World leaders are discussing action to tackle climate change at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

COP 27

COP27 is the 27th annual UN meeting on climate. It is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh until 18 November. The goal is to agree to steps to limit global temperature rises.

Global temperatures have risen 1.1C on 1850 levels. We are heading towards a rise of 1.5C, if it reaches a rise of 1.7C then the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates half of the world’s population will be exposed to life threatening temperatures.

On Saturday 12 November, climate activists marched through major cities to demand climate justice. In Swansea, the Swansea Fair Trade Forum and Fair Trade Ways Wales called for climate justice now and for solidarity with Fairtrade farmers, who are on the frontline of the climate crisis.

What about Fair Trade Wales & COP27?

Last week, we attended the Wales Youth COP at the Temple of Peace. Hosted by Size of Wales, this event brought the voices of young people from around Wales together to learn about and discuss climate change, and send a message that young people care about climate justice.

Fair Trade Wales brough Fairtrade bananas to the spotlight. We spoke of the importance of Fairtrade in combating climate change and encouraged young people to create banana art. The rules were simple: send a climate message or draw art on a Fairtrade banana. It was great to see that every young person was aware of Fairtrade and the importance of buying Fairtrade for people and the planet.

Bananas no more! Fairtrade Unveils First-Ever ‘Non-Fungible Banana’.

With an estimated global export value of $7 billion dollars per year, banana trade is the cornerstone of many countries’ economies.

The crop is at risk from climate change and the threats posed by plant diseases like Fusarium TR4, according to the Fairtrade and Climate Change study released in late 2021.

Fairtrade has unveiled the first-ever ‘Non-Fungible Banana’ in an effort to spotlight the increasing threat climate change poses to the planet’s most beloved food products and the farmers and workers producing them.

Visit the last banana on earth, before it’s too late.

So… what does Fairtrade do for climate justice?

Here are some things Fairtrade does for the environment:

1. The Fairtrade Premium is additional money, on top of the Fairtrade minimum price, paid to producer organisations or cooperatives to democratically decide how to spend. Often this is spend on building climate resilience and adaptation.
2. Well, in 6 months, Fairtrade producers in Latin America and the Caribbean have planted 300,000 trees. That’s over 1,500 trees a day for 6 months!
3. Fairtrade farmers reduce their use of harmful pesticides. Did you know, Kenyan Fairtrade roses are produced with 70% less insecticides and 75% less fungicides than average Kenyan roses? They even have a lower carbon footprint than Dutch alternatives, this includes transportation emissions.
4. There are climate focused programmes for producers. These are Fairtrade programmes that support farmers through the climate crisis, like the Climate Academy in Kenya. Fairtrade also runs climate mitigation workshops for farmers like at the NAPP climate school in India.
5. Fairtrade also supports 1,305 dedicated biodiversity guardians managing 2.38 million hectares of Fairtrade farmland – true Guardians of the Planet!
6. Fairtrade Carbon Credit projects also enable producers to make their contribution to climate change mitigation while adapting to climate change. They focus on either energy efficiency, renewable energy, or afforestation/reforestation.

Stand in solidarity with Fairtrade farmers and demand action now!