COP to COP Agrifood Legacies: A Key to Achieving Global Climate Goals

Transformations in agrifood systems are essential for addressing climate challenges, as they build climate resilience and enhance food security. Since COP 26, COP Presidencies, including the COP 29 Presidency, have been integrating agrifood systems into climate agendas, building in unique contributions that together constitute a cohesive, coherent global climate strategy.

This event foregrounded coherence, coordination, and the sharing of resources across COP initiatives that can deliver synergies and systemic transformations, in particular through COP 27’s Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership and COP 29’s Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Famers, which focuses on uniting agrifood efforts from all COPs. By focusing on how to achieve effective synergies, coherent strategies, and lessons learned from agrifood initiatives, the event sought to encourage and support accelerated national and regional actions that are crucial for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Moderator Kaveh Zahedi, Director, Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), opened the event by stressing the critical role of agrifood systems. He explained that they sustain the livelihoods of over a billion people and have the potential to contribute to and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, as they account for 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. He welcomed the opportunity to bring to the table initiatives spanning recent COPs to take stock and explore synergies.

Offering on-the-ground insights, Alberto Broch, World Rural Forum (WRF), highlighted the increasing prominence of food and agriculture in climate discussions, highlighting the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action in which leaders commited to integrate food and agriculture systems into climate action. Broch emphasized that family farmers are key to ensuring food security, despite the fact that they are the most affected by climate change and receive insufficient funding to adapt. Broch urged giving family farmers a voice in the climate negotiations and access to long-term funding. He said WRF, which represents over 50 million farmers in 94 countries, is “committed to supporting this path to sustainable agriculture and climate action. You can count on us.”

Mary Creagh, Minister for Nature, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK, kicked off the discussion by taking stock of legacy initiatives from recent COPs that have produced a cohesive strategy for achieving agrifood system transformation. She also offered visions of what the current momentum can deliver in future negotiations.

Creagh highlighted collaborative work and dialogues launched at COP 26 to drive transformation, including the Global Methane Pledge (GMP). Looking forward, she emphasized that collaboration is key to delivering on the UAE Declaration. She said such collaboration must address, inter alia, water resilient partnerships, policy reform, and repurposing subsidies to remove “perverse incentives” that undermine the climate and livelihoods.

Adel Abdelazeem, Ministry of Agriculture, COP 27 Presidency, Egypt, stressed that the impacts of climate change on agriculture have never been fully understood and that the objective must be a future that is more sustainable and secure. He emphasized reforms that have improved access to financing and climate-smart agriculture technologies and training to smallholder farmers in Egypt, which has also integrated agriculture into its national climate strategy in alignment with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Abdelazeem envisioned “an Africa that leads in climate-smart agriculture”; however, this requires finance. He emphasized that COP 29 provides a moment to strengthen the mobilization of effective solutions to transform agricultural systems.

Amna Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates (UAE), welcomed the opportunity to reflect on how COP 28 helped put food and agriculture at the forefront of the global climate agenda, especially through the UAE Declaration that has been endorsed by 160 nations. She urged collaboration to push the transformation of agrifood systems as a climate solution, saying “no one nation can act alone at this time.” She highlighted the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) initiative has grown investments in climate-smart agriculture, with 800 partners and 56 countries comprising the joint initiative. Al Dahak highlighted the UAE’s upcoming launch of a National Agricultural Center to provide technological support for small- and medium-holder farms. “Now we need to collectively press the accelerator to transform our food and agriculture systems,” she concluded.

Majnun Mammadov, Minister of Agriculture, Azerbaijan, highlighted the launch of the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers, which is aligned with the objectives of the UAE Declaration and builds on the “growing recognition of food and agriculture as a powerful solution for climate change.” With financing and investments, he added, farms can be key agents of change and they are “deserving of every support we can muster.” Mammadov characterized the Harmoniya Initiative as a “global matchmaker connecting initiatives and resources in ways that yield results.”

Following the interventions, speakers representing former and current COP Presidencies, youth representative Glindys Luciano led a panel discussion on lessons learned from food and agricultural initiatives and potential synergies. She asked panelists how they may benefit from COP 29 agrifood legacies and for suggestions to build on them and for collaboration.

Claudia Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany, stressed that moving forward requires “combining our powers,” including through initiatives. Müller underscored that new initiatives are not always necessary as existing initiatives can be built upon and taken “to the next level.” She urged making the topic of agrifood system transformation more prominent at COPs because colleagues working on carbon markets, energy, and agrifood systems are all “looking at the same resources.” She encouraged expanding the FAST Partnership and Harmoniya Initiative and including youth voices in policymaking.

Yermek Kenzhekhanuly, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, underscored how COP initiatives have been essential for the sharing of best practices. He highlighted how Kazakhstan was diversifying crop areas, using less water, and enhancing resilience through the production of seeds with higher yields and more resilience. Kenzhekhanuly emphasized that Kazakhstan supports the FAST Partnership and Harmoniya Initiative and called COP 29 a significant milestone with respect to agrifood systems.

Nigar Arpadarai, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP 29, highlighted her role of bridging the work of non-state actors and governments, showcasing and amplifying action on the part of private sector, academia, businesses, young people, and others. She emphasized that addressing climate change requires a “whole-of-society approach” and that significant barriers and gaps remain, including, inter alia, funding gaps for adaptation and the need to strengthen food system targets. “We must work together across state and non-state actors to scale climate action,” Arpadarai concluded.

Miles Armitage, Australian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, underscored that Australia knows first-hand the impacts of climate change on food and agriculture and that sharing experiences and knowledge is essential. He called the UAE Declaration and Harmoniya Initiative “building blocks” that can be used to build relationships and highlight a shared commitment to engagement and climate-smart agriculture. Armitage emphasized working with farmers to produce policy and that these farmers are developing innovations that lead to improved land management. Indigenous Peoples, in particular, he added, are stewards of the land and can share their traditional knowledge.

Stuart Horne, Climate Change Ambassador, New Zealand, highlighted the Global Research Alliance (GRA), which is working to grow more food with fewer emissions. He explained that the GRA works with 68 member countries on a range of COP initiatives with a collaboration ethos and a whole-of-system, intergenerational approach.

Gonzalo Muñoz Abogabir, Chair of Food Strategy, Non-State Actors Directive Committee, COP 28, called the Harmoniya Initiative “a testament to what can be achieved when we work together.” Abogabir called the alignment of COP legacies a signal to the global economy and to COP Presidencies to combine resources to achieve climate, nature, biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said food system transformation is underway and that governments must put in place policies and incentives that support further action.

Leyli Aghayeva, Department for Work with Farmers, Associations, and Cooperatives, Ministry of Agriculture, Azerbaijan, noted that this event has underscored the critical role agrifood systems play in addressing climate change, saying, “It is clear that collaboration is not just an option; it is a necessity.” Aghayeva stressed that the Harmoniya Initiative emphasizes the importance of investing in farmers and making funding more impactful. Summarizing the discussions, she pointed to how they “have not only affirmed our shared commitment but have also demonstrated the power of continuity and coordination in turning ambition into action.”

Bruno Brasil, Director, Sustainable Production and Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Brazil, stressed that looking ahead to COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, “enhancing the resilience of agrifood systems is a top priority.” He highlighted the droughts and extreme rainfall that are impacting Brazil and how these climate-fueled disasters are most devastating to the most vulnerable people. He urged catalyzing efforts to overcome socioeconomic vulnerabilities and stated that food and agriculture is being integrated as an essential component of its NDCs and domestic policies.

Closing the event, Jala Ibrahimova, COP 29 Presidency Action Agenda Team Co-Lead, expressed “appreciation for the excellent discussion” and noted the increasing attention given to food and agriculture from COP 26 through COP 29 and to COP 30. “We believe together we can unlock the potential of agriculture to protect our planet,” she concluded.

Organizer: FAO 

Contacts: Jala Ibrahimova, COP 29 Presidency I Jala.ibrahimova@cop29.az; Imelda Bacudo, FAO I Imelda.Bacudo@fao.org; Martial Bernoux, FAO I Martial.Bernoux@fao.org

Website: https://www.fao.org/