At the Sharm El-Sheikh Convention Center where the COP27 negotiations took place in Egypt on November 19, 2022. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
The Egyptian Presidency of the 27th World Climate Conference (COP27) pledged to prioritize agriculture and food issues. So far, this sector, responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and bearing the brunt of the effects of global warming, has been relegated to the background of official negotiations, far behind energy or transport issues.
At the end of October, a few days before the opening of the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, a multi-foundation assessment had found that food systems receive only a tiny share of public climate funding (3%).
In fact, more food was discussed in Sharm El-Sheikh. About 200 parallel events and four pavilions – out of the hundred set up for this climate high mass – were dedicated to this topic and, above all, a day in the official agenda was dedicated to it, November 12th, a first in the history of police officers.
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Finally, it was the inclusion of the issue of “loss and damage” from climate change on the negotiating agenda that brought attention to agricultural and food security issues, which are inseparable discussions of climate justice.
The focus was on innovation talks
“There has certainly been more attention, observes Action Against Hunger analyst Marie Cosquer, but as we feared, the debate has been monopolized by the private sector and focused on technological solutions. Instead of talking about power imbalances in food systems, these discussions focused on innovation.
“ At the COP, many see food systems as an issue of efficiency, but the problem goes deeper, points out Million Belay, coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa. It is economic, social, and the human rights dimension – right to food, right to land… – is fundamental. »
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Among the announcements made in Sharm El-Sheikh, the United States and United Arab Emirates’ AIM for Climate (AIM4C) initiative is a symbol of advancing technological solutions without systemic reflection. This scheme, to be increased by $8 billion over five years, specifically supports the use of additives in animal feed to reduce methane emissions from the energy industry, but does not envisage resizing the size of the herds.
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