First APEC Live with Business focuses on climate change, collaboration

WELLINGTON, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- While the economic recovery from COVID-19 is the current focus of businesses and governments globally, the longer-term challenges of climate change and feeding a growing population also need attention, food sector leaders have said.

Speaking on Thursday at APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) 2021 LIVE with Business: A sustainable and resilient APEC food system, Food Industry Asia Executive Director Matt Kovac outlined the challenge ahead.

"It is estimated that by 2050, the world's population will reach 9.1 billion," he said. "More food will have to be produced using less of everything, with the added challenge that sustainable food products still need to be nutrient dense to allow people to have a balanced, diverse diet and support good health."

With around one-third of total global greenhouse gas emissions caused by crop and animal production, forestry and food production, and unequal access to nutritious food, the food industry and governments need to grapple with food security and sustainability issues, Kovac said.

Governments should work not just in consultation with industry, but in partnership. "The economies that approach collaboration will inevitably be more successful than those who think of working with the private sector as an after-thought," Kovac said.

APEC 2021 Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) Chair Vangelis Vitalis told the audience that hosting APEC is an opportunity for New Zealand to take a leadership role in this area.

New Zealand has led the development of a new 10-year food security roadmap, and endorsing it will be one of the key items on the agenda at the APEC Food Security Ministers' Meeting on Aug. 19.

"In the sustainability and food security space, it's critical not just to our nation's survival, but also to our economic future, and indeed contributing across the APEC region," said Vitalis.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said his company's customers increasingly expected the products they consumed to be sustainably produced. He recognized the dairy industry's challenge with methane emissions, and expressed his view that it could be overcome with collaborative effort.

APEC 2021 LIVE with Business: A sustainable and resilient APEC food system was the first in series of events bringing together business people and thought leaders from across the APEC region physically and virtually.

The events will set the scene for the big conversations at the APEC 2021 CEO Summit in November.