Agriculture and food are among the topics to be discussed at the 29th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP29) which has kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan today (November 11).
Delegates from around the world will convene in Baku for two weeks of negotiations, discussions, and global collaboration focused on tackling the climate crisis with “urgency and ambition”.
Hosted by the government of Azerbaijan, COP29 will discuss the efforts to limit global warming, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and mobilise financing for these activities.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) said the conference serves as “a platform for showcasing the unique role of agriculture and food systems in the fight against climate change”.
The FAO is supporting the COP29 presidency with its programmes to drive transformative climate solutions through agri-food systems, including a programme on Food, Agriculture and Water Day on November 19.
A dedicated Food and Agriculture Pavilion at COP29 will also create a platform for collaborative dialogue, knowledge sharing, and decision-making on the role of agriculture and food systems in tackling climate change.
This will include sharing efforts to drive adaptation and reduce emissions across food, land, and water systems to ensure food, nutrition, and water security for the most affected small-scale producers and food-insecure communities.
Events hosted at this year’s COP will also discuss finance, investment and trade; energy/peace, relief and recovery; urbanisation, transport and tourism; health; education; and nature and biodiversity, among other topics.
COP29
Speaking at the opening of COP29 in Baku, UN climate change executive secretary, Simon Stiell told delegates “we mustn’t let 1.5° slip out of reach. And even as temperatures rise, the implementation of our agreements must claw them back”.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that crossing the 1.5° threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.
Latest indications from the EU’s Earth Observation Programme, Copernicus point to 2024 being the “warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5° above pre-industrial levels”.
Stiell said that delegates must agree a new global climate finance goal, stressing that this “is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest”.
“If at least two thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price.
“If nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune,” the UN climate change executive secretary said.
