Largely overlooked in global climate negotiations, food systems have become a top priority and are set to be discussed at the upcoming high-level COP28 summit starting on November 30 in Dubai.

Urgent Actions

Leaders are expected to sign a first-of-its-kind declaration that recognizes the "inescapable links between food systems, agriculture, and climate change" at the Global Climate Action Summit, an event parallel to COP28 from December 1-2. COP28 will also be the first to feature food systems on a dedicated thematic day scheduled for December 10.

Ahead of the event, food systems experts have made the case for urgent actions to reduce emissions and enhance resilience to ensure food security. There is a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that food system solutions should be "front and center" in the fight against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, according to Tim Benton, Director of Research for the Environment and Society Program at Chatham House.

"To address the transformation of the food system, we need to think about what is grown, how it is grown, where it is grown, and how much is grown and, therefore, what is consumed," he said during a press conference.

There is also a growing connection between poor human health and poor planetary health. A challenge is that much of the food people consume is not good for their health. As a clear example of how failing to address the climate crisis can impact human health, Benton noted that agriculture is now responsible for 81% of global ammonia pollution, which accounts for about half of respiratory deaths in Europe.

Therefore, transforming the food system is crucial for addressing climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss, pollution, as well as human health and well-being.

Food Systems are also Victims of Climate Change

Food systems are also victims of climate change, affecting agriculture productivity, reducing food security, and disrupting food supply chains.

"The business as usual is no longer an option," warned Patty Fong, Program Director at the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. "If we want to provide nutritious food to a growing global population and are tied to global climate and nature.

"The international focus on food as a systemic issue"

At COP28, there is a chance that food systems will finally get the recognition they deserve as a critical solution for adapting to and mitigating climate change. For the first time during a global climate summit, heads of state from many countries are expected to commit to transforming their food and agricultural systems. Additionally, actors throughout the food systems, from food producers to financial institutions, are expected to commit their resources and advance ambitious plans.

Professor Sir David Nabarro, Strategic Director at the 4SD Foundation, welcomed the increasing international attention on food as a systemic issue initiated by the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, laying the groundwork for the transformation of global food systems to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030.

"Food touches so many aspects of human existence [and] so many aspects of the future of our planet that it needs to be treated as a problem of interdependent systems," he said.

Some countries may resist

COP28 will present the "most intense treatment of food at one of these annual climate meetings I've ever seen in my life," he said, with the leaders' declaration being "the key to what will be a two-year process where countries will converge their climate and food work in ways that serve the interests of farmers and consumers of all kinds."

It is still unclear which or how many countries will sign the leaders' declaration, or how significant any subsequent action will be. "Early signs suggest that it's well over 50 and could go up to 100," said Nabarro. "It's huge. Because heads of state and government are saying, unequivocally, that we will bring our climate commitments and our food commitments together, so that they are integrated.

"There will be countries that hold back and don't converge. But I think it will be fair to ask them, especially if they've signed the declaration at the presidential level: 'What's going on? Why isn't it moving?'"

"More financial commitments are needed from governments, banks, and businesses"

Other challenges include the adoption of more sustainable practices among farmers worldwide. More financial commitments are needed from governments, banks, and businesses to meet multiple climate mitigation and adaptation goals, protect nature, and transform food systems, experts told journalists.

"We're calling for governments to reshape financial incentives and introduce supportive policies and regulations that genuinely create this market and trading conditions that favor healthy and sustainable food," said Fong.

Commitments and pledges at COP28 must translate into "real transformative and systemic actions," she added. "It needs to be supported by finance, by real money and through timetables and concrete emission reduction objectives, to protect and restore nature, to phase out fossil fuels from food systems, and to reduce food loss and waste."

"Food systems, especially industrialized food systems, are extremely energy-intensive and depend on fossil fuels throughout the value chain, from producing and using pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and plastics to crop production, fish, meat, and dairy processing.

In turn, transportation, distribution, and cooking activities account for 90% of deforestation and 60% of biodiversity loss. It represents 70% of the world's freshwater use. It is also a major contributor to poor health and nutrition."

Clearly, only 3% of climate finance is currently dedicated to food systems, even though they contribute to one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. Only 1.7% is allocated to small farms that produce about one-third of the world's food.

"Policymakers and market players have a responsibility to think about who makes the profits and to distribute the profits more equitably through the system, to enable farmers to do things differently that are locally appropriate," Benton said.

"A Cheaper Food Paradigm"

The other challenge posed by transforming the food system is the likely increase in costs for producers and subsequent price increases for consumers.

"I think it's a key question that we haven't properly addressed," Benton said. "And to some extent, it's a challenge and an opportunity. The opportunity is that because there's so much consolidation, especially in global markets, if we can convince five or six companies to do the right thing properly and sustainably, then large-scale change can happen very, very quickly.

The risk, of course, is that the business model maintains the status quo, and power asymmetries block the capacity to build local resilience on a small scale."

But the opportunity is significant, Benton emphasized, "if big businesses genuinely decide that they want to start making more money from selling goods that are produced properly and sustainably, rather than making money from goods that are produced unsustainably, which has been the case throughout history."

And he concluded on a hopeful note: "I've been working in this space for decades, ten years ago no one had heard of the term food systems, then we had the Food Systems Summit. Now, we're very firmly introducing it into the COP agenda. So, this really needs to be celebrated."