a qualitative approach to understand this causal effect. This study utilised a detailed review of literature, theoretical investigations, and the various concepts that highlight the research areas. On the basis of interdisciplinary research approaches that integrate political economy, international relations, and environmental theory, this study draws on historical evidence, theory, and modern case studies. Some models, such as David Ricardo’s Comparative Advantage and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, form the basis of analysis of the link between trade policy, economic development, and the environment. Additionally, World Bank data are used to provide information on the world’s increasing trade, FDI, and CO₂ emissions. While liberalisation of trade has the advantage of bringing in resource efficiency and technology transfer, which are good for sustainable development, it also has the risk of environmental degradation from increased industrialisation. This chapter concludes with an urge to create international trade policies that will make economic progress go hand in hand with environmental responsibility, thus making globalisation sustainable.