Will COP29 focus on food?

COP29 is coming. Taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11 to 22 November, the conference aims to advance the goals of the Paris Agreement and the mitigation of the effects of climate change.

Food is a major part of this. Following a shift towards a greater focus on food last year’s COP28 in Dubai​, the focus on food systems and the food sector began to go in the right direction, according to members of the Food4ClimatePavillion.

What can attendees, and the world, expect from COP29? Will its focus on the food industry match, or even exceed, that of last year, or will food fall by the wayside?

Food focus​

Many saw COP28 as a watershed moment for global focus on food as a component of climate change. This focus, in the view of Juliette Tronchon, head of UN affairs at the organisation, ProVeg International, shows no sign of slowing down.

“We don’t expect the focus to be less than last year,” she told FoodNavigator. “It feels like there was a real shift at COP28 with governments formally recognising that sustainable food systems are pivotal to our fight against climate change. With the right political will and leadership, fanned by the determined advocacy of civil society, change is possible.”

For example, the Action on Food Hub, launched at the Bonn Climate Conference earlier this year, will join multiple food pavilions together. Last year’s Food4Climate Pavilion ran separately from other relevant pavilions, such as the Future Economy Forum and the Food Systems Pavilion.

This year it will be different. The Action on Food Hub, Tronchon told us, will bring together key stakeholders from the food and beverage industry, in order to ‘unite the food systems community.’ ProVeg will lead the Policy Zone, where it will ‘aim to inform civil society and policy makers.’

Much like last year, this year’s COP will put an emphasis on sustainability in food with a largely plant-based menu.

Food, Agriculture and Water Day​

Last year, COP28 dedicated an entire day to food for the first time. This year continues this tradition, with a Food, Agriculture and Water day on 19 November focusing on how stakeholders can come together to address food and agricultural issues.

Among the developments that may affect the food industry on the day will be the launch of the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, which will aim to work towards ‘1.5-aligned’ waste sector commitments in nationally determined commitments to reduce methane in both waste and food systems. On 19 November, parties will be called to join the declaration, and will be able to sign from this day on.

While the focus of this declaration is largely on organic waste, ProVeg’s Tronchon hopes that it will focus on other methane emitters as well.

“We’re hoping that through this Declaration the focus will shift to highlight how other key contributors, including food systems, and therefore not only organic waste but also animal farming,” she told us.

What is the Harmoniya Initiative? ​

The event will also see the introduction of the Harmoniya Initiative, a partnership between the COP29 presidency and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that will aim to give a voice to farmers, villagers, and rural communities.

Beginning on 19 November (Food, Agriculture and Water Day), the initiative will be an aggregator of the more than 90 global and regional initiatives, which include networks, coalitions and partnerships, working in the area of climate, finance and/or agrifood systems.   

“Given the multitude of initiatives, there is a need for coherence, alignment and sharing of lessons learned to deliver greater impact at the nexus between climate, finance and agrifood systems,” an FAO spokesperson told FoodNavigator.

The initiative aims to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing in this sector, as well as to encourage investment in climate-resilient agrifood systems.

“It will also seek to address the gap between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and national agricultural Public Development Banks (PDBs) by facilitating collaboration between the two groups and developing synergies,” the spokesperson told us.

It will aim to ensure the concerns of farmers are considered in the work of the initiatives and do not fall by the wayside, and that financial flows go to them. The COP29 presidency and FAO are working with multilateral development banks on providing farmers and agricultural organisations with guidelines on how they can apply for funds. It will also aim to increase farmer access to digital technologies.