World Wine Group Urges More Decisive Action to Address Climate Change

with the COP28 climate change conference concluding, International Wineries for Climate Action sent a letter to wine trade CEOs calling for more decisive action in addressing the real and increasing threat of climate change.

IWCA said its mission of decarbonizing the wine industry "is seriously compromised by the Conference of the Parties’ (COP) inability to stop new oil and gas exploration, and to agree on a date to phase out the use of all fossil fuels. We are disappointed that this year’s COP conclusions lack forcefulness and have in no way advanced the vital move towards detaching the global economy from fossil fuels to achieve a meaningful reduction in GHG emissions."

The letter goes on to say "the 2023 vintage has proved that climate change is our reality. We have experienced extremes of deep drought, intense heat and wildfires, and deep freezes in winegrowing
regions around the world. According to the OIV, global wine production is down by 7% this year, largely due to the effects of climate."

It went on to urge the "Conference of the Parties to agree on an end date for the use of fossil fuels at COP29. If we do not meet the 1.5C goal, our long-term survival as a business sector is jeopardized, and we will be forced to face significant impacts due to increasingly harmful climate change.