Rome―As the world gears up for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, in a year with soaring temperatures and progressive extreme weather events, attention is turning towards innovative solutions to address the climate crisis.
The scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said it earlier this year the effective solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change lie in climate-resilient development and holistic measures―including the food and agriculture sectors.
While agri-food systems contribute to about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, they also hold a huge potential for positive climate action. The key challenge is finding ways to feed a growing population while reducing the carbon footprint and environmental impact.
COP28 will serve as a nexus for leaders representing governments, businesses, NGOs and civil society to forge tangible solutions collaboratively, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will be at the forefront of this effort.
Amid growing climate impacts and slow progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable agri-food systems practices can help countries and communities to adapt, build resilience, and mitigate emissions, ensuring food security and nutrition―in a world where around 735 million people are going hungry― and while reversing environmental degradation and its impacts.
“We already have solutions to tackle climate change, and many of these solutions, whether it is agroforestry, restoration of soils, sustainable livestock, or fisheries management, have multiple benefits as they can also support the sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as help with food security―multiple benefits from the same solutions that only agriculture and food systems offer,” said Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment.
At COP, FAO will showcase some unique agri-food systems initiatives with examples of projects that are demonstrating change on the ground. “We want to do everything possible to get climate finance flowing towards these solutions,” he adds.
Without a major increase in finance, reducing the vulnerability of people working in agriculture and food systems and reducing the emissions from the sector will simply not happen (16 billion tons of emissions were emitted in 2021 alone), Zahedi warns.
“This joint work is very important because it brings the discussion on agriculture, on food systems, to some degree, into the heart of the negotiation process and it allows us to talk about the solutions that this sector offers for climate.” FAO News
