Green Trade Wars vs. Green Cooperation: Environmental Diplomacy at the Crossroads of Economic Interests in the Digital Age

Abstrak

This paper examines the paradox of environmental diplomacy in the digital age: while global climate challenges demand international cooperation, the pursuit of green economic advantages increasingly triggers protectionist responses resembling traditional trade wars. Through qualitative analysis and literature review of policy documents from 2020-2025, this study analyzes recent environmental trade measures including the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the US Inflation Reduction Act, and China's green technology export restrictions.The research reveals how environmental diplomacy has become weaponized as economic statecraft, with policies ostensibly addressing climate change functioning as disguised protectionism favoring domestic green industries. Digital technologies—carbon tracking systems, green certification platforms, and supply chain monitoring—paradoxically enable both greater environmental transparency and sophisticated green protectionism.The paper argues that current environmental diplomacy operates within a "green security dilemma," where unilateral policies intended to enhance national competitiveness undermine collective climate action. This dynamic is pronounced in the digital realm, where control over green technologies becomes geopolitical leverage.The study proposes "cooperative environmental competitiveness" as a framework reconciling environmental protection with fair economic competition, recommending multilateral governance mechanisms to distinguish genuine environmental measures from disguised protectionism. As digital transformation accelerates green transition, the international community faces a critical choice between fragmented green nationalism and integrated global environmental governance.Keywords: environmental diplomacy, economic diplomacy, green protectionism, digital transformation, trade wars, sustainable development.