COP28: New report finds agriculture most climate-affected sector; calls for urgent food systems focus in L&D fund

Agriculture is the climate-affected sector globally, with 40 per cent of countries reporting economic losses explicitly linked to it, according to a new United Nations (UN) analysis released on December 1, 2023.

The study was released by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The document came a day after world leaders at COP28 reached a breakthrough deal to operationalise the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund. Some countries have already pledged money to the fund totalling $300 million.

Meanwhile, some 134 countries — representing over 5.7 billion people, 70 per cent of the food we eat, nearly 500 million farmers and 76 per cent of total emissions from the global food system — signed the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action on December 1 at COP28.

'Most stressed sector'

The FAO report is an analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 168 countries as part of their climate commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The document revealed that about one-third (or 35 per cent) of current climate action plans explicitly refer to L&D, highlighting the growing relevance of the issue on the global stage, with agriculture being identified as the single most impacted area.

Notably, three-fourths of countries explicitly mentioning loss and damage are middle-income nations. The mentions are concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by East Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia.

The analysis distinguished between economic and non-economic losses. Among countries reporting on L&D, 33 per cent of non-economic losses related to the agricultural sector.

But on the contrary, till now, agriculture has not been a primary focus in discussions surrounding loss and damage and climate finance.

The agrifood sector employed over 866 million people globally in 2020 and represented a turnover of $3.6 trillion, according to FAO.

“Despite its central role in global agrifood systems — encompassing production, distribution and consumption — agriculture has not been a primary focus in discussions surrounding loss and damage,” it said.

Communities relying on agrifood systems for their livelihoods currently face acute challenges, including poverty, food insecurity and limited access to services, the study added.

An estimated $3.8 trillion worth of crops and livestock production has been lost due to natural disasters over the last 30 years, FAO had said in its first-ever global estimation of impact of disasters on agricultural production.

Asia experienced the largest share of the total economic losses, according to the estimation released in October.

The FAO report also pointed out that existing methods often failed in capturing slow-onset events and non-economic dimensions of L&D. There was a pressing need to enhance methodologies and tools for assessing negative impacts of climate change.

“The lack of an internationally agreed definition on L&D further complicates efforts to address the challenge,” the study found.

Emirates Declaration

The Emirates Declaration was announced at a special session of the World Climate Action Summit led by Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy; Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa and Anthony J Blinken, Secretary of State for the United States of America.

This Declaration commits 134 countries to integrating food into their climate plans — or NDCs — by 2025, marking the first time in UN climate talks that countries have made a clear commitment to take action on the global food system.

The countries also included those with highest food systems-related greenhouse gas emissions like Brazil, China and the European Union.

COP28 and a group of partners announced a collaborative effort to offer countries quality technical cooperation and to help deliver on the objectives of the Declaration. The partners behind the Technical Cooperation Collaborative pledged more than USD$200 million in new and newly aligned support, while also committing to increase coordination across their wider portfolios.

Experts welcomed the Declaration, calling it a valuable step towards recognising the essential linkages between food, agriculture and climate change. They also called on governments to take urgent action and follow up with concrete investments to deliver the commitments.

Aditi Mukherji, director of CGIAR’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Impact Action Platform, and IPCC contributing author said, “Science and evidence-based innovations can be the fuel that drives forward the transformation needed across food systems. But this needs adequate funding and integration into policymaking to achieve impact at scale.”

Appolinaire Djikeng, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute, said all countries must be encouraged and supported to implement climate strategies that account for their specific national dietary needs, climate challenges and differing resources.

“Across the Global South, where the environmental impact of food systems is comparatively low and malnutrition high, this makes animal agriculture and livestock a fundamental reality. Empowering developing countries to sustainably increase the productivity of livestock offers the opportunity to achieve climate goals while also improving food, nutrition and income security,” said Djikeng.

The Declaration included clear references to reducing food loss and waste which, Lisa Moon, president and chief executive of The Global Food Banking Network, said sits at the heart of the food and climate crises.

“One-third of all food that is produced never gets to people’s tables. Further, food loss and waste is responsible for 8 to 10 per cent of global emissions. Food banks around the world are a time-tested solution by collecting surplus food and delivering it to those who need it. With stronger policies and other incentives, food banks can greatly increase the amount of food that is recovered, helping feed more people and reducing waste and emissions,” said Moon.

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