T20 South Africa – Policy Brief: Promoting Sustainable and Inclusive Global Value and Supply Chains: Bridging the North-South Gap

A new T20 policy brief co authored by Climate and Company has just been published under the South African G20 Presidency. Elisabeth Hoch, Paula Pinto Zambrano, and Sofia Helena Zanella Carra from Climate and Company collaborated with colleagues from Fundar Argentina, the Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas at UNLP Argentina, the Sustainability Research Group at the University of Basel Switzerland, ESTRATECO Argentina, and the International Food Policy Research Institute IFPRI US to prepare this timely analysis on how to bridge the North South gap in global value and supply chains

The brief highlights the growing complexity created by rapidly expanding sustainability linked trade regulations such as due diligence laws, deforestation regulations, and border carbon measures. While these policies can improve environmental and social outcomes, they also risk imposing high compliance burdens on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises and suppliers in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. As global trade becomes more fragmented and uncertainties rise, many producers face exclusion from international markets and value chains.

To address these challenges, the authors recommend that the G20 establish a Global Coalition for Sustainable and Inclusive Trade. This Coalition would serve as a platform for knowledge sharing, coordinated dialogue, and practical cooperation across North South and South South partners. It would support regulatory coherence and interoperability, deliver technical assistance, strengthen MSME capacities, and promote more equitable participation in global value chains.

The policy brief calls for renewed leadership from the G20 to advance sustainable, fair, and inclusive trade systems at a time when multilateralism is under strain. It argues that a coordinated approach can reduce fragmentation, prevent sustainability leakage, and ensure that developing countries are active partners in shaping the rules that govern global trade, rather than passive recipients.

Read and download the full policy brief below or on the T20 South Africa website.