COP25 Side Event: Advancing Climate Action in Agriculture and Food Systems

Program for an official UNFCCC COP25 side event organized by New Zealand, FAO, CATIE and the CCAC.

Date: Wednesday 11 December

Time: 18.30-20.00, Room 3, Hall 4

Event description

Climate change is already directly and indirectly impacting food production in many regions of the world, including in the form of lost crops and dwindling employment opportunities. These impacts are likely to become increasingly severe by 2030 and beyond, placing global food security and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people at risk.

Now is the time to act and scale up efforts to reshape the agriculture sector in ways that support farmers, improve the productivity of farms, build resilience, and reduce emissions. Indeed, the goals of the Paris Agreement cannot be met without transformative changes in the agriculture sector. Incorporating more ambitious, explicit, and directed actions in the agriculture sector in enhanced nationally determined contributions (NDCs) can play an important role in making this necessary transition.

The first part of the event will feature the launch of a new paper produced by WRI, Oxfam, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition that promotes ambitious and directed inclusion of agriculture and food systems in enhanced NDCs. The paper aims to help countries think through the process of enhancing their NDCs to include strengthened actions in the agriculture sector, including short-lived climate pollutant commitments.

The paper underscores the need for a tailor-made approach to NDC enhancement that is suited to a country’s unique set of circumstances. A broad range of actions is identified that can benefit adaptation and mitigation imperatives in the agriculture sector, if the right enabling environment is in place. It offers practical examples for how these actions may be included in an enhanced NDC.

The second part of the event will consist of a panel chaired by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center). This section will include an overview of the regional strategy (Central America) for the development of a low emissions livestock production, developed in coordination with local governments and aiming to contribute to the compliance of their NDCs. The event will include examples from developing countries showing efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement and to deal with climate change challenges considering other initiatives supporting sustainable development and hunger and poverty eradication.

Specifically, Honduras will be sharing their NAMA proposal “Transforming Honduran livestock sector into a low-carbon economy”, developed in coordination with the civil society and multiple public-private alliances and aiming to help livestock farmers’ transition to a low carbon livestock production while attracting technical assistance and facilitating the transition to a green and inclusive economy. On the other hand, Costa Rica will present its “Low emissions livestock strategy” which is being implemented through a pilot program of their livestock NAMA and which includes strong alliances with the industry and the private sector.

Nigeria, will share details of its National Action Plan, and how this will be implemented to reduce emissions and contribute to an enhanced NDC. Vietnam will share their experience on upscaling low emission rice production, including the options, suitability and investment.

Desired outcome from the event: Engage countries, using the recommendations in the paper, particularly to support the enhancement of NDCs by 2020.

Agenda

Introduction: Martial Bernoux, FAO (5 min)

SEGMENT 1: NDCs and Agriculture – Wins for Farmers and Wins for the Environment (20 mins)

Update on the CCAC Agriculture Initative, including the reason the Ag Initiative is choosing to focus on NDCs, Dan McDougall, CCAC Senior Fellow (15 mins)

Launch of the policy paper ‘NDC Enhancement: Opportunities in Agriculture’, Katie Ross, WRI & Kristen Hite, Oxfam (15 min)

SEGMENT 2: Panel – Country Experiences on NDCs and NAMAs (51 mins)

Introduction to panel: Regional Strategy for Low Emissions Livestock Production, Chair Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, CATIE (9 mins)

Sustainable land use systems to contribute toward Colombia's NDC commitments, Dr. Augusto Castro, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT-CCAFS (7 mins)

Honduras:Transforming the livestock sector into a low-carbon economy,Roberto Aparicio, Director of the National Climate Change Office, Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment - MiAmbiente, Honduras (7 mins)

Costa Rica: Low emissions livestock strategy, Mauricio Chacón Navarro, Coordinator of the Climate Action Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock [MAG], Costa Rica (7 mins)

Nigeria: Intra-governmental coordination for National Action Planning on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) in the agriculture sector in Nigeria, Bala Bappa, National CCAC-SNAP Institutional Coordinator for Agriculture, Nigeria (7 mins)

Vietnam: Up-scaling low emission rice production in Vietnam: options, suitability and investment, Le Hoang Anh, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam (7 mins)

New Zealand:Net-zero bill and long-term approach to addressing emissions from farming, Lou Hunt, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand (tbc)

SEGMENT 3: Q&A and wrap up (14 mins)