7th November launch of COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming

As the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt starts 7th November with Presidents coming, civil society groups including the Carbon Pricing Food Coalition are vying for U.N. member state support of a climate agreement focused on food systems. The coalition is petitioning for signatories for the COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming to help governments to commit to reducing food or farm related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030. Participating countries are asked to take four select actions toward food and agriculture reform, publish annual progress reports, and virtually attend annual meetings. If all countries would sign this could avoid over 0.2˚C of warming by 2050, This goal builds on the Methane Pledge, a commitment made by over 100 countries to reduce methane emissions 30 percent by 2030.

A COP27 facilitated Press Conference about the Climate Agreement is given 7th November 13.30-14h (here is the recording and here is the powerpoint presented). At the same moment different Presidents will join the High Level Food Security Roundtable, a priority item for Egypt and Africa. Egypt, the incoming Presidency of COP27, published guiding questions for this High Level Roundtable, for instance: “Developed countries could share views on how to encourage more balanced diets and minimize emissions per calorie (e.g. through reducing meat consumption)” and: “Shaping demand for food towards diets that can remain within planetary boundaries, including lowering meat consumption, developing alternatives” and “Producing in climate smart/sustainable ways that will continue to improve productivity while lowering emissions and enhancing the resilience of food production to extreme weather and shocks”.

The COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming exactly mirrors these priorities for the Egyptian Presidency. The COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming is based on previous commitments like the Methane Pledge and empowering new climate initiatives for agriculture like the FACT Dialogue, the FAST initiative and the UK led Breakthrough Agenda. Signing the new Climate Agreement helps to catalyze global action and strengthen support for existing (inter)national food and agriculture related GHG-emission reduction initiatives. If sufficient countries sign during the COP27, this will contribute to the success of COP27. The EU Commission and other countries could be part of the first signatories, as they already committed policies aligned with the Agreement.

Here is the text that can be signed/endorsed. Here is a form for countries, regions and states (and food/retail companies) that like to sign.

The Climate Agreement on Food and Farming is open to further endorsements by Non State actors (business, civil society, financial institutes, local/regional governments, UN organisations, science, youth, health sector etc.). Here you can fill in a form for supporting the Agreement actively (by asking countries and others to sign) or passively (eg mentioning support on social media, in newsletters and on websites.

More info: info@climateagreementfoodfarming.org

Additional info and quotes:

The Carbon Pricing Food Coalition created the Agreement after the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2022 report on climate change mitigation. The report states that around one third of GHG emissions are associated with food systems. It advocates for dietary changes and a shift in agricultural practices to help mitigate these emissions. The COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming mirrors the food related changes proposed in the climate report.

“In Europe, meat and dairy cause 80 percent of all food related GHG-emissions, so a shift from meat and dairy consumption towards plant-predominant diets can really make the change needed,” Jeroom Remmers, Director of the True Animal Protein Price (TAPP) Coalition. The TAPP Coalition is a member of the Carbon Pricing Food Coalition and one of the initiators behind the COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming.

The Climate Agreement encourages countries to commit to policies that encourage livestock farmers to shift towards more sustainable methods of raising animals,” explains Remmers. “Various approaches can be deployed, [including] agro-ecological or regenerative methods such as crop rotation, low-tillage, multi-strata planting, organic farming. But carbon farming or producing methane (bio energy) from manure production are options too.