This ‘Finance COP’ must lead to investment in agriculture to meet the climate challenges ahead – that’s the message from the NFU to the UK Government, as the Prime Minister meets other world leaders at the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan next week.
The Azeri presidency wants to get the world back on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This will require governments to:
- prepare more ambitious climate plans (so-called Nationally Determined Contributions)
- unlock finance so that these plans can be turned into action.
The NFU has represented British farmers and the wider Farmers’ Constituency at the COP since 2015. We were there when the Paris Accord was agreed. The terms ‘food security’ and ‘food production’ both made it into the final agreement, much to the satisfaction of farmers across the world.
NFU at COP
The NFU is calling on the UK Government to put farmers at the heart of practical, progressive policies that will encourage investment to support the country’s net zero transition, help British agriculture adapt to a changing climate and sustain rural communities.
This includes policies such as supporting GHG (greenhouse gas) auditing on farms, incentivising productivity improvements, and investing in water management systems.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “British farmers and growers can and want to be part of the solution. But we need the right government policies in place to give farm businesses confidence to invest in for the long-term. We can produce more sustainable, affordable homegrown food while creating more jobs and delivering for nature, energy security and climate-friendly farming.”
What are farmers going to say at COP29?
The Farmers’ Constituency continues to focus its efforts on the political process of negotiations. It has published a high-level position paper which calls for:
- Greater effort to unlock new and innovative sources of finance and investment, to enable all farmers to make the most of opportunities and face the challenges ahead.
- The agriculture negotiations to address practical farm issues.
- Farmers at all levels to be involved in the development and implementation of the next round of climate plans.
- Greater transparency and accounting of agriculture’s GHG emissions and mitigation solutions.
The NFU will be working with the World Farmers’ Organisation and other members of the Farmers’ constituency to influence the negotiations. NFU climate change adviser Dr Ceris Jones and British Agricultural Bureau senior European policy adviser Jenny Brunton will keep you updated throughout the two weeks.
The COP29 Presidency’s food, agriculture and water day takes place on 19 November.
