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Q4 2023 | Read more from the campaign at globalcause.co.uk
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Climate Action
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How we can end plastic pollution faster, together During the decades between COP1 and COP28, the climate situation has become — in many ways — worse. Plastic pollution is everywhere; greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production are expected to more than double by 2060.
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n 1995, the same year that the very first United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP1) was held in Berlin, I was pasting pictures of polar bears into a scrapbook and designing posters about recycling for a half-term holiday project. Back then, the true extent and implications of plastic waste and pollution were not well understood. There was no consensus view on how to tackle it at scale. Collaborating for visible progress Today, we have a clear view of how plastic contributes to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Crucially, we can also see a clear path towards a future without plastic waste or pollution. Over the past five years, signatories of the Global Commitment — the largest global voluntary effort to tackle plastic waste and pollution — have proven that progress is possible. Yet, the world remains off track. As every child who has tried to ‘save the planet’ by picking up litter eventually discovers, while voluntary action is vital to show peers what is possible, change
Emma Elobeid Senior Editor, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Let’s face it.
must be enacted through the whole system. We need global rules to create a level playing field, address the problem at the source and ensure that everyone acts in concert. Reduce, reuse and redesign An ambitious UN treaty — based on legally binding global rules and comprehensive circular economy measures — presents a once-ina-generation opportunity. This treaty must focus on substantially reducing our use of plastics, significantly increasing reuse models, and fundamentally redesigning our approach to plastic. We cannot recycle our way out of this. Just weeks before world leaders come together at COP28 in Dubai, governments will meet at the third round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) in Nairobi. As we approach both, let us remember — despite the scale of the challenge — that this isn’t about achieving the impossible but about mandating the solutions we know are possible so that we can move forward further, faster, together.
Stay up-to-date with the latest negotiations for a UN treaty to accelerate the end of plastic pollution: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/aun-treaty-to-end-plastic-pollution
Agriculture and food systems: the missing climate solution? Agriculture and food systems are perhaps our greatest hope to halt the imploding climate crisis. We look to this year’s UN Climate Conference, COP28 as an opportunity to share the many ways that agrifood systems transformation can be a game changer.
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vidence from FAO’s work across countries reveals that agrifood systems are not only about food security but also have the potential to tackle the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. A bleak climate picture Climate change is negatively impacting all sub-sectors in the food system: from declining yields to increases in pests and disease. Up to 10% of the currently suitable area for major crops and livestock is projected to be climatically unsuitable mid-century. Achieving zero hunger in the age of climate change may be considered the central challenge of our times. Emissions from the sector continue to rise, contributing to a crisis that hits the farmers and agricultural communities the hardest. Making a difference at field level FAO’s work presents a range of solutions that can simultaneously address the climate crisis, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience while promoting sustainable use of biodiversity and food security. The International Plant Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund has benefited more than 1 million people. Over 200 Farmer Field Schools have been set up to, ultimately, give access to and
Global food systems need to transform. Food processing and packaging has a role to play in this transformation. Discover our commitments, actions and solutions for Moving food forward.
support the development of climate-resilient crops. Since 2006, the organisation’s partnership with the Global Environment Facility has supported over 130 countries to improve the sustainability of their agrifood production and deliver results for the environment. FAOGEF investments over the past four years have placed 116 million hectares of land and seascape under improved management, mitigating 570 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and improving the lives of 13 million people. Accelerating action and ambition Despite united efforts, we still see constraints in sustainable food production, which is why the agrifood sectors play such a key role in national planning processes. COP28 will be a critical juncture, giving greater visibility and momentum to the FAST Partnership, which aims to improve the quantity and quality of climate finance for the transformation of agriculture and food systems.
Kaveh Zahedi Director, FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment