Open letter signed by 70 groups and individuals calls for food systems transformation to be put higher on the agenda at the upcoming Dubai Summit
Campaign groups, philanthropists, and businesses have urged governments to put “ambitious food systems transformation” at the heart of this year’s UN climate talks.
More than 70 organisations have this week signed an open letter calling on all Parties attending COP28 Climate Summit to “acknowledge the critical role of food systems – including food production, consumption and waste, land use change and nutrition in achieving the Paris Goals”.
“We hope governments around the world will make a political statement that acknowledges the role of food systems in the climate agenda,” the letter states. “The final outcomes of COP28 [Climate Summit] must include a clear way forward to spur ambitious food systems transformation nationally.”
Cultivated meat firm Aleph Farms, fertiliser company Yara International, agrochemical company UPL, consumer goods giant Unilever, and lab-grown seafood innovator BlueNalu are among the firms to have signed the letter, alongside WWF, the Nature Conservancy, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the IKEA Foundation, and EIT Food, the food arm of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
A number of individuals have also put their name to the letter, including Kristen Schuijt, director-general of WWF International, Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, and Jennifer Morris, CEO of the Nature Conservancy.
The letter, which is addressed to all Parties to the UN climate change talks, describes the COP28 Climate Summit as a “critical stepping stone in fixing our food systems and safeguarding food and nutrition security for people and humanity“.
The organisations are also calling for “food system approaches” to be embedded in national emissions reduction plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the UN terminology – and national adaptation plans (NAPs).
“To unlock action that is proportionate to the scale and urgency of the crisis at hand, we must strive to put food systems approaches at the heart of the UNFCCC process,” said Morgan Gillespy, global director of the Food and Land Use Coalition. “Achieving this at COP28 would be a bold stride in the direction of 1.5C and a healthy, resilient and sustainable food future for all.”
The coalition said it wanted to drum up awareness of the importance of food systems approaches to tackling climate change ahead of the Dubai Summit, after being disappointed by the lack of progress at the most recent Bonn Climate Change Conference in June.
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