Global food organisations unite to transform food systems
New pathways report calls for action at Bonn Climate Change Conference
On our current trajectory, emissions from food systems alone will exceed 1.5°C between 2051-2063. The new report from the Food Systems Partnership – entitled Pathways for food systems transformation – calls for food and agriculture to be central to global climate dialogue and negotiations.
The report launches on the fourth day of the Bonn Climate Change Conference (8 June 2023) which is expected to lay the groundwork for the global stocktake and negotiations at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this year.
The newly formed Food Systems Partnership, which includes EIT Food, the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), Clim-Eat, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Carrier and Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH), evolved from the first ever Food Systems Pavilion which hosted two weeks of programming at COP27 and campaigned for the inclusion of a food systems approach within the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture.
The Pathways report synthesises key findings from national action plans, analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and assessments from leading food organisations including WWF, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and the Food and Land Use Coalition. While there has been a positive trend in the recognition of food systems as part of national climate solutions, the studies reveal that most countries are yet to realise the full potential of including and implementing action on food systems in their climate strategies and action plans.
Despite food and agriculture being recognised as the largest sources of environmental degradation, there is no mention of food or food systems in any of the four Global Goals for 2050 outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework launched at CBD COP15 in November last year.
Dr Lucy Wallace, Chief of Staff at EIT Food, which is serving as the Secretariat for the Food Systems Partnership, stated: The Bonn Climate Change Conference is a critical moment to elevate food systems within global climate negotiations. COP27 failed to fully recognise the role of food systems in strengthening climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience. This year we must go further and faster.
The Food Systems Partnership is calling on the COP28 Presidency to prioritise the role of food systems. In the new Pathways report, released today, we are advocating for international efforts to increase ambition, urgency and scale of action. We cannot achieve any climate targets without incorporating and implementing a more holistic transformation of our food systems.
Building on the momentum from last year’s Food Systems Pavilion, the Food Systems Partnership will focus on convening and unifying stakeholders across the food and climate movements and spanning the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, from farmers and youth to policy makers and scientists.
Tom Grasso, VP Climate Resilient Food Systems at Environmental Defense Fund, said: Our global food systems both contribute to climate change and offer some of the biggest opportunities to help solve the climate crisis while at the same time bolstering equity for smallholder food producers, ensuring inclusivity for Indigenous Peoples and enhancing community wellbeing. Together we can make significant progress at COP28 and beyond.
The partnership plans to attract a diverse community of supporters, establish a new ‘Producers Hub’ led by food producers at COP28 and has announced a formal relationship with the Food4Climate Pavilion.
Katie McCoshan, Policy and International Engagement Manager at FOLU, said: At COP27 we focused on building connections and cultivating a shared food and land use systems agenda within the community. This year, we seek to forge deeper partnerships and put them into practice at COP28 as well as at COP29 and beyond. We are exploring who else needs to be included in a systems-wide approach to food and land use systems transformation. This approach is critical not just to the climate agenda, but to health, livelihoods, energy, nature and water. The only option is to work together, including within the formal UNFCCC processes.
To find out more about the Food Systems Partnership and its COP28 programme of events, visit FoodSystemsPavilion.com, follow @ActionOnFood on Twitter or search the hashtag #ActionOnFood.
Want to join the Food Systems Partnership?
We want to collaborate with organisations, businesses and individuals across the food system and beyond – whether that’s through our work on a Food Systems Pavilion at COP28, or to be part of a wider movement pushing for #ActionOnFood.
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