The COP29 closing statement of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. COP29 comes at the close of a brutal year – a year seared by record temperatures, and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise. Finance has been priority number one. Developing countries swamped by debt, pummelled by disasters, and left behind in the renewables revolution, are in desperate need of funds.
REMARKS AT THE COP29 HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON DELIVERING EARLY WARNINGS FOR ALL AND ADDRESSING EXTREME HEAT
Excellencies, friends,
Welcome.
It is a pleasure to join you today – in the home stretch of a brutal year.
2024 has shown climate calamity is now commonplace.
This is on track to be the hottest year in the history books.
It has scorched countries and communities with temperatures that push the limits of human endurance.
And around the world, we’ve seen record rains and hurricanes, historic fires, and deadly droughts.
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22, 2024. It aims to accelerate global climate action amid escalating environmental challenges. The conference will focus on securing the significant financial investments needed to reduce emissions and protect vulnerable populations, while also urging nations to update their climate action plans to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymers, started a groundbreaking collaboration with PARFUMS CHRISTIAN DIOR, a pioneer in luxury industry innovation, and iconic Maison from LVMH Group (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton). Following three years of close collaboration between Avantium and LVMH Recherche and under LVMH’s offtake agreement with Avantium, PARFUMS CHRISTIAN DIOR will implement Releaf®, Avantium’s brand name for the polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate), in its packaging. Dior will be the first in the cosmetics industry to use this cutting-edge, 100% plant-based material for its primary packaging.
After several months of efforts, the Company has been unable to find investors for its 2,500-ton plant dedicated to the cosmetics market, in a highly unfavorable context for the financing of first-of-a-kind projects. The Company is now devoting all its energy to applying its technology to the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (“SAF”), with a model of industrial partnerships.
UPM Biochemicals, Selenis and Bormioli Pharma have partnered to produce the world’s first pharmaceutical bottles made from partially wood-based PET. This bottle takes sustainability in pharma packaging to a whole new level. As the high regulatory and performance requirements for pharma packaging may limit the use of new or recycled materials, this bottle uses standard PET which is made with UPM’s world first wood based BioMEG, UPM BioPuraTM, to take a real step forward in the sustainable transformation of the pharmaceutical sector.
This is a great news for the European and the world bioeconomy. Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymers, last Tuesday celebrated the Official Opening Ceremony of its FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The plant opening was officiated by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in the presence of international and Dutch dignitaries, partners and Avantium employees.
Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, started a collaboration with Royal Vezet, Europe’s largest fresh food company specializing in convenience vegetables, fruits, salads, and fresh meals. Together, Royal Vezet and Avantium will work closely to implement Avantium’s PEF for packaging of salad bowls. These PEF-based trays will be used by Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands.
The Global Bioeconomy Summit will be held in Africa this year. In Nairobi from 23 to 24 October the world bioeconomy stakeholders will gather to put once again the bioeconomy at the heart of the ecological transition. The Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) is a prestigious international event that brings together bioeconomy leaders from around the world, reflecting the interdisciplinary and diverse nature of the field. For the first time, GBS will be hosted outside Europe. Launched in 2015, GBS was designed to be a global, inclusive summit, uniting experts from all corners of the world to showcase the bioeconomy’s diverse and interdisciplinary features.
Climate change, population growth, soil degradation, biodiversity loss. These are the main challenges that humanity is called to face. The circular bioeconomy is one of the keys to tackling them and overcoming them, reconciling the economy with society and the environment. To make policy makers and public opinion aware about what exactly is the circular bioeconomy there is now a book written by Mario Bonaccorso and published in Italian by Edizioni Ambiente and in English by the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 