Commercially Connected Shorts - 12 November 2025

This week we look at:

• COP30
• EU AI Act Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content
• EU and UK public procurement reform
• Who's liable? Legal accountability in the age of AI: Part 3

COP30

From 10–21 November 2025, Belém, Brazil will host COP30, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Marking a historic first for the Amazon region and the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, COP30 represents a pivotal moment in the global climate agenda.

This year’s summit signals a shift from ambition to implementation. With mounting pressure to deliver on past pledges, COP30 is expected to drive progress across climate finance, carbon markets, and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

Our global Sustainability & ESG team will be providing daily updates, covering key developments in negotiations and emerging themes across biodiversity, energy, decarbonization, climate law and more. Through our video series and briefings, we aim to help navigate the evolving landscape and understand what COP30 means for business, policy, and the planet.

You can follow our updates here: COP30 | Business Topics | Eversheds Sutherland.

You may also be interested in this LinkedIn post, in which Global Head of AI & TMT, Nasser Ali Khasawneh, shares his insights on the evolving relationship between AI and climate change, an emerging focus at COP30.

 

EU AI Act Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content

On 5 November 2025 the European Commission announced that it is starting work on a code of practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content (Code).

The EU AI Act transparency provisions apply from 2 August 2026 and are intended to ensure that people are aware that they are interacting with or being exposed to AI. They require deployers and providers of certain AI systems to inform people when they interact with an AI system or view AI generated or manipulated content.

Under the AI Act the European Commission is required to issue guidelines on the practical implementation of these obligations, and the EU AI Office is required to facilitate the development of codes of practice on implementation of the obligations relating to detection and labelling of AI generated or manipulated content. A consultation on these guidelines and codes of practice was held in autumn 2025.

The European Commission states that the drafting of the Code will be an “inclusive, seven-month, stakeholder-driven process” led by independent experts. The resultant Code will be voluntary and will “support the marking of AI-generated content, including synthetic audio, images, video and text, in machine-readable formats to enable detection… [it] will also assist deployers using deepfakes or AI-generated content in clearly disclosing AI involvement, particularly when informing the public on matters of public interest”.

All organisations in-scope of the AI Act transparency requirements should monitor progress to ensure that they are ready to use the Code to help them comply with the transparency requirements when these start to apply.

 

EU and UK public procurement reform

Consultation on reform of EU public procurement rules

On 3 November 2025 the European Commission launched a consultation and call for evidence on reform of the EU public procurement rules, which could include both legislative and non-legislative measures.

The aims of reform include:

• simplifying and streamlining procurement procedures to make them easier to comply with, more efficient, flexible and transparent; this may include a digital EU procurement marketplace with a single entry point
• improving EU economic security, sovereignty and supply chain resilience, including through EU preference criteria for certain strategic sectors
• ensuring that procurement policy is in line with strategic EU policies such as supporting innovation and social and environmental sustainability

Responses are due by 26 January 2026 and the European Commission intends to publish its proposals for reform in the second quarter of 2026.

Contracting authorities and suppliers to the public sector should consider responding to consultation to share their views and help shape reform of this high value market.

CMA sets its sights on further reform to public procurement to drive its broader growth agenda

CMA sets its sights on further reform to public procurement to drive its broader growth agenda: public procurement rules have historically been driven by the need to ensure fair and transparent processes that offer equal access to public markets by UK suppliers and those from the UK’s closest trading partners and thereby to achieve value for taxpayers’ money. The CMA is now however very openly looking at whether it can leverage public procurement to increase growth in the UK. Changes are being considered, and further reform is expected. With a drive to support new, smaller players and reduce incumbency advantages, alongside a crackdown on illegal bid rigging in public contracts, there will be winners and losers. Read our briefing for more information.

With thanks to Julia Woodward-Carlton, James Robinson, Elizabeth Marshall and Christopher Murray

 

Who's liable? Legal accountability in the age of AI: Part 3

Who's liable? Legal accountability in the age of AI: Part 3: what evidence will be available to navigate liability issues and prove fault?

In this series, we have explored some of the ways the autonomous and adaptive nature of AI systems looks poised to challenge our traditional legal frameworks around liability, causation, and remoteness of damage.

Each of these elements will hinge on the evidence available to establish relevant facts and satisfy applicable legal thresholds. AI’s autonomous and adaptive nature poses some interesting questions here too, particularly in relation to transparency, explainability, and accountability.

Read the third instalment in our five-part series to learn more.

With thanks to Simon Kenyon, Phillip Richardson, Laura Heeley and Dan Adejumo