1. Deals can be done
- The flagship finance deal reached at COP29 also re-affirmed the Paris Agreement aims to ‘foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emission development in a manner that does not threaten food production’. Investing in agriculture to reduce GHGs, for food security, to adapt to climate impacts is a good return on investment.
- Global carbon trading rules were also finally agreed at COP29. Now they must actually work for farmers in practice, prioritising farmers’ rights and considering the diversity of farm systems.
2. Working together
- Co-operation, not competition, is critical. In this climate space, farmers’ organisations from across the world must work together to have any chance of success. They have more in common than that which might divide them.
- A more positive narrative on agriculture and climate change. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the United Nations body assessing the science related to climate change, wants to build a much closer relationship with farmers and get better at communicating its science.
3. Agriculture is different but integration is important
- Agriculture is quite different from other sectors of the economy because it is both a source and sink of GHGs and because of its vulnerability to extreme weather. So, it’s important that agriculture stays on the formal negotiations’ agenda, even if sometimes it feels like the light is at the end of a very long tunnel. But we must also get farmers integrated into other key agenda items, for example on carbon markets, ‘just transition’ and on finance.
- Cries of ‘keep it in the ground’ rang out across the COP29 venue….showing that the focus on replacing oil, gas and coal with renewables is the only way forward. However, a spotlight was also shone on agricultural emissions as the UN Environment Programme reported on methane and nitrous oxide.
- It’s time to stop saying ‘it’s important to have farmers at the table’. Just give them a seat at every table at all levels, whether local, national, or international. Farmers’ participation in the process is critical in realising the potential of the sector for mitigation and adaptation, so governments must involve farmers in the development of the next set of climate plans.
4. Presidency's action agenda
- Many governments, including the UK, signed several COP29 Presidency Declarations which offer opportunities for agriculture including:
- Reducing methane from organic waste which aims to maximise climate, circularity and food and nutrition security benefit and strengthen the bioeconomy
- Global energy storage and grids pledge encouraging collective action by 2030 to increase energy storage in the power sector by over six times the level of 2022
- Building on agri-food initiatives from COP26-28, the ‘Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers’ will empower farmers for climate resilience, with a plea for all nations to include agri-food climate support in their new climate plans.
The Farmers’ Constituency is already thinking ahead to the UNFCCC’s finance committee’s workshop next year on financing sustainable food systems and agriculture and then to COP30 (Belem, Brazil).
Agriculture, nature and ambitious climate plans will likely to be high on the Brazilian presidency’s agenda.
