In the face of rising violence, let's unite to defend what we have in common!
After much discussion, the Council has this month green lighted the conclusions that will serve as the EU's general negotiating position for the upcoming 28thUnited Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). This year's COP, in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, is remarkable for several reasons, one of them being the debut of trade in the official COP Programme with the designation of 4th December as a day dedicated to trade matters. This historic decision underscores the undeniable connection between trade and climate change – a relationship we can no longer afford to ignore. International trade and the rules-based trading system hold immense potential in driving climate mitigation and adaptation. However, it is imperative to ensure that all countries, especially those most vulnerable to climate change, can actively participate and reap the benefits of international trade while leveraging it as a catalyst for the green transition. Against this background, EJD is preparing a policy brief to be published ahead of COP28, drawing on our past and ongoing work on the trade-environment-development triangle. EJD will be on the ground in Dubai, hosting a high-level side event on this very topic. Stay tuned for further updates as we take this important conversation to a global stage!
In our last newsletter, we highlighted the need to address the polarised atmosphere in agri-food policy debates. While it is not yet clear how the Commission will approach the strategic dialogue with farmers, citizens and other agri-food value chain stakeholders announced in Mrs von der Leyen SOTEU speech in September, a game-changing factor is increasingly attracting attention: the potential accession of Ukraine to the European Union which would have a massive impact on the existing Common Agricultural Policy. It probably would require a rethink of this policy and its system of payment. This is a huge challenge, but also a welcome opportunity for an effective alignment with the EU’s climate and environmental objectives.
Growing geopolitical tensions do not spare the already fragile glacial and polar worlds. The imperative to preserve this shared heritage is paramount. The rapid melting of polar and mountain ice is catastrophic, endangering the livelihoods of billions of people, and putting ecosystems and wildlife at risk of sea-level rise, ocean acidification, warming waters, floods, extreme weather events, and changing habitats.
The impacts are clear, and the imperative to take action is resounding. It is in this context that the Paris Peace Forum, will host the One Planet – Polar Summit, from 8 to 10 November. Acting as chair of the two NGOs sessions, I will work thoroughly to ensure the Summit represents the first step towards the adoption of ambitious and effective commitments to safeguard the cryosphere and the global ocean during the next UN Conference on the Ocean, to be held in Nice in 2025.
As I said in an interview with the Belgian television LN24, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused immeasurable pain and suffering on both sides, and the search for a peaceful solution looks like an elusive dream. Yet the dream of peace remains. I remember in the early 1990s, when I was in the cabinet of Jacques Delors, his work with Shimon Peres and Avi Primor to install peace between the two states through their union inside a broader regional community built around the waters of the Jordan, following the model of the ECSC - a landmark treaty that laid the foundations for the European integration after the war.
It is the belief in the possibility of peace initiatives of this kind that keeps the dream of a lasting cohabitation between Israelis and Palestinians alive.
Geneviève Pons and the EJD team