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29/01/25

TULIP Consulting Year in Review: 2024

To read the full newsletter, click here.

 

Editorial: Strategic Sustainability

 

With elections across the world, shifting domestic priorities, and important sustainability initiatives, 2024 was a busy year for TULIP Consulting. Most of our work centered around the challenge of safeguarding sustainability priorities, while empowering developing countries to adopt proactive green development strategies. We remain deeply committed to this work in the face of political headwinds.

In a report commissioned by Transport and Environment, which was cited in the Financial Times, TULIP provided recommendations on how the EU can better balance its focus on accessing critical raw materials with sustainable mining considerations. In forthcoming work for Fern, TULIP sets out how the new European Commission can redirect its international forest policy agenda, including by emphasizing policy coherence and inclusivity and by developing a new partnership model adopted to the geopolitical challenges of today’s world.

To advance sustainable development, developing countries cannot be more recipients and must adopt a proactive approach to green trade measures. Two academic articles by TULIP explore what this approach could look like for the circular economy and critical raw materials in Africa. In a policy paper developed together with Pascal Lamy and other colleagues from Europe Jacques Delors, we provided recommendations on how to shift the narrative on the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and use it as a green development tool.

Multilateral frameworks can play an important role in advancing sustainable trade and development. Ahead of an EU parliamentary vote in December 2024, which sought to reduce the ambition of the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), TULIP prepared a legal opinion, commissioned by Fern, arguing that the amendment would likely be inconsistent with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Making sustainable trade work for development requires addressing siloes between different multilateral institutions and frameworks. As discussed in our contribution to the WTO publication Least Developed Countries Trade Priorities, green trade discussions must better emphasize how developing countries can benefit from the green transition. Together with the Firoz Lalji Institute at the London School of Economics, TULIP also contributed various policy papers (forthcoming) on trade and environment developments at the WTO, and its implications for Africa.

In 2024, TULIP has been privileged to expand its clients and partners and to add great talent to its organization. Sanvid Tuljapurkar, a Georgetown LLM with experience working at the WTO, joined as a core member of the TULIP team. TULIP was also honored to welcome two visionary individuals to its Advisory Board. This includes Marianne Kettunen, currently at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who brings more than 20 years of experience in environment and sustainability, including trade, and Katrin Kuhlmann, professor at Georgetown, Director of the Center on Inclusive Trade and Development, and founder of the New Markets Lab. The existing team at TULIP has also continued to do a stellar job, with a shout-out to Sunayana Sasmal for continuing to bring new ideas to our work, and Gabriela Alcantara Torres for stepping in, time and again, to meet very tight deadlines. Thanks also goes to Claudia Azevedo, for the great collaboration and productive brainstorming sessions.

Thank you also to all our partners and clients for your trust in TULIP. We look forward to continuing to collaborate and work hard in 2025 towards our shared goals of a more equitable and sustainable world.

Colette van der Ven, Founding Director

January 2025, Geneva

Publications

Towards a Better Balance: Leveraging EU Free Trade Agreements to advance responsible and resilient raw materials trade

This report, commissioned by Transport and Environment, examines the extent to which EU FTAs advance sustainable and inclusive mining in producer countries. It does so, on the one hand, through an in-depth analysis of Energy and Raw Material chapters in EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and on the other hand, through analyzing the extent to which Trade and Sustainability Chapters comprehensively cover sustainability issues in the mining sector. It identifies gaps in the EU’s approach, and provides options to rebalance sustainability objectives with the EU’s focus on accessing critical raw materials. This report was cited in the Financial Times and Politico. Click here to read the report.
 

Turning the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism into a green development tool

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has provoked considerable debate worldwide and strong reactions by some of the EU’s partners. This policy brief, co-authored with Europe Jacques Delors, calls for producer countries to pivot their approaches by using CBAM as a tool for green development. Doing so would require carrying out producer-country impact assessments to better understand the impact of the EU CBAM, while the EU must fine-tune and step-up its support efforts. Click here to read the policy brief.
 

WTO implications of the proposed “no-risk” amendment to the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products

In November 2024, the European Parliament voted on a proposed amendment that would significantly weaken the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products. Ahead of the vote, Fern commissioned TULIP to prepare a report assessing the amendment’s compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization. The report finds that the proposed amendment, which would exempt certain operators from key EUDR obligations, would likely constitute impermissible discrimination in violation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and would not be justifiable under the general exceptions clause of GATT Article XX. Click here to read the legal analysis.
 

“Emerging trade opportunities for LDCs from the green transition” in LDC Trade Priorities – Looking Forward

This policy note, commissioned by the World Trade Organization, emphasizes the urgent need to address a growing “green divide” in trade and environment discussions at the WTO. Doing so requires proactive efforts from both developing and developed countries. In this context, the paper calls for a narrative shift and illustrates how the WTO can be instrumental in creating trade opportunities for LDCs related to the green transition. Click here to read the paper.
 

“Responding to the EU Green Deal: A Proactive Approach to Trade and Green Industrial Policy in Africa” in the Global Trade and Customs Journal

In this academic article, the authors argue that instead of reacting to EU Green Deal trade measures, developing countries should take a proactive approach. By linking the EU’s sustainability-driven market shifts to development and climate priorities, countries can turn the Green Deal into a development tool. Focusing on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), this article explores how African countries can leverage legal frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area and outlines policy strategies to advance their interests in global trade. Click here to read the article.

“Overcoming the Circularity Divide: Accelerating a circular apparel transition in Africa through trade in Journal of International Economic Law (JIEL)

This article explores how developing countries can leverage trade to accelerate a circular transition domestically. It identifies circular economy opportunities in the textile and apparel sector in Africa, and includes an analysis of how African countries can leverage relevant agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock these opportunities. In doing so, this article highlights the need for developing countries to adopt a proactive approach to fully utilize the opportunities presented by the circular transition. Click here for more information.

Upcoming Publications 

Recommendations to make forest policy more inclusive under von der Leyen II – Fern

TULIP Consulting is working on a technical report for Fern, focused on how the new European Commission can redirect its international approach to forest protection such that it addresses opportunities and challenges in EU producer countries, while enhancing coherence in the EU’s approach to international forest protection.

An era of EU mini deals? Policy Options for the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs) – Europe Jacques Delors

This paper, developed together with Europe Jacques Delors, explores how the Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships, proposed by the new European Commission, can be leveraged as a tool to step up engagement with EU trading partner, in particular, developing and least-developed countries.

Leveraging trade to advance biodiversity conservation – United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)/UNCTAD

TULIP Consulting is working on two papers exploring how trade can help combat biodiversity loss. The first paper examines how to incorporate trade considerations into the outcomes of the 16th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The second paper focuses on integrating trade into countries’ National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to support the implementation of the CBD and promote biodiversity conservation.

Navigating the Costs of Sustainability Regulations – UNIDO

Tulip Consulting is working with UNIDO to develop a paper that examines the costs associated with sustainability regulations and explores ways to distribute these costs more equitably.

Food security, WTO rules, and Africa – London School of Economics (Firoz Lalji Institute)

Tulip Consulting has developed two papers for an upcoming book focused on food security in Africa. In one paper, TULIP unpacks the implications of WTO rules on Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Fisheries on food security in Africa. In the other paper, TULIP addresses how the rules of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement can be leveraged to advance food security in the African Continent.

Carbon Pricing Trends and Implications for Africa – London School of Economics (Firoz Lalji Institute)

Tulip Consulting has developed a paper that summarizes carbon pricing tends, and analyzes the implications of these trends for the African Continent.

Authors

  • Colette van der Ven Executive Director See author

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