Although it is difficult to make a summary and final assessment of the results of the last Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP27, it is possible to identify partial progress and future perspectives.
At the global level, the main concern is the limited progress in negotiations on how far the phase-out of fossil fuels should go, seen as the main stumbling block to reaching the target of a global temperature increase of just 1.5% year-on-year – industrial level. The current geopolitical situation has meant that no progress has been made beyond a renewable energy concept.
In contrast, progress has been made on the issue of funding, with the establishment of a ‘loss and damage’ fund to deal with the effects of climate change, particularly in the most vulnerable countries. Something very relevant for Latin America and the Caribbean and a change from the prevailing position which suggested that the climate finance structure already in place should be the one that should take care of these issues.
The operational modalities of this fund have yet to be defined, including its scope and who the contributors will be – which should happen in 2023 – but what has been decided implies a significant change and a response, even in part, to the increasingly frequent and destructive climate events their impact on weaker countries.
The final text of the declaration lays bare the need for international financial institutions to be an integral part of the global fight against climate change, which is very important given the scale and transformative capacity these organizations have for the global economy.
On the issue of funding, progress has been made by establishing a Loss and Damage fund to deal with the impact of climate change, particularly in the most vulnerable countries.
For the first time, the operational text references the need for specific action on the oceans, forests and agriculture, linking this to food security as a fundamental priority for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those referred to as elimination of hunger.
In parallel, it is proposed to set up a joint working group to implement climate protection measures in the areas of agriculture and food security. Activities related to agriculture should continue with a broader vision of its relationship to food security and involving the UN and other relevant institutions, academia, the private sector and civil society, including producer organisations. The group must report to COP 2026 and the various bodies of the Convention on its deliberations and proposals.
Farming is part of the solution
This is significant progress. Although neither agriculture nor food has been mentioned in the previous COPs, it still does not include the issue of food systems, the main topic of the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, the approach, what agriculture can contribute to mitigation efforts and in particular its Ability to serve as a carbon sink is deepened.
From the perspective of our region, the Americas, great opportunities are opening up regarding the role of agriculture in sustainable development strategies. The size of the natural resources it relies on and its weight in international markets make it a strategic component of global food, nutrition and environmental security.
The challenge is to bring this vision into the negotiations, including the empirical dimension of our agriculture, which, with its high efficiency and sustainability, is not part of the problem but clearly part of the solution. It is even more important to consolidate in our countries that the future only allows for sustainable and inclusive production strategies.
To this end, we have taken very valuable steps. One is the consensus message from America’s agriculture ministers delivered on the eve of COP27, which emphasizes the importance of agriculture as a tool for the tasks of climate protection and adaptation to climate change and its indispensable contribution to the economic and social strength of our societies.
The magnitude of the natural resources on which it relies [la agricultura] and its weight in international markets make it a strategic component of global food, nutrition and environmental security
This message implies a commitment to increasing the presence of the Departments and Secretariats of Agriculture and Livestock in the national, hemispheric and global climate discussion spheres, a commitment that began to materialize through the presence of Ministers and Secretaries of America at the COP in Sharm el Sheikh . Also in the activities of the Pavilion of the House of Sustainable Agriculture of America, organized at this summit by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) together with more than 40 partners from the public and private sectors under the motto “Feeding the World, the Planet care for”.
We must now turn the general consensus into a work plan with concrete actions.
A roadmap seems clear: Sustainable agriculture, based on science and innovation and with the leadership of its farmers, must be part of the solution to the problems that hinder human development.
Manuel Otero He is Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA).
Follow PLANETA FUTURO on TwitterFacebook and Instagram and subscribe to our “Newsletter” here.