Smog in Chinese cities is providing unexpected momentum for a global deal on trade in environmental goods because China urgently needs access to cheaper, cleaner energy, Denmark’s Trade Minister Mogens Jensen said following a visit to Beijing. China last month joined a campaign by major trading powers, including the United States and the European Union, to remove barriers on trade in green goods, ranging from solar panels to wind turbines, a market worth USD1 trillion a year. “Chinese families want green solutions, they want clear blue sky and fresh air for their children,” Jensen said. Jensen was in Beijing at the end of February when the city issued its second-highest warning level, an ‘orange alert’, as pollution levels climbed far higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended upper limit. Fourteen trading powers including China, the United States and the European Union said in Davos in January that they would build on a plan launched by Asia-Pacific nations in 2011 to cut tariffs on green goods to 5% or less by the end of next year. With China’s support, Jensen believes other countries could be encouraged to join and allow negotiations to start around the middle of this year at the WTO in Geneva. So far, countries involved in the green goods initiative, including China, represent 86% of trade in environmental goods, just short of the 90% minimum the WTO requires to launch negotiations on a trade deal. Import duties on green goods can be as high as 35% in some countries, making solar panels and equipment for water treatment plants much more costly, especially for developing nations that need them most.