With confirmed to be the warmest year on record, experts are highlighting the role of agriculture in climate action while ensuring global food security.
Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), believes this calls for concern.
Experts like Zahedi believe agrifood systems have the potential for positive climate action.
“Farms don’t just have to be producers of food. They can be generators of renewable energy. Energy can then be used on the farm for the greenhouses, for pumping water, for irrigation, or energy that can be shared into the grid, or better using agricultural waste, turning it into fuels, into biofuels. All of these are really energy-smart agriculture solutions, and that’s exactly the kind of work that we [FAO] have been doing with countries,” he said.
Nations made a deal last December at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to shift the global economy away from fossil fuels. The Summit Declaration on Agriculture, Food, & Climate received endorsements from 137 countries, with $3.5 billion announced to replenish the Green Climate Fund.
According to the 2023 edition of the Emissions Gap Report, released up to COP28, the world must cut emissions by 42 percent by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.