Cultivate: Food and agribusiness newsletter

Welcome to the 19^th issue of Norton Rose Fulbright’s flagship journal for the food & agribusiness sector, Cultivate. In this edition, we focus on climate change. Businesses and governments around the world are working together to find and fund solutions, reduce carbon emissions, ensure clean water and air, and produce food more efficiently in an increasingly volatile environment.

Our first article looks at the impact of risks caused by climate change in the food and agribusiness sector. We examine both the physical risks arising from climate change and the impact of food production on the environment, before briefly touching on the ways these risks can be mitigated and reduced to help protect the environment and the food and agribusiness sector.

This leads onto our feature pieces which are focused on innovation in agricultural infrastructure and technology in the fight against climate change. We look at every stage of production to examine the ways that new technologies and methods can to help mitigate the effect of agricultural practices on the environment. The problem now facing the industry is what motivates businesses to implement these often more expensive techniques?

The following article looks at New York State’s new Climate Leadership Act. As the US federal government has in recent years has de-emphasized climate change as a priority, a number of individual states have increased their focus in this area. We take an in-depth look at the new legislation adopted by the State of New York generally, and its specific impact on agriculture.

Next, as climate change becomes more important to companies they are constantly looking for new ways to make their businesses ‘greener’. This has led to the creation of the transition bond and more sustainable financing. These new concepts look to help put agriculture and commodity companies on the road to a more sustainable future.

As the risk for food and agribusiness companies continues to increase, so do the disputes which arise from these risks. Our final climate change article looks at how people and businesses are actively pursuing litigation around the world to try and protect their homes and livelihoods.

Contents

Climate change and the food and agribusiness sectors: adaption, mitigation and innovation

Agricultural infrastructure for resilience against climate change

Innovation in sustainable agricultural practices 

New York State’s climate leadership act: the role and treatment of agriculture

Transitioning from brown to green: the use of transition bonds and green bonds, and sustainability-linked financing in agribusiness

Climate change disputes: a food and agribusiness perspective

The USMCA and its impact on agriculture