Trade and Environment Week at the WTO
The WTO's Trade and Environment Week kicked off with panels on the sustainability of supply chains and the impact of EU trade regulations on deforestation, particularly their effect on smallholder coffee producers in Brazil.
In another panel, Argentina highlighted its use of precision agriculture and biotech solutions that are already being deployed. Discussions also covered subsidies for behavioral change programs aimed at facilitating the adoption of circular economy concepts and supporting biodiversity.
The WTO Circular Economy Working Group and the Working Group on Trade-Related Climate Measures also commented on standards and labeling as opportunities to increase value-added exports. Both groups seek to find synergies and promote investment in training and capacity building in collaboration with the ITC.
Diplomats said that SMEs in Latin America were encouraged to leverage standards to participate in international trade. Environmental goods and services could benefit from greening the supply chain.
A representative from Peru emphasized that indigenous communities and their ancestral knowledge could play a greater role in promoting sustainability in international trade.
Aligning domestic policies with international trade norms is essential, as “global problems need global solutions,” stated Maximiliano Moreno, Director of International Relations at Argentina's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries.
Brazil Calls for a Closer Look at EUDR
Brazilian Ambassador Guilherme Patriota led a panel discussion on the impact of the EU Deforestation Regulation, which will come into force January 2025.
The panel aimed to identify necessary adjustments in current green policies, ensuring that the era of green trade does not result in rigid green standards that lead to unfair and exclusionary trade practices, undermining sustainable development goals.
Marcos Matos, CEO of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), along with Nicolas Lockhart from the international trade law firm Sidley Austin, Tetyana Payosova of Van Bael & Bellis, and Roberta Versiane, Manager for Sustainability and Government Relations at the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL), raised concerns about the timeline for the EU Deforestation Regulation's implementation.
Deforestation Zero by 2030
Ambassador Patriota noted that President Lula da Silva has pledged to eliminate deforestation in Brazil by 2030. The "Deforestation Zero" initiative seeks to prevent agribusiness from encroaching on forests. The policy mandates that for every 1,000 hectares of land in the Amazon, only 200 hectares can be used for agriculture, with a mandatory 800 hectares preserved.
In September, the Brazilian government sent a letter to EU leadership warning of the regulation's impact on smallholder farmers in Brazil. Coffee producers primarily export to the EU market. As the world's largest producer and exporter of coffee, with 45 regions across the country involved in production, Brazil faces enormous challenges in meeting the regulatory compliance requirements.
Exclusion of SMEs
Seventy-two percent of Brazil’s coffee producers are smallholder farmers, cultivating on 20 hectares or less. Of these, 47% are family-owned businesses that export to the EU. The impact of the EU Deforestation Regulation could result in the exclusion of these actors from international trade.
Matos emphasized that Brazilian producers already comply with biodiversity and forest protection regulations. Farmers cannot access rural credit unless they meet domestic deforestation rules.
Another issue is data: most coffee producers are already in a national database for regulatory compliance and geolocation. Matos stressed that these producers cannot access credit if they do not comply with environmental regulations and human rights directives, such as prohibitions against slave labor or forced labor involving indigenous populations.
According to the CEO of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), these farmers are already part of the formal economy and have a culture of traceability.
You Are Drinking a Lot of Coffee
Nicolas Lockhart warned that the regulations on traceability could lead to social exclusion, not only for Brazilian coffee producers but also for those in Africa and Latin America, as their economies have yet to fully enter the digital age. He also noted that the U.S. had granted wood chip and pulp exporters nine years to comply with environmental regulations.
Brazil exports 57,000 containers of coffee to the EU, according to research by the Coffee Exporters Council. Ensuring compliance poses a challenge, as each container might contain beans from up to 150 different producers.
EUDR raises concerns about privacy and data transfer, as the EU could gain control over sensitive data such as geolocation, contracts, and details of supply chain actors. There are also questions about the interoperability of data systems.
For every 150 producers per container from Brazil, there are 400 producers per container from Africa, making due diligence even more daunting.
Roberta Versiane from the Brazilian Aluminum Trade Association made similar points regarding the EU's ETS regulation, which does not account for the clean energy used in Brazilian aluminum production, contributing to its low carbon footprint.
European Commission diplomat Indre Vaicekauskaite, Policy Officer for Multilateral Trade and Sustainable Development, Green Deal, and Conflict Minerals, at the EC Directorate-General for Trade commented that the EU should have been invited to the panel to present its views on why EUDR will go ahead, its principles, but Ambassador Patriota remarked that when the EU leads panels on the issues of deforestation regulation concerned developing countries are not invited either. *Burn*. *Throwing shade* as you young fowls like to say. Who said international trade law was boring? Who said diplomats don’t have a sense of humor? Who said the WTO was irrelevant?
It is all good natured banter, but behind the scenes international trade lawyers are moving their flippers as fast as they can below water below water while keeping a composed air above. Like ducks. On both sides.
The compliance humdrum has just started. Watch this space.
WMO
Amazon Rainforest Hydrological Systems in Peril
Report Highlights Need to Improve Geospatial Data Gathering
To enhance the accuracy and reliability of climate data models for better water resource management, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommends that member countries expand data collection and monitoring efforts. This includes increasing the number of in-situ observation stations, especially in data-scarce regions like Africa, to provide more comprehensive and accurate data for model calibration and validation.
The report also calls for enhanced model integration, combining multiple global hydrological models, as discussed, to improve the model comparison process and increase confidence in the outputs.
It is necessary to incorporate new data sources and leverage emerging technologies, such as satellite remote sensing, to supplement ground-based observations and improve the spatial coverage of data inputs into the models.
“In the Amazon, we continue to see record low rainfall. We see drought levels that have never been seen before. Since the 1960s, we have reached a point in the rivers, especially the Madeira River, where boats that deliver supplies cannot reach the dock cities. This is also resulting in high prices and inflation, affecting food security. The Amazon continues to burn, and the smoke rising into the atmosphere is affecting the temperature in the region. Warmer waters in the north tropical Atlantic are making it harder for rain clouds to form, which is impacting the southern parts of the Amazon. These are the effects we observed in August and September. However, to quantify them, we must wait for next year’s data and analyze the aftermath and its interactions with the broader water cycle.” — Sulagna Mishra, WMO Scientific Officer
The advancement of model development requires continuous refinement and updating of climate and hydrological models to better represent the complex interactions within the water cycle, including the effects of climate change, in order to improve model validation, expand the validation of model outputs against observed data, not just for calibration but also for independent verification of model performance across different regions and time periods.
The report also emphasizes the need for enhanced collaboration and data sharing through greater international cooperation. Data sharing among countries will improve the availability and quality of data used in the models.
The WMO recommends that member countries incorporate local and traditional knowledge about water resources and climate patterns to complement scientific data and models, especially in regions with limited observational data.
By implementing these strategies, member countries can enhance the reliability and predictive capabilities of climate data models, leading to more effective water resource management and better adaptation to the changing hydrological cycle.
“We need to reconsider how we produce our food in response to a changing climate. Vertical farming, for example, can be resource-efficient and particularly useful for producing fruits, vegetables, and high-value commodities that are nutritionally beneficial. However, it is not a solution for wheat and other cereals due to infrastructure and resource limitations. Nevertheless, it can contribute to improving food and nutrition security. These solutions will be promoted at COP29, but they require initial investment, so it may not be a viable solution for all countries.” — Stefan Uhlenbrook, Director of Hydrology, Water, and Cryosphere, WMO
Listen.
This Time Will Be Different
Early Warning Systems and Hurricane Season in the US
Hurricane Milton Update
Maya Plentz: My question is related to the early warning systems. We have seen that for Hurricane Helene the early warning systems were working quite well and people were able to move out of the danger zones. Is there anything that you can comment on in terms of early warning systems that are put in place by the US government and the Hurricane Center in Miami?
Clarte Nullis, Spokesperson for the WMO said that early warning systems work, and that “What we saw with Helene was excellent. They are excellent, very, very accurate, very precise. Also for Milton, we're seeing that as well, the US National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service will be issuing the forecasts and the warnings.
And then it's obviously for local authorities, for authorities in Florida to act on those, to issue the evacuation orders. It's not always easy. Roads are clogged. There's probably no more availability on flights.
In the case of Helene the warnings were there, but in many cases, because people had never experienced anything like it, they couldn't actually believe it, so they didn't act on those warnings.
We're hoping that this will be different with Milton since in this particular area where it's meant to make landfall, was where Hurricane Ian made landfall two years ago. So, we're hoping that the memories of Hurricane Ian and of Hurricane Helene will be will be fresh enough so that people do act on the warnings and evacuate, evacuate or stay safe.”
Partnership with Expand North Star, the largest event for startups and investors that takes place in Dubai, next week. You can still register here.
Expand North Star 2024, the world’s largest start-up event, will gather over 2,000 exhibiting start-ups at the Dubai Harbour, 400-plus hailing from Europe
Sponsored Content
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Expand North Star, the world’s largest start-up event, returns from 13-16 October 2024 to the iconic Dubai Harbour, featuring its biggest European and British participation ever seen. The 9th edition of the landmark start-up show based in Dubai is expected to bring together over 2,000 start-ups, with more than 400 from Europe and the United Kingdom joining the four-day exhibition.
Hosted by Dubai Chambers and organised by Dubai World Trade Centre, Expand North Star is part of GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s largest tech event. Exhibiting start-ups will be showcasing their solutions and real applications in Agritech, Artificial Intelligence, Climate Tech, Fintech, Health Tech, HR Tech, Mobility, Creative Economy, Software as a Service, and more. Germany is leading among the new country pavilions from the region, with 40 start-ups debuting at the show this year, followed by Ireland, Poland, Latvia, Austria, and Portugal.
Returning participants include the United Kingdom, with 50 start-ups on their flagship stand, a twofold growth compared to their participation in 2023. Close behind are France, Italy, and Turkey. Omar Hassan, Managing Director of Global Growth Hub in the UK said: “We are thrilled to have the fastest-growing technology companies joining this year's delegation, spanning across FinTech, AI, Sustainability and EdTech.”
As the world’s third most valuable start-up ecosystem, with a market value exceeding $1.1 trillion, the UK is home to over 150 unicorns and 25,000 funded start-ups, many of which are poised to scale up, according to global data company Dealroom. This challenging journey can be significantly enhanced through a trusted connector, enabling companies to forge impactful cross-regional collaborations and explore new investment opportunities.
“Expand North Star as a global platform provides UK tech with a great path and connectivity both into local markets in the region and beyond, particularly in Asia and Africa. The delegation is ready to explore expansion into the UAE, and that will be the biggest takeaway for many participants,” said Hassan.
According to Crunchbase, European start-ups saw a 31% increase in funding only in Q2 2024, reaching nearly $16 billion compared to the previous quarter. This represents a 17% rise year over year, with significant growth in both early and late-stage funding and surpassing Asian start-ups' funding for the first time on a quarterly basis.
The region’s most visionary investors will be present at Expand North Star 2024, representing 30% of the more than 1,200 investors and VCs from around the world gathering in Dubai. Visitors can have the chance to see SpeedInvest, one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors with over €1 billion assets under management (AuM) and offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna.
The premier lineup of investors also includes the deep biotech fund H Tree Capital from the UK, the Estonian accelerator and fund Startup Wise Guys, the consumer tech and fintech investment company Prediction Capital from Switzerland, the Portuguese R&D-focused venture capital M4 Ventures, among many others. VCs, accelerators, and investors will join an exclusive programme of meetings, eagerly anticipated panel discussions on stage, and the Supernova Challenge, the world’s largest pitch competition with a $200,000 cash prize.
Beyond the unparalleled investors, this record-breaking edition of Expand North Star will connect the audience with over 65 global unicorns, with extensive participation from Europe and the UK’s most influential companies, such as Volocopter, the German aircraft manufacturer launching the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business later this year.
The conference agenda will feature unicorn giants BitPanda from Austria, with over four billion US dollars valuation and nearly three million customers, and Climeworks, Swiss unicorn backed by Microsoft Climate Fund and the technology provider holding a 10-year carbon removal offtake agreement to support Microsoft’s commitment to become carbon negative by 2030.
Expand North Star is the powerhouse start-up event inspired by GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s largest tech show, returning for its 44th edition from 14-18 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Together, the shows spearhead the world’s biggest tech takeover in Dubai, presenting 6,700 exhibiting companies from 180-plus countries across 41 halls.
For more information, visit: www.expandnorthstar.com
