Fairmiles roundtable to agree steps for a fair transition to net zero

Fairmiles 2.0 is to hold a stakeholder roundtable meeting in London on 15 December to engage policy makers from government and the private sector and agree steps to ensure there is a fair transition to net zero for developing country food producers.

The roundtable meeting will be hosted by the University of Exeter and follows the COP28 climate conference in Dubai and will be open to representatives of government, retail, horticulture, aviation and development sectors, particularly organisations with an interest in the impacts of airfreighted produce from developing countries.

It is estimated that airfreighted fresh produce to European markets benefits over 1.5m livelihoods in Africa. There are growing concerns however, that carbon reduction policies which seek to minimise food miles or airfreighted produce will create a barrier to trade which will unfairly disadvantage farmers in developing countries.

The roundtable meeting therefore seeks to agree a path towards climate justice for airfreighted fresh produce.

Fairmiles has been formed in partnership between Blue Skies, Air France-KLM, the University of Northampton, the University of Exeter and Beanstalk.Global and includes a consortium of over 15 organisations representing African fresh produce businesses, the air cargo industry, academia and the international development sector.

Anyone who is interested in joining the roundtable meeting should contact simon.derrick@blueskies.com or complete the expression of interest at https://blueskies.com/global/fairmiles/