COP27 enters its second week in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt today and the IOE&IT Daily Update is continuing to monitor the landmark conference for key stories and agreements affecting international trade.
The gathering comes at a key moment for the global effort to combat climate change and IOE&IT director general Marco Forgione last week said trade and supply chains have a “central role to play in helping find solutions”.
Here we look at five key developments from the conference from last week.
1: Time running out to meet 1.5 degrees Celsius target
An annual report of emissions has found that gas pollution will hit record heights this year, largely due to a 1% increase in fossil fuel-induced carbon emissions, the Washington Post reports.
If the world is to meet its target of only seeing a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in global average temperatures, humans must release no more than 380 billion tonnes of carbon in the coming decades. Humanity is on course to emit this amount in about nine years, the report finds.
2: ISO publishes new net zero guidelines
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published new guidelines and definitions to help public and private sector organisations with the creation of their net zero plans.
The Net Zero Guidelines were published on Friday and the ISO said they will be a “single core reference text”.
Environmental news website edie.net says the publication will help firms to “credibly use terminology relating to net zero emissions and create meaningful targets”.
3: WTO calls for greener markets and trade logistics
The World Trade Organization (WTO) hosted a side-event in Egypt looking at the role of sustainable trade in helping least-developed countries (LDCs) move towards having low-carbon emissions.
Aik Hoe Lim, the WTO’s trade and environment director, said that greener markets and logistics were necessary for this, calling on countries to develop policies that encourage the adoption of technologies needed for the energy transition.
UNCTAD secretary general Rebeca Grynspan also said LDCs should be encouraged to explore ways of diversifying their exports so that they are trading more “climate-conscious” products.
4: PepsiCo UK among firms launching big green initiatives
MultiModal reports that PepsiCo UK is launching a series of initiatives that will lead to a reduction in emissions of 1,200 tonnes.
Alongside its logistics partner Pollock, it is looking to use hydrogenated vegetable oils in place of diesel in a bid to reduce the emissions from the HVOs carrying its goods by 80%.
There are also 10 new corporate members in the First Movers Coalition – a private sector collective that has committed more than $12bn to cleantech investments, according to edie.net. The group – which includes PepsiCo and General Motors – has value chains that are estimated to be responsible for 8% of annual global emissions.
5: UKEF launches ‘Climate Resilient Debt Clauses’
UK Export Finance – the UK government’s export credit agency – will begin to offer Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs) in its direct sovereign lending.
The government says that “the clauses will offer low-income countries and small island developing states the ability to defer debt repayments in the event of a severe climate shock or natural disaster.”
A Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda was also launched at the world leaders’ summit with the aim of improving the resiliency of over four billion people against climate-related risks, edie.net reports.