"Digital Services and Green Transition"

Acting as a side event for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum (September 28 – October 1), the panel on “Digital Services and Green Transition” took place in Geneva on September 29 at 7PM CET. This event brought together leaders in the private sector with representatives from the WTO to discuss how digital services can help in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what policies are needed to usher in this transition. Panelists explained how digitization is already expanding the possibilities for a green future and suggested steps the WTO can take to help multilateral efforts in the digital/green transition.

This event, which was organized by the Association of French Large Companies (AFEP), ICC France, and the U. S. Council for International Business (USCIB), stimulated powerful discussions about data protection, energy efficiency, and the role of the WTO. ICC France’s Emmanuelle Butaud-Stubbs moderated a productive panel that included Ambassador Manuel Teehankee (the permanent representative of the Philippines to the WTO and chairperson for the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment), Ambassador Tan Hung Seng (the permanent representative of Singapore to the WTO and co-chair of the Joint Statement Initiative on the e-commerce negotiating committee), USCIB’s Brian Lowry, Deputy Director-General of the WTO Jean-Marie Paugam, Sonepar’s Tanguy Griffon, and Representative Director for ICC in Geneva Crispin Conroy. This accomplished panel emphasized that there is hope for the future, but that “the road is still long.”

Based on the panel’s discussion, the private sector has made significant strides in increasing digital efforts to promote more sustainable progress in individual industries. Examples were provided on how the agricultural and energy sectors have used innovations in technology to reduce waste and increase efficiency, such as data collection and analysis on crop yields and estimates of carbon production in construction.

Alternatively, the public sector has been slow in responding to technological developments. The WTO still follows the UN classification system for businesses and technology that was established in the 1990s, making some policies vague and outdated. One suggested solution was to take a more holistic approach to the regulation of goods in order to simplify the process and make it more business friendly.

The panel enabled an open dialogue between the public and private sectors which produced constructive ideas for future development. This multilateral discussion revealed hope for sustainable development and clearly defined a path for achieving a greener globe.

To watch the panel, click here.

UNGA 76th Session Features a Climate Focus

The 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) is now well underway and is featuring significant discussion of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). As a part of the Decade of Action, a UN call to action initiated in 2020 to make reaching the Goals by 2030 a possibility, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the second ever SDG Moment. The SDG Moment, which ran from 8 a.m. EST to 5 p.m. EST on September 20, featured a speech from Secretary-General Guterres, debate by UN officials on COVID-19, and a performance by BTS, a popular K-pop group.

Leading into the UNGA, Secretary-General Guterres aimed to strengthen multilateral efforts to achieve the SDGs by proposing a plan titled “Our Common Agenda.” This ‘Agenda’ includes making vaccine distribution more expansive and equitable, creating the conditions for sustainable recovery to help in the elimination of poverty, championing equal rights for women and girls, and committing to net zero emissions by 2050. In order to reach net-zero emissions, Mr. Guterres asked for member states to dedicate $100 billion to climate action, an amount that the UN estimates could cause a direct economic gain worth trillions of dollars.

Climate action remained the topic of discussion of discussion as world leaders addressed the assembly. Most notably, Zeljko Komsic, the chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced to the other leaders that “the climate crisis is no longer a warning situation.” President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar echoed this sentiment, “call[ing] upon each state to act in an equitable fashion and commensurate with their polluting activities.”

General debate is schedule to run from September 21 to September 27, featuring over 100 Heads of State. High-level events that will accompany the general debate include the UN’s first Food Systems Summit on September 23, the High-Level Dialogue on Energy on September 24, and the High-Level Event on Jobs and Social Protection for Poverty Elimination on September 28. Each of these events will include a focus on how states can work to achieve the SDGs.

To watch the UNGA general debate, click here for the UN’s live feed.

Illinois Passes Comprehensive Clean Energy Bill

On September 15, 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois signed a comprehensive clean energy bill into law, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to set climate goals for phasing out coal and natural gas. The omnibus bill received support from both environmental groups, who endorse the law’s emphasis on decarbonization, and union groups, who support the law’s protections of unionized labor.

While not explicitly mentioned in discussions surrounding the law, the law will work to further three of the sustainable development goals: Ensuring access to affordable and sustainable energy (Goal 7), reducing inequality (Goal 10), and taking urgent action to combat climate change (Goal 13).

To ensure access to affordable and sustainable energy, the law requires that 40 percent of the state’s energy be carbon free by 2030, 50 percent be carbon free by 2040, and 100 percent be carbon free by 2050. While residential electric bills are expected to increase by about three to four percent in the short-term, the government is subsidizing three nuclear power plants over the next five years and increasing annual nuclear energy subsidies by more than $350 million. In an effort to increase the number of electric vehicles in the state, the state government will also be providing a $4,000 rebate to all Illinoisans purchasing an electric vehicle starting next July.

In an effort to reduce inequality, the law establishes a Clean Jobs Workforce Network program under the supervision of the Department of Commerce and Economic opportunity. This program will provide job training, focusing on Black and Latinx populations in Illinois. Training will extend to the formerly incarcerated who are interested in pursuing a career in the renewable energy field. The law also creates a Jobs and Justice Fund to ensure the equitable distribution of any economic benefits that result from this transition to cleaner energy.

Upon signing the bill, Gov. Pritzker announced, “We can’t outrun or hide from climate change… There is no time to lost but what we can do, what we must do – and thanks to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act – Illinois is doing, is to fight, to stop, and even reverse the damage that’s been done to our climate.” While Illinois is the first in the Midwest, and among the first in the United States generally, to pass such a sweeping climate and labor bill, it is likely far from being the last.

To learn more about the climate crisis in the U.S., click here.

To see the full text of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, click here.