Ten Takeaways: COP28’s Commitment to Our Food Systems
Written by Alexandra Orr
The past few weeks have been filled with reports and opinion pieces on the outcomes of COP28 (think the Met Gala of climate-summits), which was held in Dubai over the same period. This year’s summit was self-branded as a firm nod to the end of the fossil fuel era, however COP28’s climate agenda has been criticised as insufficient towards keeping below a 1.5ºC warming scenario. This has been especially hard hitting for some, as 2023 was the hottest year on record. It seems that the plethora of climate-change related information is having complex effects on our mental health, most recently termed ‘eco-anxiety’…
While it is not an easy task, it is important to try to embody a climate-positive attitude and focus on the good which came out of COP28. After all, an optimist is more likely to take action than a pessimist. COP28 did produce some real steps in the right direction; these include the formal establishment of a global Loss & Damage (L&D) Fund early into the summit to finance adaptation efforts in severely climate-impacted developing countries. Going into COP28 this L&D Fund had received USD$1.3bn in cumulative contributions, and is accepting private donations (you can donate using this link). An official commitment to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy was voiced, by pledging to triple the use of solar and wind by 2030. Most importantly, global leaders have confirmed that they are on the same page by committing to adaptation and the energy transition. This rise in ambition level will be the real driver of effective and inclusive climate action.
Summarising Food & Agriculture
Agriculture is the world’s most climate-vulnerable industry, and is also the industry which we most depend on. Agricultural practices need to adapt, not only to meet the needs of a rapidly growing global population, but to changing resource availability which our current production relies upon.
We love that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) body of the UN has committed to clear objectives and corresponding action plans. These aim to protect food-security of the global population as well as farmer livelihoods, and the FAO have already released a Climate Action Toolkit for national policymakers. The following objectives and strategies are official commitments made by the UN post-COP28, which reference data from the best available scientific publications (such as the International Panel on Climate Change’s 6th Annual Synthesis Report).
Through contextually appropriate approaches, the UN commits to the following 5 agricultural objectives to 2030:
Reduce vulnerability of food producing stakeholders (such as farmers, fisherfolk and other food producers)
Promote the food security and nutrition of vulnerable people (such as Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, persons with disabilities, children and women)
Support the livelihoods of vulnerable workers in agriculture and food systems (such as women and youth)
Strengthen water management and decreasing dependency on water in agricultural and food systems
Maximise/enhance the environmental benefits of agriculture and food systems (such as carbon sequestering)
Through contextually appropriate approaches, the UN commits to the following 5 agriculture protection strategies to be formalised by 2025:
Integrate the protection of agriculture and food systems into National Plans (such as National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions)
Orient (and revise) agricultural policies to promote resilient systems which reduce GHG emissions and maximise water efficiency without compromising on incomes or human/animal/ecosystem health
Scale up and increase access to climate-finance for food producers, as well as strengthen public-private partnerships
Increase the scale of research (including indigenous and local knowledge) for more resilient and inclusive food systems
Strengthen inclusivity and transparency of global trading systems, with particular focus on the World Trade Organisation