july 2021 from italy t20 Reconciling environmental protection with economic growth and social justice; safeguarding ecosystems and preventing biodiversity loss; prioritising and implementing low-carbon, green growth policies in the post-pandemic recovery packages; fostering the energy transition towards renewables to reduce global emissions: these are some of the objectives of the Ministerial Meeting taking place in Naples on 22nd - 23rd of July.  On these issues the Italian Presidency has made proposals to urge the international community towards more ambitious objectives. What can the G20 really do to lay the foundations of a truly sustainable recovery? What concerted actions can be taken to build a low-carbon and climate-resilient socio-economic system? Accounting for nearly 90% of global GDP, around two-thirds of the world population and around 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, the G20 countries  are called to play a significant role in limiting global warming to 1.5°C and in finding viable solutions to fight climate change. The Ministerial’s work will be divided into three macro-areas: 1) biodiversity, natural capital protection, and ecosystems restoration; 2) efficient use of resources and circular economy; 3) green finance.  The last issue, green finance, took centre stage at the International Conference on Climate Change, held on the 11th of July in Venice, during the G20 Finance Ministerial Meeting. G20 leaders showed growing awareness around the need to make the private sector a crucial partner as investments needed to ‘green’ the global economy exceed the public funds available by a wide margin. The Italian Presidency put the spotlight on the financial support to the green transition by establishing the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG), which should also aim to engage private investors and better define the role development and regional banks can play in supporting poor and developing countries.   Although the G20 countries seem to be aligned on the target of carbon neutrality and low-carbon economy over the next decades, some divergences persist on key issues such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism: does it raise the risk of “green protectionism”? How to design it to make it compatible with international trade rules? On these and other pressing global environmental issues, the T20 — and particularly the Task Force on Climate Change, Sustainable Energy & Environment coordinated by ISPI — has collected its policy recommendations in a statement submitted to the G20 Environment and Energy Ministers.

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Task Force on Climate Change, Sustainable Energy & Environment

On top of providing short-term proposals to tackle the most urgent challenges, the T20 Task Force on Climate Change, Sustainable Energy and Environment aims to provide medium- to long-term policy options to ensure that the post-pandemic recovery packages represent an opportunity to build a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.

Key T20 Policy Recommendations Stimulate the adoption of a clear and unambiguous definition of “green bond” Establishing a Low-Carbon Finance Facility to catalyse funds for the recovery Creating a Green Rating Agency to support the adoption of internationally recognised sustainability disclosure and reporting standards Establishing a G20 Commission on Youth Education for Sustainable Development Creating climate-resilient food systems through the smart repurposing of agricultural subsidies

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These recommendations will be further expanded and strengthened as the T20 community finalises the Policy Briefs in view of the T20 Summit, to be held on 4-6 October.

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Climate change and post-pandemic food system challenges Commentary by Johan Swinnen and Rob Vos, International Food Policy Research Institute Humanity has made tremendous strides in reducing poverty and food insecurity over the last decades. Agricultural productivity growth and the modernization of food systems have played an important part in this process.  Yet, there are several structural weaknesses and challenges for global food systems. Our food systems are unequal, unhealthy, and unsustainable and the COVID-19 crisis has exposed these problems clearly.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic has also demonstrated the power of private sector's innovations and effective policy responses to curb the impact of major shocks while laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient food systems for the future. Future food systems must radically change. They need to change because of four core failures: they are wasteful and vulnerable to climate change while destructive to the environment, poor diets are bad for human health, and billions of people who depend on food systems do not get decent livelihoods.

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T20 Italy Secretariat e-mail: secretariat@t20.italy.org webiste: https://www.t20italy.org/