Why food system transformation should be a key focus of COP28

On November 30th, the COP28 climate conference officially kicks off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There has been no shortage of commentary and controversy swirling around this year’s event, but personally I’m tempering my cynicism about the host country and the COP presidency, and keeping my eye on one area that’s finally taking center stage in the COP agenda: our food systems. 

When I attended COP25 in 2019, one of the most memorable and impactful speakers wasn’t some head of state or notable activist like Greta Thunberg (though she was certainly there). In addition to the Indigenous leaders who humbled and downright shook me, it was a modest Belgian dairy farmer whose plea resonated with me most. 

In an impassioned speech, he expressed the dire need to engage farmers in discussions around how to adapt and help mitigate climate change, rather than villainize them. While food systems account for an average of 34% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 70% of freshwater use and 90% of tropical deforestation, they also support the livelihoods and income generation of around half the world’s population. Although they may currently contribute to climate change, our food systems have the potential to be a climate solution — if we can evolve and innovate them thoughtfully and quickly. 

How Food Systems Impact, and are Impacted, by Climate Change

Our global food systems, which take into account the people, policies, and processes throughout the agrifood supply chain, contribute considerably to climate change. In order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (which we are currently not on track to do), we need to significantly reduce emissions that come from our food systems. Here is a breakdown of some of the solutions we anticipate being discussed at COP28:

• Regenerative Agriculture: Practices such as no-till farming, crop rotation, cover cropping, and agroforestry can sequester carbon in the soil, reducing GHG emissions and enhancing soil health. If you’d like to learn more about regenerative agriculture, the films Kiss the Ground and The Biggest Little Farm were incredibly informative for me personally. 

• Reducing Food Waste: A staggering statistic stopped me in my tracks as I was writing this — 17% of all food grown is lost or wasted. Whoa. Reducing food waste can mitigate GHG emissions from decomposing food in landfills and reduce the overall environmental impact of food production. There has been an insurgence of technologies emerging to address this issue, including many that focus on tackling upstream food waste.

• Reduce Meat Consumption in Our Diets*: Encouraging plant-based diets or reducing meat consumption can significantly lower GHG emissions associated with livestock farming. *It’s worth noting here that I recognize this isn’t possible in all cultures and societies (or for all bodies, for that matter) and is a much more nuanced approach that would require an entirely different article to address.

• Sustainable Practices and Technology: Investing in sustainable agricultural practices, renewable energy use, precision farming, and innovative technologies can help reduce the environmental impact of food production. For instance, did you know green hydrogen can be used to boost food production by helping produce zero-carbon ammonia fertilizer (ammonia production presently causes around 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions)? I didn’t either until recently and these are the kinds of things I get excited about these days. They’re also the kinds of things that will be discussed at COP28.

• Preserving Biodiversity: Protecting natural habitats and biodiversity can help maintain resilient ecosystems that support agriculture while contributing to climate change mitigation. Utilizing the wisdom and knowledge of our Indigenous communities, who represent only 6% of the global population yet are responsible for the protection of 80% of our global biodiversity, is a great first step here.

Like I said, there is a lot to unpack here and absorb. Our food systems play a multitude of incredibly important roles around the world, which is why it’s so important they’re finally getting the necessary attention and dialogue on the global stage.

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The Lead-Up to COP28

As hard as it is to believe, it wasn’t until 2021 that the United Nations (UN) started to prioritize addressing our food systems when it hosted the first UN Food Systems Summit to “awaken the world to the necessity to work together to transform the way we produce, consume, and think about food.” At the summit, the U.S. announced its commitment to $10 billion in multi-year initiatives to strengthen food security and nutrition for all, accelerate climate change mitigation and adaptation, and expand inclusive food systems at home and abroad, especially for the most vulnerable. 

The following year, at COP27 in 2022, the different roles food and agriculture play — as climate culprits, victims, and solutions — finally nabbed some overdue airtime. For the first time, an entire negotiation day (where heads of state, ministers, and other delegates discuss the implementation of the Paris Agreement) focused entirely on agriculture. Outside of the negotiations, five event spaces (where countries and organizations host panels and workshops) were focused entirely on food and agriculture. This was a much-needed first step to address what’s become an issue we can no longer ignore.

In addition to these workshops and meetings, some significant food-related announcements were made at COP27. The first was the launch of the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) initiative that aims to implement concrete actions that would result in improving the quantity and quality of climate finance contributions to transform agriculture and food systems by 2030. Then there was the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN), which recognizes the relationship between nutrition and the climate crisis that will work to guide governments, financial institutions, and the food industry toward shared goals.

Last, but certainly not least, an $18-trillion coalition of investors led by Jeremy Coller’s FAIRR Initiative successfully mobilized the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to establish a climate roadmap for the food and agriculture sector by COP28. The goal of the roadmap is to outline how the industry can stay within a 1.5°C pathway, be climate-resilient, and address nature and food security goals. 

In July 2023, in the lead-up to COP28, the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) was held in Rome to review progress on the commitments made during the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. The same day the summit commenced, the COP28 UAE Presidency launched its Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda with four pillars, covering national leadership, non-state actors, scaling up innovation, and finance — setting the stage for what’s to come at COP28.

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Food Systems at COP28

Suffice to say, there has been some build-up to COP28 and a lot of expectations on how food systems will be addressed. On the agenda includes a first-ever dedicated food day, a Food4Climate pavilion in ExpoCity, where talks will be held, and food, agriculture, and water will be the focus of at least 22 major events. In addition to recaps on the innovative technology in the agriculture sector that’s sure to be on display, I’m keeping my eye on a few key outcomes from the event, including:

Food Systems Declaration 

In July 2023, UAE Minister of Climate and Environment Mariam Almheiri launched the COP28 Food and Agriculture Agenda at the UN Food Systems Summit, acknowledging that tackling food systems emissions is vital to keeping the 1.5°C goal established in the Paris Agreement alive. During COP28, governments will be asked to sign a Food Systems Declaration, committing to align their national food systems and agriculture strategies, with their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). To be honest, I typically take these declarations with a grain of salt. I’m more of a “I’ll believe it when I see it” type of person. With that said, this declaration still holds weight and is an important starting point for accountability.

First-ever Global Stocktake 

COP28 will address the first-ever Global Stocktake (GST) which was released in October 2023, and found that the world is not on track to achieve the goals set out in Paris in 2015 (COP23), as I mentioned earlier. As a result, all parties and stakeholders involved with COP28 will take inventory on where the world stands on climate action and support, identify gaps, and work together to chart a course to enshrine Paris-aligned 2030 pathways, including pursuing efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C. It will be interesting to see if the importance of food systems transformation to meet the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement and the need for food systems-specific indicators in NDCs will be addressed during this.

FAO Global Roadmap

The Roadmap to achieving 1.5°C will present a package of agrifood solutions that will contribute to the climate, biodiversity, and food security agendas, as well as milestones for issues such as methane emissions reductions. It should go without saying, but given the complex nature of our food systems, I’m fascinated to see how they have plotted a course forward that decreases emissions, increases food security, utilizes sequestration techniques, and so much more.

Innovative Solutions

From what I could tell in my little experience attending COP25, it’s the conversations, meetings, dialogue, and collaboration that happens between the public sector, NGOs, and other stakeholders outside of the negotiation rooms and in the side halls and meeting areas, where magic really happens. The COP28 Presidency has stated that they will call upon a diverse group of stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector to accelerate existing initiatives across food systems, agriculture, and climate action. They also plan to bring together businesses, farmer and producer organizations, and other non-state actors to drive progress across production, consumption, food loss, and waste. 

If you’ve made it this far (thank you), I want to emphasize that this article is not an exhaustive list of everything food-systems related that will be on the docket at COP28. Nor is it a full depiction of the complex nature of the issue (and the solutions) associated with our food systems, but I had to stop myself somewhere.

In summary, the outcome of COP28 needs to include a clear plan on how to transform the ways the world produces and consumes food that will reduce agricultural emissions 25% below 2020 levels by 2030, while also decreasing food waste by half by 2030. Easy, right? Sheesh. For the first time in a long time, I have hope that the combination of political will, global cooperation, technical innovation, and downright necessity, might just make it possible.

Ultimately, COP28 is an opportunity for food systems to be recognized not just as a contributor to climate change, but also as a critical climate mitigation adaptation solution. I know a farmer (or two) who hopes that opportunity is realized.

DG+ Can Help You Communicate the Complex

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