Bridging food and energy crises: A global imperative in a warming world

The interconnected challenges of food insecurity and energy vulnerability are among the defining issues of the 21st century. Both are exacerbated by factors such as climate change, economic inequalities, and geopolitical instabilities, creating substantial strain on global systems. These impacts are felt most acutely in low-income nations, where access to basic necessities like food and energy often remains precarious. As the world navigates these challenges, a key question arises: how can food and energy security be ensured without compromising one for the other? Agriculture plays a vital role at the intersection of food production, energy consumption, and environmental sustainability. The sector accounts for almost 70% of global freshwater use and contributes over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[1] Its reliance on fossil fuels—for mechanization, irrigation, transportation, and fertilizer production—has created a feedback loop that has the potential to exacerbate environmental degradation. This dependence also leaves agricultural systems vulnerable to energy price fluctuations, which could heighten the instability of food supplies. Increasingly, agriculture is being looked to for dual responsibilities: feeding a growing global population and supporting cleaner energy transitions, such as through biofuel production. However, this dual role can place food security and energy needs in competition, as biofuel crops [...]

By , |2025-01-16T10:03:02+00:0015 January 2025|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments

From ‘efficient’ to ‘resilient’ supply chains, and beyond

Global supply chains are in the midst of a fundamental paradigm shift. From the late 1970s to the 2000s, many countries embraced economic interdependence through trade liberalisation and promoted a free market economy with minimal government intervention. From the global financial crisis in 2008 to the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2023), governments have been shifting towards a more managed approach to trade. This trend has become more pronounced, as the world’s power balance changes, due to the rise of China, emerging technologies impact security and economy, and the sustainable global agenda becomes important for the world’s future in the 21st century. Highly industrialised economies, which previously focussed on liberalising trade through the WTO and through free trade agreements (FTAs), are shifting to more neo mercantilist approaches. They are pursuing resilient supply chain policies and measures to support climate change, national security concerns and other non-trade objectives (e.g. human rights). On top of that, ‘America first’ protectionism under the incoming US Trump administration will cast new challenges to its trade partners - including its resilient supply chain allies. What are the implications for trade policy of this paradigm shift from efficient supply chains to resilient chains and the return of US unilateralism? Major [...]

By , |2024-12-18T12:44:51+00:0018 December 2024|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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