Il progetto

The overall goal of ADAPTA (Assessing and moDelling the trAde and environmental Policy impacT in Agriculture) is to provide new insights into the contentious relationship between trade, policies and the environment, with emphasis on the agri-food sectors, and a specific focus on both Italy and the European Union (EU). The results of this project will support the capacity of policy makers to promote agricultural sustainable development through the improvement of trade and environmental policies dialogue. To achieve these goals, this project (i) will improve data on the environmental impact of agriculture and the environmental trade-related policy indicators; (ii) will provide new insights on the interaction between agricultural trade, EU policies and the environment; (iii) will improve existing simulation models to assess the impact of changes in trade and environmental policies on the environmental sustainability of agriculture. The effect of trade policies on the environmental impact of agriculture will be investigated both at the micro-level and macro-level. As far as the former is concerned, ADAPTA will shed some new light on the rather scant literature dealing with the effect of trade exposure on firms’ pollution. At the macro-level, ADAPTA will provide advancement in trade simulation modelling to account for the complex web of trade links, by taking into account the indirect supply chain implications in the policy impact evaluation. These extensions will allow assessing the impact of alternative policy scenarios on different sustainability targets in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. Moreover, it will be analysed to what extent the EU trade protection given by tariffs and non-tariffs measures affects imports of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions embedded in agri-food imports. Finally, it will be studied how environmental provisions included in the EU Regional Trade Agreements affect the so-called Virtual Water Trade, defined as the volume of water content in traded goods. The project is structured to guarantee a high degree of integration across the different scientific working packages and to promote strong collaboration among the Research Units. The project outcomes are expected to have wide application as well as high economic and technological impacts. ADAPTA aims at providing evidence, improved data and new knowledge which can be used by a) the international scientific community; b) the stakeholders along the agri-food Global Value Chain; c) the Italian and EU policymakers in designing and implementing coherent trade and environmental policies, contributing to promote sustainable development of agriculture and food production. The socio-economic impact of the project will be guaranteed by the constant dialogue with relevant stakeholders, as well as through a detailed outreach plan to promote the communication and dissemination of the new data as well as of the major insights provided by the project

I risultati

Le attività di divulgazione