COP28: UN Conference on Climate Change Scores Some Wins With the Creation of Loss and Damage Fund | WTO: Trade and Environment Rise on the Agenda | WHO Gets Everyone's Attention With Impact on Health
This special weekend edition celebrates COP28 through the work of wine producers in Champagne and Bourgogne that are leaders on sustainable agriculture and carbon footprint reduction.
Today you will find stories related to the environment from the perspective of winemakers, wine producers, and those around the wine tourism ecosystem.
Champagne Telmont sustainability goals.
Bourgogne and why you should discover this wine region.
Full conversion to organic at the Hospices de Beaune.
Our past coverage on climate change:
Loss and Damage Fund Explained
Bogolo Kenewendo on the Loss and Damage Fund
Columbia University Professor on the Right to Repair
Minister of Environment Marina Silva on Forests, at UNGA
Former EU Ambassador to the WTO John Clarke
Brazil’s Environmental Standards and Trade
Bourgogne: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Joint UN SDG Fund
UN in China and the Sustainable Development Goals
UN Habitat: Neglected Tropical Diseases and Climate Change
UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change Impact of Human Rights
Treaty of the High Seas is Now Legally Binding
Climate Change: OTEC Systems for SIDS
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Watch Ludivine Griveau, Winemaker of the Hospices de Beaune Vineyards on the Impact of Climate Change in Bourgogne and How They Are Adapting
Telmont Champagne House Partners With UN Ambassador for Peace and Climate Change Leonardo DiCaprio to Convert to Fully Organic Production
Telmont Champagne House is addressing their carbon footprint in packaging, from bottles to shipping, they have also launched a campaign "Telmont – In the Name of Mother Nature" to bring together partners, ranging from organic winegrowers to chefs to fishermen, in a joint effort to address global warming. I spoke with Ludovic Du Plessis, CEO of Telmont Champagne about their transition to organic viticulture, preservation of biodiversity, and reduction of carbon footprint.
We also spoke about the partnership with the American actor Leonardo DiCaprio, UN Messenger of Peace for Climate Change, who is a shareholder of Telmont Champagne, founder of Rewild, and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation that supports conservation projects around the world to protect fragile ecosystems and biodiversity.
The UN Secretary-General appointed Mr. DiCaprio as a Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change in 2014 to catalyze and galvanize climate action towards a global climate agreement in 2015.
Watch my interview with Champagne Telmont CEO, Ludovic du Plessis.
Highlights COP28
WHO
The COP28 Presidency and the World Health Organization, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, announced the 'COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health.' Endorsed by 123 countries, the declaration is a world first in recognizing the growing health impacts of climate change. It includes commitments for new finance initiatives, such as a $300 million commitment by the Global Fund and $100 million by the Rockefeller Foundation, to bolster health systems and scale up climate and health solutions.
Loss and Damage Fund
Additional pledges for the Loss and Damage Fund were made, including Norway who committed $25 million for 2024, and Ireland that will contribute €25 million. The pledges during the last two days add a total of $ 652.6 million.
Source: Climate Action Newsletter WWF
WTO
WTO launches trade policy toolkit at COP28
Bourgogne
Sotheby’s Led Auction Brings $25 Million to Hospitals
The 163rd Wine Charity Auction to benefit the Hospices de Beaune brought in €23.3 Million ($25.4 Million), to benefit hospitals in the region, the second highest total in its history. Proceeds from the sale of the charity barrel will be given to the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) and the Initiative de Recherche pour une Longévité en Bonne Santé (IRLB) that are dedicated to research in longevity and healthspan, living longer and in good health, according to the Hospices Civils de Beaune’s pledge to support research in healthy ageing.
Sotheby’s has, for the third consecutive year, managed the auction, reaching collectors and merchants all over the globe that want to invest in wines from the region, as they are, as an asset class, superior in returns to other investments, in many instances.
Fine wine is also an investment in pleasure, as Steven Spurrier used to say.
If you have never visited Bourgogne November is a great time of the year to go, as the leaves turn golden, and the smell of wood burning from chimneys takes your mind to a slow, kinder time. There are also many wineries to visit, and restaurants to experience. We recommend Le PiquBouef in Rue d’Alsace, and the Biz’Tro at Place de Madeleine, both serve choice cuts and exquisite menus, have superb ambiance, a great wine list, and dishes are prepared with locally sourced, organic, produce.
We interviewed the winemaker of the Hospices de Beaune, Ludivine Griveau, who manages the vines that are tended to by 23 employees. It is important to know that the vineyard is very fragmented, with 117 plots, each one requiring careful attention.
The Hospices’ estate is a mosaic of vineyards, managed in a sustainable way, and will be fully converted to organic in 2024, said Ludivine Griveau, watch my short interview with her at the historic Hospices de Beaune.
We also spoke about adapting to climate change and what the future of wine production holds for the region, watch.
In case you missed
ITA: Italian Trade Agency
Top Wine Producers Still Want to Enter UK Market
With Brexit making it even more expensive to import European Economic Area wines into the UK, the Italian Trade Agency created a special BREXIT Office to support Italian wine producers that want to export to the largest consumer and trade market in Europe.
The event showcased wines from Piedmont, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo, Campania, Apulia, Sicily and Sardinia, at the Museum of Science at Imperial College, in London, to boost exports.
A trend observed: wineries are turning to organic, sustainable methods of production and trying to reduce their carbon footprint by adopting environment-friendly packaging.
Here are the highlights in photos, with Claudio Povero, ITA London.
Winemakers from Tuscany were the focus of this edition, presenting many well-established producers that were seeking representation the UK market. Brexit has increased costs to import in the UK, so I’m told. Italian winemakers have help from ITA to understand the new rules for export. Wine tourism is also in the scope of their activities, as many wineries have tasting rooms.
