World’s first “Food COP”: Agri-food systems finally tabled as “the climate solution,” but can pledges be implemented?

15 Dec 2023 --- This week saw the conclusion of what many hailed as the “First Food COP.” For the first time in its history, the UN Climate Conference made food systems part of its main program. While this landmark decision is hailed by many as progressive, others have a more cautious view of the summit’s reform, urging that agri-food carbon emitters must first begin to feel the “heat” before making effective moves on rising global temperatures.

Food systems are responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Historically, they have not been as visible at previous COP gatherings, as much as oil and gas emissions. But food-related emissions have been finally under the spotlight at the annual climate negotiations, to complement actions on the much-needed overall fossil fuel phase-out.

It was at the World Climate Action Summit, held right at the beginning of the conference, that FAO director-general QU Dongyu set the tone for the Organization’s message at COP28: “Global agri-food systems are the climate solution.”

Meat reduction was at the center of roundtable discussions, with delegates at COP28 dining on plant-based catered food.The message, spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners resonated over the last two weeks at the convergence of world leaders in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Conflicts of interest at a climate summit?
From negotiation rooms to high-level plenary hall meetings, a dedicated pavilion and over 200 events focused on food and agriculture, the importance of transforming agri-food systems remained in the foreground of talks. However, not all who had eyes on the event welcomed this as an immediate signal of progress in action.

To this, Sophie Nodzenski, environmental campaigner for Greenpeace responds: “You would think that meat and dairy companies that drive these emissions on an industrial scale should be feeling the heat at the ‘Food COP.’ Instead, they’re being given the main stage to lay out how they should be allowed to continue their harmful activities.”

Nodzenski argues that multilateral meetings like the COP are “increasingly infiltrated by corporate interests” showcasing high-profile announcements and climate initiatives at “side meetings rife with greenwashing.”

This trend is justified by “multistakeholderism,” she adds, which is an approach to policymaking that allows companies to participate in decision-making processes, even when conflicts of interest arise between climate action and corporate profits. 

When multistakeholderism is in effect, Nodzenski warns climate action can be limited to only “market-friendly interventions and voluntary initiatives” rather than “robust measures that involve state regulations.”

“The oil and gas industry has been widely documented using this tactic through infiltrating climate meetings, ultimately trying to steer the global community away from meaningful action,” she comments.

Plant-based cornerstone
On the first full day of COP28, a Declaration on sustainable agriculture — called for at previous COP events — was finally signed by countries who pledged to reduce carbon emissions from the food system by including them in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) and other national climate action plans. 

Meat-free diets were at the center of table talks at the summit. The over 70,000 delegates in attendance at COP28 this year were served largely climate-friendly meals.

The global dairy industry took the occasion of COP28 to issue a pledge to monitor its methane emissions.A study in Nature Food recently found that 57% of GHGs associated with agricultural production are caused by animal farming. Without interventions and productivity gains, an FAO report warns that global livestock emissions are projected to reach nearly 9.1 gigatons of CO2 equivalent by 2050.

The COP28 Presidency’s decision to serve two-thirds plant-based food came about after pro-vegan activist group ProVeg supported two other organizations — YOUNGO and Food@COP — to engage the organizers in ensuring most food at the summit was plant-based.

Meanwhile, the global dairy industry took the occasion of COP28 to issue a pledge to monitor its methane emissions, which ProVeg welcomed “cautiously.”

“The ‘Food COP’ rightly puts the spotlight on the link between food production and the climate. But it’s unthinkable that the biggest emitters in that sector, hiding in plain sight, get to run the show,” says Nodzenski at Greenpeace.

“Some of the companies involved are part of a cluster of 15 meat and dairy companies which together are estimated to have a methane footprint as large as Russia, Canada, Australia and Germany.”

Midway through COP28, the United Nations Environment Programme held a press conference in Dubai to launch a report that recognizes the importance of transforming the food system with novel protein alternatives. 

Critical need for financing agri-food systems
Through a new analysis, FAO warns about the significant decline in climate finance allocated to agri-food systems, jeopardizing their pivotal role in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity.

The report highlights that, despite the urgent need for increased funding to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Emirates Declaration, contributions to agri-food systems dropped to US$19 billion in 2021, marking a 12% decrease from the previous year.

Surrounding COP28, there have been debates that world hunger is caused by disproportionate access and entitlement to produce rather than its availability, with global farming leaders speaking to Food Ingredients First from the Dubai event confirming this.

FAO is currently working to help address the financing gap through the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation Partnership, known as the FAST partnership.

This multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at “addressing the insufficient availability and access to climate finance for agri-food solutions to climate change” was officially launched during a high-level event convened on Food, Agriculture and Water Day at COP28.

Azerbaijan will play host to the upcoming COP29 event.UAE’s stake in sustainable agri-food
At the event, the United Arab Emirates presidency launched the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, now endorsed by over 150 countries and supported by FAO. 

The non-binding Declaration emphasizes the transformative potential of agriculture in responding to climate change and ensuring global food security. The signatories commit to “integrating agriculture and food systems into their climate action, adopting inclusive policies, securing finance, promoting innovations and strengthening international trade.”

“This year’s COP will be looked back upon as a turning point for our approach to tackling emissions from agriculture,” remarks Lana Weidgenant, campaign and policy manager at ProVeg.

“We are now looking to Azerbaijan, host of COP29, to build on this progress that has been made in Dubai to boldly accelerate progress toward a climate-friendly food system,” she continues.

“In the meantime, we hope countries will be busy working out ways to include food systems in their NDCs if they have not already done so.”

By Benjamin Ferrer