SWITCH-Asia

WHEN:  14 November 2024     I    TIME:  13:00 - 14:30 (Bangkok Time)    I    Watch video recording  HERE

Background:

To transform Europe into a clean, resource-efficient, net-zero and competitive economy, the European Commission presented in 2019 the Green Deal. This has been followed by a number of concrete initiatives, such as the EU Industrial Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Zero-Pollution Action Plan; the majority of which are now embedded in EU legislation. The focus now shifts to implementation and delivery to make the Green Deal a success on the ground. The delivery of the EU Green Deal will impact countries outside of the region by requiring exporters to the EU to meet similar EU environmental standards and encouraging greener practices across supply chains leading into the EU. It can also open opportunities for innovation in green technologies and investment in renewable materials and resource-efficient practices, while offering potential for technology and investment collaboration with parties in the EU. This webinar series helps to explore questions about the implications of the EU’s Green Deal for the EU’s partner countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. It helps to understand the goals and mechanisms of the EU Green Deal policies and look into their impact on sectors, communities and their stakeholders.

Webinar Session:

The EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component and the European Environment Bureau, are convening the webinar The EU Green Deal in 2024: Taking Stock and Perspectives from Asia to:

• Take stock of the delivery of the EU Green Deal;
• Understand what the Green Deal means for the world, especially the Asia-Pacific region;
• Present what can be expected in the coming years for the EU Green Deal and its implications for the Asia-Pacific region.

The discussion by the panelists will cover several questions, including:

1. What are the main pieces of legislation that were borne from the Green Deal that the world is currently focused on?
2. What are their implications for the Asia-Pacific region?
3. How will the implementation of the EU Green Deal inspire the Asia-Pacific region?

Moderator:

Elodie MARIA-SUBE, Expert on EU policy development and partnership building at the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component 

Elodie is specialized in European Affairs related to topics of circular economy, SCP, climate change and environmental management, and has extensive experience in stakeholder consultation and engagement at the EU level, as well as with high-level officials in Ministries of Environment and Finance in Asia. For over a decade, Elodie has worked in South and South-East Asia on environment and climate change. She is currently leading the SWITCH-Asia Technical Advisory project on Sustainable/ Green Public Procurement for Transformation.

Speakers 

Patrizia HEIDEGGER, Deputy Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau

Patrizia is the EEB’s Deputy Secretary General and Director for European Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies. She leads the EEB’s work on sustainable development and environmental justice and follows intergovernmental processes at regional and global level including the UN Environment Assembly. For UN Environment, she serves as an elected Regional Facilitator for Europe for stakeholder engagement. 

Michael BUCKI, Minister Counsellor for Environment and Agriculture at the EU Delegation to Thailand

Dr. Bucki holds a PhD, and Engineering degree, from the French National School for Forest and Water Management. His core interest is to find and share pragmatic, collective solutions for global citizens, producers and consumers to adapt to rapidly deteriorating “planetary boundaries”, and more specifically to adapt the EU “Green Deal” strategy of sustainable economic growth to the context and needs of emerging economies, fostering mutually profitable (industrial, agro-ecologic) transitions for affordable sustainability and resilience. Prior to joining the EU Delegation to Thailand, he was Counsellor, Head of Section at the EU Delegation of the European Union to India, where he led dialogue and cooperation between the EU and India on “Sustainable Modernisation”: circular economy, biodiversity, transports, smart cities, clean air and water, energy and climate change.

Tanzir CHOWDHURY, Principal Economist, Eunomia Research & Consulting

Tanzir joined Eunomia while undertaking a PhD in Economics at the University of Warwick, with a research focus on dynamic general equilibrium modelling in financial asset markets. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Economics from University College London and an MA in Economics from Delhi School of Economics, India. He has many years of experience in economics research, teaching and consultancy at leading academic organisations around the world. Tanzir works on many of Eunomia’s projects for the European Commission. His work also involves statistical and econometric modelling, evaluating the wider costs and benefits of environmental policies and analysing various market-based instruments used in environmental policies, as well as critical analysis of the markets using advanced economic modelling techniques. He has vast experience across various areas of economics, including environmental and resource economics, focusing on research design, sampling techniques, advanced econometric and time-series analysis, private and social cost-benefit analysis and economic policy design and evaluation.

Gert VAN DER BIJL, Senior EU Policy Advisor, Solidaridad

Gert van der Bijl graduated as development economist. Before joining Solidaridad in 2009, he worked 20 years in Dutch agriculture, including for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, as Policy Officer Innovation Policy.  Since 2021, he is responsible for European advocacy at Solidaridad Europe, with a focus on Green Deal, CSDDD and EUDR. Before that, he coordinated the Solidaridad global Soy programme as well as the Solidaridad work on Livestock & Leather.  Solidaridad is an international development organization working throughout the whole supply chain to enable farmers and workers to earn a decent income and produce in balance with nature. Solidaridad works with 1,200 people in supply chain projects in 45 countries across the globe.

Amit CHATTERJEE, (IIT Kgp, IITD) ASQ Fellow, SMIEEE Former MD ASQ India & South Asia Former Tata & Honeywell Executive

Amit has been educated at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)  Delhi, IIT Kharagpur and St. Stephens College, the University of Delhi in Management Sciences, Engineering Sciences, and Physical Sciences, respectively. He combines his academic bandwidth in interdisciplinary areas, anchored in strong fundamentals, with more than three decades of practical industry experience with major brands. Some of these brands include Cadbury, Emerson, Honeywell, Tata Group, FICCI and ASQ. The practice side of his experience involves roles of high impact and responsibilities in senior leadership, general management, and functional areas covering multiple geographies such as South and Southeast Asia, MENA and USA.

Agenda: