With seven years remaining to achieve the shared United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), over 130 countries – representing over 5.7 billion people, 70 per cent of the food we eat, nearly 500 million farmers and 76 per cent of total emissions from the global food system – have signed up to the leaders-level COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 that is taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from the 30th November to the 12th December 2023.
The Declaration was announced at a special session of the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS), led by Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa and Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of State for the USA. It addresses both global emissions while protecting the lives and livelihoods of those who live on the frontlines of climate change.
The signatories of the Declaration stress that any path to fully achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement must include agriculture and food systems. They affirm that agriculture and food systems must urgently adapt and transform in order to respond to the imperatives of climate change and commit to expedite the integration of agriculture and food systems into our climate action.
“Today signals a turning point, embedding sustainable agriculture and food systems as critical components in both dealing with climate change and building food systems fit for the future. Together we will deliver lasting change for families, farmers and the future,” said H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saheed Hareb Almheiri, United Arab Emirates Minister of Climate Change and Environment, who supports the UAE leadership team.
Endorsement of a new Declaration at COP28 will help in strengthening food systems, building resilience to climate change, reducing global emissions, and contributing to the global fight against hunger, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Heads of State and Government have adopted a dual approach to climate action – mitigating the causes of climate change, most importantly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and enhancing the adaptive capacity of sectors to current and future impacts of climate change.
The Heads of State and Government from more than 130 countries on Friday signed a declaration to accelerate action on transforming agriculture and food systems, agreeing to scale innovation and financing for soil health and other measures to combat climate change.
The agreement, announced on the second day of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, included 134 nations encompassing some of the world’s largest food producers. Signatories make up 76% of food-based greenhouse gasses and produce 70% of food globally, according to COP28 leadership.
“There is no path to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and keeping 1.5C within reach, that does not urgently address the interactions between food systems, agriculture, and climate,” Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and COP28 Food Systems Lead, said in a statement.
As part of the declaration, countries have agreed to work together to scale up adaptation and resilience efforts for farmers, in addition to taking more action to transform production practices through addressing soil health, food waste and biodiversity loss. To meet those goals, signatories agreed to accelerate innovation and increase financing for agriculture-based climate solutions.
While food systems are vital for meeting societal needs and enabling adaptation to climate impacts, they are also responsible for as much as a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Many smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries are also facing heightened vulnerability to climate change.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) welcomes the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action and calls on signatories to immediately translate their commitments to the Declaration into national action and implementation on the ground and in the water.
“The commitment of world leaders to integrate food systems approaches (combining food production, consumption and loss and waste) in climate action is exactly what we need at a time when a 1.5 degrees future looks harder and harder to achieve,” said João Campari, Global Food Practice Leader, WWF.
“This commitment keeps the hope alive, but it must urgently lead to action to protect, sustainably manage and restore landscapes, seascapes and riverscapes that are critical to sustain life on Earth – particularly those being degraded by unsustainable food systems.”
Pledging countries make up some of the largest food producers and emitters, including the U.S., Brazil and China. Notably absent from the list was India, which said prior to the start of COP28 it would not agree to any agriculture climate actions that could compromise food security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last week the country is looking to launch a voluntary green credit initiative billed as an alternative to carbon credits.
Food systems are bubbling up to the center of global climate negotiations at COP28, with governments, private businesses and nonprofits committing billions of dollars to lower agriculture-based emissions. COP28 host country United Arab Emirates, for example, announced $2.5 billion to support food systems innovation through a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Farm groups across the globe have pushed for countries to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation plans don’t impact food security. The National Farm Federation in Australia and other organizations stressed the need for governments to work directly with farm
stakeholders to drive change.
“The Declaration will only achieve its objectives if farmers are at the decision-making table,” according to a statement from the World Farmers’ Organisation. “We invite governments to focus on working with us to co-design policies that empower and enable farmers to unlock farmer-driven climate and food security solutions and leads to food systems that are fair, inclusive and climate-resilient.”
And the international aid agency World Vision, has also expressed its support for the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. The NGO says that this ground-breaking commitment is a significant stride towards a sustainable future, and it applauds the 134 countries that have pledged to fully incorporate food and food systems into the next round of their nationally determined contributions.
In welcoming this declaration, World Vision hopes for accelerated innovations that will not only support farming communities but also safeguard livelihoods and contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions, which presently account for a third of global emissions.
“The commitment made by these nations is poised to enhance access to finance, scale up resilience efforts, and promote global food security. This declaration is an excellent opportunity to integrate food security work with climate action, as both are closely interlinked and interdependent. Our latest research on the impact of climate on conflict and hunger underscores that a healthy environment is indispensable for sustainable agricultural production. I truly hope that signatories will invest the resources required to implement the commitment and have a way to track and report progress.” – Mary Njeri, World Vision Global Hunger Response Director.
The Declaration helpfully recognises the importance of focusing on vulnerable groups, including children, through programmes such as school feeding and social protection. “It’s imperative that all climate initiatives include a child-sensitive approach as the climate crisis is a child rights crisis,” says Njeri.
World Vision remains committed to collaborating with global partners to ensure the effective implementation of the COP28 UAE Declaration, promoting resilience, food security, and sustainable practices that will benefit communities worldwide.
Meanwhile, Edward Leo Davey, who has advised the COP28 presidency on food this year, said if leaders in the signatory countries move toward genuine implementation of the declaration in their nations, “this will represent a significant positive step forward in the lives of smallholder farmers.”
“Farmers across these regions and elsewhere require support and financing for extension services, including more resilient and diverse seed varieties,” said Davey, the London-based partnerships director for the Food and Land Use Coalition at the World Resources Institute.
He said they also have needs for “more resilient and diverse seed varieties; for digital technology and access to meteorological data; and for the kinds of infrastructure and access to capital that will enable them to get their products more quickly and safely to market in the context of a changing climate.”
