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UN Deputy Secretary-General calls on COP30 to link food systems with climate action
Amina Mohammed highlights paradox of hunger amid vast agricultural labour
Doha Political Declaration reaffirms commitment to inclusive, resilient food systems
Civil society hailed as ‘copilots’ in advancing global social justice
Gaza’s recovery cited as test of restoring social fabric “thread by thread”
The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has called on countries meeting at 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change this month to align global food systems transformation with climate action, warning that hunger, poverty and inequality remain deeply linked to the world’s social and environmental crises.
Speaking at the World Social Summit in Doha on November 4, 2025, Mohammed said, “we have a critical opportunity to align food systems transformation with climate action, recognising that these challenges are inseparable.”
She was addressing a high-level Solutions Session on sustainable food systems during the Second World Summit for Social Development, where world leaders adopted the Doha Political Declaration to accelerate progress on the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mohammed highlighted the paradox facing global food systems: “Nearly 4 billion people wake up every day and earn their living from food systems. Their hands feed the world, yet hundreds of millions of them go to bed hungry each night.”
Despite slight improvements, between 638 and 720 million people continue to face hunger daily, she noted. Food systems, she added, “must nourish people, create decent work and dignity, regenerate nature and water, and build resilience so communities withstand shocks rather than collapse under them.”
Mohammed said the transformation of food systems depends on “recognising where systems fail people and on fixing each failure point”, including by ensuring women and young people have real ownership over decisions affecting their livelihoods. She cited examples from Somalia, Indonesia and Brazil — countries demonstrating “transformation in action” through investments that link small farmers to markets and empower women producers.
The Doha Declaration, she said, affirms collective commitment to accelerate action and investment in “sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems for people and planet.”
Earlier in the day, opening the Civil Society Forum at the Summit, Mohammed paid tribute to grassroots organisations, calling them the “copilots” of the UN’s social development agenda.
“Thirty years ago in Copenhagen, world leaders made ambitious commitments to a social development that must be people-centred and people-powered. Three decades later, civil society has delivered,” she said.
She praised women’s rights groups, youth networks and grassroots activists for shaping global agreements such as the 2030 Agenda, the Pact for the Future and the Doha Political Declaration. “You have carried this agenda forward for thirty years, and the United Nations is matching your leadership with action,” she said, urging them to “keep pushing, keep demanding, keep holding us accountable.”
The Deputy Secretary-General also referenced the devastation in Gaza, describing the work of rebuilding trust and community as “thread by thread, community by community.”
As the world prepares for COP30, Mohammed’s remarks framed civil society and local leadership as essential to driving social justice and climate resilience. “We have five years left to deliver the SDGs,” she said. “Food systems can accelerate progress across all of them if we get this right.”