A commitment to reduce the impact of farming on climate change has been signed by UN climate summit attendees for the first time.
Representatives of over 130 nations, including major producers such as the US, China, and Brazil, supported the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates. However, India was a notable non-signatory.
With the global food system responsible for around 21-37% of annual emissions, agriculture has up to now been a notable omission from the highest-level climate negotiations. The effects of climate change on food production are also being felt, and likely to worsen under scenarios in which targets to limit global temperature rises are missed.
The declaration endorsed the “profound potential of agriculture and food systems to drive powerful and innovative responses to climate change and to unlock shared prosperity for all,” and called for action to enable agriculture and food to “urgently adapt and transform.”
The international community pledged an initial $2.8 billion to support the food-climate agenda, while the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a $200 million initiative to help speed agricultural innovations to market.
Range of options to reduce impact
While the need to reduce emissions from cattle production is often at the forefront of thinking around agriculture’s role in climate change, less attention is paid to other possible solutions on farms. More efficient use of land, a continued shift towards renewable sources of energy and practices which increase soil carbon sequestration are just a few of the ways farmers can contribute.
Several ‘agriculture 4.0’ technologies can also aid the transition to lower-emissions food production, from using drones to make more efficient use of pesticides, to employing advanced irrigation and processing systems and AI algorithms which help farmers make better decisions.
In the UK, the Deputy President of the NFU, Tom Bradshaw welcomed the news — albeit with a note of caution.
“Regenerative farming is not a silver bullet but just one of a number of approaches alongside science-based solutions, and it is key that the government and farming sector work together to find effective and practical solutions,” he said.
“Governments across the globe have shown they recognise the investment needed in sustainable food production, but we need our own government to act now and implement the right policies so British farmers can invest in a sustainable future.”
