Impact of farming on climate crisis will be a key Cop topic – finally | Food | The Guardian

Source: Impact of farming on climate crisis will be a key Cop topic – finally | Food | The Guardian

A third of the world’s food production is at risk from the climate crisis, research has found – but at the same time our food systems are one of the key contributors to climate breakdown. Greenhouse gas emissions from farming and the land use change that often accompanies it, such as clearing forests and drying out wetlands to make room for crops and livestock, amount to more than a fifth of global carbon output, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

But discussions of the world’s food systems, their vulnerability and their impacts, are confined to the sidelines of the annual UN climate change negotiations and given scant attention.

In part this is due to the divided nature of UN responsibilities, with food under the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which has its own summit machinery, such as the Food System Summit that took place in Rome in July. Climate is just one aspect of the threats to food systems, where economics and geopolitics traditionally play out very differently than in the climate talks.

This year promises to be different. For the first time there will be a dedicated food day, and food, agriculture and water will be the focus of at least 22 major events during the fortnight of Cop28 talks in Dubai, from 30 November to 13 December, presided over by the United Arab Emirates. There will also be a dedicated Food4Climate pavilion in ExpoCity, where the talks will be held.