EUROCHAMTT, 15^th March 2024

Speaking points: Ambassador Peter Cavendish, EU DEL to T&T

Greetings,

• I am very grateful to the European Business Chamber for this initiative.
• In an era where environmental concerns are paramount, the EU has taken bold steps to integrate sustainability across its policies, signalling a profound shift towards a greener and more responsible future.
• The EU Green Deal, adopted in 2019, is the EU’s response to the global climate emergency. It is a package of policy and legislative initiatives setting the EU on the path to a green transition, with the ultimate goal of reaching climate neutrality and becoming a resource-efficient economy by 2050. It supports the transformation of the EU into a fair and prosperous society with a modern and competitive economy.
• Opportunities like today to celebrate companies investing in environmental and social sustainability and promoting their corporate responsibility is a crucial way to bring long term and wide scale change in business. This is also the path that the EU is increasingly implementing within its borders and promoting worldwide. The EU Green Deal is now a key element of the partnership between Trinidad and Tobago and the EU, likewise in the Caribbean region.
• Today’s event is also an opportunity to share some information on the EU legal framework and implications for companies exporting there, so as to ensure business have the right knowledge to position themselves vis-à-vis the sustainability requirements to access EU markets. Therefore investing in sustainability is not only a moral duty or a corporate effort towards surrounding communities, it is also a strategic move for business development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

• I will dedicate a few minutes to the EU Green Deal and how it shapes business in Europe. It is a very ambitious plan, with no other comparison in terms of targets and mandatory implementation. The first step to achieve this is reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 57% by 2030 as a short term target. This involves action in every policy area: energy, agriculture, industry, finance, etc, which are each broken down in sector strategies and regulations.
• For instance the Farm to fork strategy is the set of measures to transform EU’s agriculture in depth by 2030 by championing a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system for all Europeans. It includes drastic measures which will be both impact farmers and all the upstream chain as well as imports :
  • Reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50%.
  • Reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%.
  • Reduce fertiliser use by at least 20%.
  • Reduce sales of antibiotics for farm animals by 50%.
  • Organic farming area is to reach at least 25% of the total arable land.
• In the energy sector, which accounts for 75% of EU’s carbon emissions, the immediate objective is reach 40% of renewable energy production capacity. The industry will also take its share with the generalisation of circular economy principles and a regulation on zero net industry is in preparation to increase the production of clean technologies in the EU.
• Increasing the ambition and the climate sustainability of the EU economy can only be successful if carbon leakage is kept under control. e. companies based in the EU could move carbon- intensive production abroad to take advantage of lax standards, or that EU products could be replaced by more carbon-intensive imports. Such carbon leakage can shift emissions outside of Europe and therefore seriously undermine EU and global climate efforts.
• This is the logic of the CBAM, which is targeting some of the most energy intensive imports. There are deviations due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine and transition periods to its implementation but the intention remains to bring commercial partners to the same level of environmental responsibility as domestic businesses.
• The same pertains to Corporate Sustainability Reporting. EU companies, including certain SMEs, will now be required to report on sustainability. Some non-EU companies will also have to report if they generate over EUR 150 million on the EU market. Standards are still under discussion to limit the administrative burden of reporting.
• The Corporate sustainability due diligence which has been in discussion for some time is the natural extension of this requirement to EU imports in order not to compensate stricter inside rules with degraded foreign outsourcing. This also the way the EU intends to impact the sustainability and human rights throughout global supply chains. With these rules, we want to stand up for human rights and lead the green transition. We can no longer turn a blind eye on what happens down our value chains. We need a shift in our economic model. I am confident that many business leaders will support this cause. (Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice)
• This rules are acknowledged constraints for businesses but they also create new opportunities for companies which are willing to bring their standards higher.
• In addition, the EU encourages eco-labeling and integrates sustainability criteria into public procurement. Importers benefit by aligning with these practices, making their products more competitive in the EU market.
• Collectively, these components create a regulatory environment where environmental sustainability is integral to trade.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

• Sustainability standards are an opportunity to redefine the patter for economic development. The example of renewable energy in Trinidad & Tobago is a clear case where your interest to remain a valid contender on the energy market and the global interest of CO2 emission reduction go hand in hand. The EU is committed to accompany this process and we have in fact already started.
• At the EU-CELAC Summit last July, our two regions launched The EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda. This is framed in the Global Gateway Strategy, which supports partner countries in their economic, green, and digital transition. And does this precisely by providing a qualitatively superior alternative – with higher sustainability standards – to other public investment offers. Global Gateway is a vehicle for international values, norms, and standards, including ones which are enshrined within the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agenda.
• Last year the EU funded a technical assistance to the Government of TT for the development of a Strategy setting the path for Wind Energy generation in Trinidad & Tobago. In parallel, the EU spearheaded the expansion of solar energy generation with the establishment of a solar plant at the Piarco international airport and the installation of solar PV in 12 buildings of public interest (e.g. school), with a few more coming. Now, we are in discussions with the Government to support the wind resources assessment, i.e. measuring the amount of wind in a number of locations. If there is adequate wind blowing, we will be ready to facilitate EU investments in onshore and offshore wind farms.
• This is a good example of the EU´s distinct 360° approach, combining hard investments to build infrastructure with soft investments to develop enabling frameworks, skills, and innovation.
• Being environmentally and economically viable is possible. The EU is ready to work with partners around the world to make this transition a reality.
• Thank you!