The other seven companies that signed the joint statement are ADM, Amaggi, Bunge, Cargill, JBS, Louis Dreyfus Company, and Viterra. Together, the ten companies have a combined annual revenue of almost US$500 billion ($675 billion) and a major global market share in key commodities including cattle, cocoa, palm oil and soy.
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The companies state that progress must be accelerated and scaled-up to support global efforts in reaching net zero emissions globally by 2050, halting biodiversity loss, and providing sustainable livelihoods.
“So we intend to build on our shared efforts, working with governments, farmers, and other key stakeholders in our supply chains, to accelerate sector-wide action and to identify opportunities for public-private collaboration to catalyse further progress on eliminating commodity driven deforestation,” the statement reads.
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The joint statement comes following a roundtable meeting in October convened by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry and UK Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Kwasi Kwarteng, supported by the Tropical Forest Alliance and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Ongoing collaboration continuing to COP27 will be supported by these parties.
“Eliminating deforestation from global agricultural supply chains is critical to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This joint statement from leading agricultural trading companies is a terrific example of the power of markets to end deforestation and drive climate action,” says Kerry.
“With the UN COP26 summit in Glasgow underway, it’s fantastic to see some of the world’s largest agricultural trading companies working together to cut their emissions right across the supply chain, helping to ensure we keep the 1.5 degrees target in reach,” Kwarteng comments.
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Shares in Wilmar, Golden Agri-Resources and Olam International closed at $4.50, $1.69 and 27 cents on Nov 2.
Photo: Bloomberg
