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TUESDAY
19 NOVEMBER
Driving
the day
A powerful
movement of key players is building - ready to
advance a resilient, net zero world - with
nature-positive and people-centric action across
land, water and food systems.
Key
agrifood chain actors mobilise for food systems
transformation: Over 300
food system actors, including farmers, Indigenous
Peoples, businesses, financial institutions and
civil society, have now endorsed the Food
Systems Call to Action launched
at COP28 - signalling increasing momentum on food
systems transformation.
Signatories
include farmers organisations representing 1.2
billion farmers; subnational governments
representing 2.2 billion residents, and businesses
in the agri-food chain with a combined revenue of
USD 1 trillion. These actors stand alongside 150
civil society and philanthropic organizations in
signing the pledge —one-third of which are
headquartered in emerging markets.
The
report ‘Transforming Food Systems for
People, Nature and Climate - Food Systems Call to
Action: Real-World Action and Progress,’
published today, shows that action is happening
worldwide. Non-State actors are taking action -
both at the demand and supply side. For
example:
● Farmers
are adopting context-specific climate solutions,
showcasing results both in farms and broader
ecosystems and landscapes.
● Businesses
are investing in regenerative agriculture and
sustainable diets, and collaborating across value
chains to meet science-based targets.
● Financial
institutions
are creating innovative mechanisms to de-risk
agricultural investments and attract private
capital.
● Cities
are leveraging public procurement to boost access
to healthy, locally suitable foods.
● Civil
society and philanthropies
are supporting efforts to expand evidence and
scale impactful actions.
Collectively,
these actors are geared to amplify the needs of
frontline food systems actors, including farmers,
Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, promoting
direct access to finance and active roles in
policy-making.
The
‘Baku Harmoniya’ Climate Initiative for
Farmers
has been launched by the COP 29 Presidency to
share experiences and identify synergies and gaps.
The Harmoniya initiative will also facilitate
finance and foster collaborations to support
farmers, including by empowering communities and
women in rural areas.
UAE
Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture and
Resilient Food Systems - A Year of
Progress
Following
the COP 28 UAE
Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient
Food Systems and Climate Action,
there has been a robust display of action and
commitment to realize the Declaration’s objectives
at COP 29. For example:
● Building
on the Technical
Cooperation Collaborative (TCC),
The African Union and Italy launched a programme
to help countries and Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) to align climate and food
systems policies with finance, emphasizing
regional integration, infrastructure, and trade
corridors.
● The
UAE and The International Food Policy Research
Institut (IFPRI) announced the Future Food Systems
Programme to collaborate with 15 countries to
deliver better policies in support of the COP 28
Food and Agriculture Declaration and the TCC.
● The
UAE and Gates Foundation launched ‘AIM for Scale’
to boost innovation in the food and agriculture
sector. An initial USD 1 billion package will fund
weather forecasting for farmers in low- and
middle-income countries.
● The
Alliance of Champions for Food Systems
Transformation
(ACF) reconvened, one year after its COP 28
launch, to highlight progress and to urge
governments and financial institutions to
prioritise climate finance for food
systems.
Showcasing
actions to transform landscapes and
communities
Today, the
High-Level Champions are showcasing delivery in
support of the Bonn Challenge biodiversity and
land degradation goals and the
2030 Climate Solutions - and elevating the central
role of local leaders and communities as the
front-line protectors of nature.
The
High-Level Champion of the COP 28 Presidency, H.E.
Razan Al Mubarak is kickstarting discussions on
Transforming Land and Ecosystem for
Nature-Positive 2030. A growing body of evidence
shows that policies, investments, and innovations
for sustainable land-use systems can enable a
giant leap towards the above mentioned global 2030
biodiversity, climate, and land restoration goals.
As the proven guardians of nature, the role of
Indigenous Peoples is being highlighted as vital
to transforming food systems, and restoring nature
- which in turn, drives the implementation of
National
Biodiversity Strategies and Action
Plans,
Nationally Determined Contributions and National
Adaptation Plans. The
Restoration Initiative, led by a
coalition of global land conservation
organizations and supported by nine countries,
showcases significant progress toward 2030 land
targets, including the Bonn
Challenge. It has restored over 700,000
hectares, sequestered more than 25 million tons of
CO₂ equivalent, and engaged over 800,000
stakeholders.
The event
will also launch the report, ‘The Role
of Non-State Actors in Enhancing Synergies between
the Rio Conventions.’ The
report, led by ETH-ZURICH and Crowther Lab
with other universities, provides a robust
scientific view of how non-State actors, in
regions, from Africa to Asia, can boost
Nature-based Solutions, such as landscape
restoration, reforestation, and water management,
as key drivers of a nature-positive, net zero
future across the Rio Conventions. Nepal, for
example, has seen a large-scale, policy-led shift
to community-based forest management, and as a
result, significant regeneration of forest cover
in the country’s middle mountains, as well
as
climate change mitigation.
A key
focus is preventing misguided implementation in
terms of conservation and restoration of land
systems. By ensuring that reforestation efforts
are not only strategic but also ecologically
appropriate - fully functioning forest ecosystems
can be fostered, where biodiversity thrives and
ecosystems regenerate naturally.
Companies
Assuring Policy for Nature: 500+
businesses and financial institutions have joined
the Nature
Positive for Climate Action
initiative - linking their climate commitments to
nature positive action, up from around 150
companies a year ago. By pledging to invest in
nature-based solutions and resilient, sustainable
food systems, these companies can shift away from
deforestation and unsustainable
practices. Through
this, entire value chains can be geared to
delivering a nature-positive future, resilient
ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods for local
populations.
Given
this potential, WWF and Climate Focus, through
Food
Forward NDCs,
are highlighting how concrete measures and actions
can enable systemic shifts in food systems to
support national climate plans as well as nature
and biodiversity plans.
Brazil
Coalition Targets USD 10 Billion for Restoration
& Bioeconomy by 2030
A
group of public and private sector leaders have
launched the Brazil
Restoration & Bioeconomy Finance Coalition
(BRB Finance Coalition)
to conserve and restore Brazil’s forests, with a
targeted, aggregate investment of at least USD 10
billion by 2030 by the Coalition members. The
Coalition expects to support projects dedicated to
conserving and restoring at least 5 million
hectares of Brazilian forests.
Ripple
Effect: Water focused NDCs Unlock
Investment
Stockholm
Water Institute’s ‘Putting
water at the centre of ambitious NDCs’ report
demonstrates how improved water-related measures
and targets in NDCs can increase private-sector
investment in water solutions.
A
Steady Stream of Progress on the Freshwater
Challenge
The
Freshwater Challenge is
gaining momentum towards its goal to restore
300,000 kms of rivers and 350M hectares of
wetlands by 2030, aligned with the Sharm El
Sheikh Adaptation goal for Freshwater
Ecosystems.
New
members this year include the EU and Panama,
bringing the number of jurisdictions and countries
to 48, up from 30 at COP 28. The U.S. has
published an implementation roadmap for their
commitment to restore and protect eight million
acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of rivers and
streams in six years.
A new
report ‘Advancing
Urban Water Resilience through Multilevel
Governance: A Collaborative Call to
Action’
highlights solutions to build urban water
resilience, given 2.5 billion people will be added
into cities by 2050. Water-related risks,
exacerbated by climate change, demand a
comprehensive multi-level governance approach -
combining water management and urban planning
strategies.
Call
for inputs: COP 29 climate action
announcements
The
UNFCCC secretariat is tracking climate action
announcements made at COP 29, including the launch
of:
● climate
initiatives;
● pledges
and declarations;
● publications
and reports;
● any
other climate action announcements.
This
information will be used to inform the Global
Climate Action Portal (GCAP), formally known as
Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA),
in particular, its COP 29 event page. Please
find the online form to submit your inputs
here
or via the
QR code below.
Impact
Makers
In the
face of the climate crisis, solutions are emerging
faster than ever, tackling every aspect of the
challenge. The new High-Level Champions’ series,
Impact
Makers, shines a
spotlight on those leading this change from the
ground up.
Explore
today’s Impact Makers transforming food systems
for people, planet and nature.
HELMY
ABOULEISH -
Pioneering biodynamic farming for a sustainable
future in Egypt.
RAMIL
AZMAMMADOV -
Empowering Azerbaijani farmers with data-driven
decisions for sustainable yields.
VASCO
SALVADOR COSSA
– Transforming
poultry waste into sustainable energy and
biofertilizers in Mozambique.
NDUKA
MIRACLE
- Empowering
African smallholder farmers through climate-smart
agriculture.
DAVID
HENRY
- Using
regenerative agriculture to combat climate
challenges in Saint Lucia.
For
further information please visit: https://climateaction.unfccc.int/Events/COP29). | 
