COP29: Advocates call for global Plant Based Treaty to address food-linked emissions

Environmental advocates highlighted the need for a global Plant Based Treaty to align the food system with the Paris Agreement and adopt the best practices in plant-based food policy at the local level, during the ongoing COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The campaigners implored nations to begin official negotiations to address greenhouse gas emissions related to food systems. According to the UN, about a third of all human-caused emissions is associated with food.

“We need a global treaty and international cooperation to scale up plant-based solutions,” says Cindy Veltens, Plant Based Treaty campaigner in Belgium and the Gambia.

Enabling plant-based transitions in cities

The presentation included case studies from 33 cities, such as Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Edinburgh, that have endorsed or begun implementing the global initiative’s 40 suggested proposals.

“The proposed treaty comprises three core principles, “Redirect, Relinquish and Restore” and 40 detailed proposals. It would redirect resources from animal-based to plant-based systems — a feasible transition like what’s happening in the energy sector,” Veltens said at the event.

“As this increasingly yields new and affordable plant-based food choices, the Plant Based Treaty will begin to relinquish, to halt the expansion of animal agriculture and harmful practices and restore the ecological systems that these practices have degraded.”

Group representatives highlighted that Edinburgh endorsed the Plant Based Treaty in 2023 and is now introducing carbon labeling into educational institutions.

Additionally, Amsterdam supported the Plant Based Treaty in 2024. The city is signing agreements with major employers, hospitals, community centers, prisons and care institutions to introduce “Vegan Fridays” in public institutions.

Plant Based Treaty campaigners note that food policy is “30 years behind energy.”Amsterdam aims to reach a 60/40 plant-based-to-animal protein ratio by 2030.

“We urge world leaders to start negotiating a Plant Based Treaty at COP29, and we need cities and countries to act on it and work on implementation,” says Enric Noguera, a campaigner with the organization.

International cooperation

The campaigners note that food policy is “30 years behind energy.”

The Plant Based Treaty is modeled after the Fossil Fuel Treaty, which aims to foster international cooperation to catalyze the transition to renewable energy and end the proliferation of coal, oil and gas in the current production system.

“Adding a global Plant Based Treaty to the UN Paris Climate Agreement will further protect our planetary boundaries by guiding the human community back to plant-based food systems,” notes Dr. Anita Krajnc, global campaign director of Plant Based Treaty.

The Plant Based Treaty proposals call for declaring a climate emergency and acknowledging the role of farmers in feeding the planet through financial incentivization programs.

The initiative highlights the adverse impact of monoculture-based arable farming and the need to shift to regenerative agriculture that prioritizes soil health and biodiversity.