Speciality Food Feb/March 2024

5 specialityfoodmagazine.com hectares to regenerative agriculture before COP30 and will report on the impact on soil health, emissions, biodiversity, water and farmer livelihoods. In addition to pledges made, Adele said COP28 differed from summits in the past because of the joined-up approach between governments, NGOs and private sector companies. What’s more, she said, “the private sector has really stepped up”. While the wheels may have been put in motion at COP28, questions remain over whether this progress will result in a genuine shift towards a more sustainable and just food system. Vital next steps “Getting food on the agenda at COP28 was a great step forward. T he COP28 climate summit, held in Dubai in late 2023, was not without controversy – from allegations that the United Arab Emirates intended to use the UN climate summit to make oil and gas deals, to critics saying the key climate deal, which requires countries to “transition away from fossil fuels”, had loopholes that would allow countries to continue producing and consuming coal, oil and gas. Despite this, for many food industry experts, COP28 was seen as a success. For the first time the global food system, which is responsible for 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, was on the agenda. The Food4Climate Pavilion, led by ProVeg International, World Animal Protection, Upfield and other leading global actors, called COP28 a “turning point” in the conversation about the sustainability of food and farming on a global scale. Adele Jones, executive director of the Sustainable Food Trust, attended the summit with a sceptical eye, but she was, on the whole, pleasantly surprised by what she saw. “It was a very busy, productive and actually pretty hopeful week in Dubai for the world of food and farming.” Food and farming highlights fromCOP28 Over 150 countries signed the food systems declaration, which includes a commitment to include agriculture and food systems in countries’ climate targets before COP30. Moving from the agenda to a serious and actionable plan is a whole other challenge,” Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission told Speciality Food . “We will continue to press governments and businesses to prioritise food system transformation – taking fossil fuels out of food and farming, and aligning public and private investment behindmore equitable, transparent, resilient and healthy food systems,” she added. RH Amar’s James agreed, saying, “The proof will be in the pudding in terms of what global action is achieved before COP29 later this year and whether COP28 reallymarks a collective turning point. “My hope is that the legacy of COP28 will be a much-needed consistency of message, and with it, confidence for those of us in the food industry to continue on our sustainability journeys and that our small steps locally will lead to giant leaps globally for the environment and for the future of food and agriculture,” James continued. “Actions will speak louder than words.” For Adele, questionmarks remain around financing. “The big question for me is howwe make progress fast on financing the urgently needed agriculture transition, whilst operating within the constraints of a global economic systemwhich is dishonest and unjust.” The industry also needs to do more to amplifymarginalised voices, said Food4Climate Pavilion’s spokesperson. “From indigenous communities to farmers in the Global South. We have a lot to learn from their lives and stories about the harmful effects of industrial animal agriculture. Once we give these voices a platform, we will be better equipped to make real, positive change that positively impacts everyone involved in the global food system, not just those in the Global North.” Dr Brian O’Callaghan, lead research and project manager at Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, said the world can no longer accept “false excuses such as ‘we can’t afford it’ or ‘developing countries can finance it themselves’”. “We need a step-change in progress,” he said, “or COP28 will fade as another wasted opportunity.” COP28: Food was on the menu, but will it be a wasted opportunity ? More than 200 non-government organisations signed a Call to Action for Food-Systems Transformation. More than 16 philanthropies committed funding to transforming food systems, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Earth Fund, which donated $57 million for climate change and biodiversity loss, and the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation, which announced $200 million to help smallholder farmers in Africa adapt to climate change. Sixmajor food companies pledged to publish and implement a plan to reduce emissions of methane from dairy production by the end of 2024. 26 companies and organisations will work to transition 160million COP28marked a pivotal moment in the global conversation around climate change. But did it go far enough where food security is concerned? Speciality Food reports