This was said in the “roadmap” presented Sunday at the climate conference in Dubai. With 600 million people facing chronic hunger by 2030 and a worsening global climate crisis, the roadmap calls for a transformation of food systems.
Hunger and all forms of malnutrition must be eliminated without exceeding the 1.5 degree threshold set by the Paris Climate Agreement. For example, the aim is to reduce climate-damaging methane emissions in the agricultural sector, which are mainly emitted by cattle and sheep, by 25 percent by 2030, compared to 2020.
The head of the German Federal Environment Agency, Dirk Messner, reported in Dubai that 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions are now related to methane. The gas is almost 30 times more aggressive than carbon dioxide, which has received greater attention over the decades.
Focus on livestock
Food systems could do the most to reduce the burden on nature and the climate. The key here is improving efficiency; all resource usage must be optimized. This optimization goes beyond simply improving agricultural production and encompasses a holistic approach that also takes livestock farming and breeding into account, says FAO.
On the one hand, livestock is a source of high-quality proteins and micronutrients, essential for normal development and good health. At the same time, however, the sector is responsible for 26 percent of emissions from the agri-food system, which is why a change in the animal feed industry and the promotion of new sources of protein for animal feed, a change in public policy livestock and restoration of damaged pastures is necessary.
FAO: Healthy transition for people and climate
It must also be ensured that everyone can eat healthily by 2050. The question is not “if” eating habits should change, but rather “how” these results can be achieved, writes the FAO on its website – and this includes better access to local markets, changes to school offerings, for example, and a change in taxes and subsidies for certain food producers.
more on the subject
35 million from Austria to the Global South
According to UN data, around 735 million people were malnourished in 2022. Around 3.1 billion people did not have access to healthy food. On the other hand, it is estimated that around 4.2 million people have an unhealthy diet, which promotes cardiovascular diseases, overweight and obesity, he said.
A change in diet would not only help the environment, continues the UN organization. Higher-income countries could benefit from reduced consumption of foods of animal origin, while lower-income countries could benefit from greater access.
more on the subject
Fuss over OPEC letter at COP28
Three-step plan until COP30
The FAO writes in its report that it calls into question the prevailing image that increased production means greater emissions and worsens the environment. Instead, the UN organization points to the possibility of increasing production efficiency in the agricultural and food sectors, while achieving the objectives of climate protection, adaptation and resilience.
The objective is to transform food systems within three years until COP30, he continues. Next year's COP29 will look at the complicated details at the regional level. Finally, they want to present “national action plans” at COP30, which also include areas of monitoring and accountability.
Record number of meat and dairy lobbyists at COP28
After it became known that more representatives of the “fossil” lobby than ever before were present at this year's World Climate Conference, figures for meat and dairy lobbyists were recently published.
In principle, the meat and dairy industries are particularly well represented with 120 delegates, writes the British “Guardian”. An analysis of the delegate list on the DeSmog website also shows that the number of those representing the interests of the wider agricultural industry is 340, which has more than doubled since 2022. The world's largest agricultural companies are represented, such as the supplier of meat company JBS, fertilizer giant Nutrien, food company Nestlé and pesticide manufacturer Bayer.
“Use the event to lobby”
The Guardian has previously reported that major meat companies and pressure groups were planning a large presence and communications strategy at COP28 that, among other things, claimed that meat was good for the environment and climate. One association said it would urge the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to present “positive content in terms of livestock” at COP28.
more on the subject
No country is doing enough to protect the climate
“If they are here, they have an advantage. These are solutions to face the climate crisis, but companies are taking advantage of the event to lobby. They are going in the opposite direction,” the Guardian quoted a representative of Brazil’s small farmers as saying.
According to WWF, more than a third of the world's climate-damaging greenhouse gases come from food – foods of animal origin are considered particularly harmful. According to BOKU researchers, an Austrian's meat-rich diet causes an average of one and a half tons of CO2 emissions per year.