Insights

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Covid-19 and the future of food systems

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Policy addressing health, climate, and poverty has often occurred in silos. Covid-19 has emphasised the interconnected nature of each of these areas, and particularly in how they relate to food systems. Global Counsel Chairman, Peter Mandelson recently discussed these issues with Special Envoy on Covid-19 for the World Health Organization, David Nabarro, where they looked…

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The race for climate finance leadership

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Last week, the City of London Corporation and the UK Green Finance Institute hosted a ‘Green Horizon Summit’. At the event, a package of proposals was unveiled by the UK government aiming to cement the UK as a global centre for green finance and signal something of the UK government’s post-Brexit vision for the City of London. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s…

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EU farm policy reform: what’s on the table?

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Last week’s extensive negotiations in the European Parliament have set the tone for how far the EU is willing to integrate its stated sustainability objectives with agricultural policy. The two areas of policy have often been at loggerheads, but the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy released earlier this year had created some expectation that things may be shifting…

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Success at COP26: four issues to watch from GC's experts

Sustainability

Elizabeth Beall
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We hear from four of our climate and energy experts on key issues that will impact the success or failure of COP26: China's climate action policies; a shift from mitigation to resilience and adaptation in sustainability efforts; the Paris Agreement's controversial global carbon market; and how different US climate policy may look depending on the eleciton results.

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Rolling back or building back better?

Sustainability

Elizabeth Beall
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As governments globally introduce emergency support to combat the impacts of covid-19, there have been calls to ensure this is aligned with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. However, covid-19 has also prompted many governments to lift or suspend regulations to reduce burdens on corporates. Where does the balance lie? Global Counsel is tracking ESG…

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Risks under the radar: Anticipating supply chain risks for the UK food and drink sector

Sustainability

Geoffrey Norris
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The 2018 shortage of CO2 highlighted the large scale reliance on CO2 in the food and drink industry and the fragility of the supply chain delivering CO2 into the market. In this report commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation, Global Counsel examines other potential risks that may currently be underestimated within the food and drink sector and sets forth a framework…

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Earth Day: Making history or winding back the clock?

Sustainability

Elizabeth Beall
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It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Oil is at its lowest price in history. Deaths today from covid-19 topped 175,000 worldwide. It is certainly an historic day.

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COP25 debrief with GC sustainability team

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Energy Practice Lead, Ermenegilda Boccabella and Sustainability Senior Associate, Mollie Brennan share their impressions from COP25 in Madrid.

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The future of food

Sustainability

Stephen Adams
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Are consumer preferences the main drivers behind the public policy changes? How should food systems change to meet growing demand, from increasing productivity, reducing waste and changing diets? Listen to Senior Director, Stephen Adams, Practice Lead for Sustainability, Elizabeth Beall and Associate, Mollie Brennan discuss the future of food in the UK, Europe and…

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Meat analogues in the EU: A cut above the rest?

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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First it was tofu, then it was quorn, and now meat derived from a single animal cell and thus the creation of a new term – meat analogue. The meat analogue industry is one of the fastest growing consumer goods segments. It is also one of increasing political volatility and one in which regulation is struggling to keep up in a way that spurs innovation and shifts consumer…

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General Politics

Killing vegans?

General Politics

Elizabeth Beall
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That probably got your attention. It certainly got enough attention to ensure that the editor of Waitrose’s food magazine, William Sitwell, had to stand down after he joked that "killing vegans, one by one" was preferable to publishing a feature on plant based recipes. The story broke on World Vegan Day: talk about bad timing.

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No more clutching at straws - the policy journey to phasing out single use plastic in the UK

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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At the governing UK Conservative party’s conference this week, parliamentary undersecretary of state, Therese Coffey, promised a ‘radical’ Waste and Resources Strategy by the end of 2018. A series of government enquiries this year have underscored widespread support for more hard-nosed policies. The EU’s circular economy package recycling targets and China’s hardening…

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Can natural capital provide the framework for a ‘green’ Brexit?

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Putting a monetary value on nature provides a stronger economic case for ambitious environmental policy supported by public and private investment, but it also leaves that value, and the investment case, hanging on politics.

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Greener than Trump: how seriously can we take Chinese low carbon leadership?

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Whatever gets discussed at Mar-a-Lago between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, it probably won’t include climate change. Trump has just ripped up Obama’s Clean Power Plan and approved Keystone XL. Xi is positioning China as the new global leader in climate change. Anyone trying to make sense of what this means for demand for renewables and the global dynamic in climate…

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Investors raising the bar for ESG disclosures

Financial Services

Mollie Brennan
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Everyday it seems there is another responsible investment framework, or new updates to comply with. Investors have driven the creation of these frameworks – now they need to drive their consolidation.

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