Tropentag 2023, September 20 - 22, Berlin, Germany "Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation: trade-offs and synergies."

Navigating climate mitigation in global food systems: Insights from CGIAR

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Colombia

Abstract

Food systems provide critical food and nutritional security, livelihoods, and socio-economic benefits, as well as negative externalities such as emissions from the land use change sector. The new IPCC report makes grim reading, and the urgency for accelerated climate mitigation has never been clearer. Increasingly, the US$12 trillion global food system is in the spotlight, contributing 21–37% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (72% of which from the Global South). The substantial share of GHG emissions attributed to the global food system, alongside its adverse impacts on food production, hunger, and poverty, underscores the pressing need for identifying viable pathways for catalyzing transformative changes in food systems. The Paris Agreement (PA) target of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C was a critical milestone in catalyzing systems change. The commitment of all nations, including Paris Agreement’s signatories from the Global South, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions highlights the importance of collaborative efforts, especially in sectors like agriculture and food systems. In such context, this presentation aims at shedding light on the extent of CGIAR's role in driving low emissions transformative change within the global food system. Specifically, we analyse CGIAR research publications, innovations, and current portfolio of initiatives to critically assess its contributions to climate change mitigation and low emissions development. Special attention is directed towards CGIAR’s Research Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems, Mitigate+. This initiative aligns with the evolving global climate change frameworks, moving away from the Kyoto Protocol's differentiated mitigation commitments, wherein only developed countries were mandated to reduce emissions, towards the more universally applicable approach of the Paris Agreement, which urges global response to climate change in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Keywords: CGIAR, climate change mitigation, low emissions food system, low-emissions development

Contact Address: Augusto Castro-Nunez, The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Cali, Colombia, e-mail: augusto.castrocgiar.org