Food and Agriculture Pavilion at COP27

Lead Organizer: FAO 

Date: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 

Time: 14:30-15:30 (EET) 

Modality: Hybrid (livestream available at Food and Agriculture Pavilion: https://cop27foodpavilion.cgiar.org/) 

Languages: English 

Background: Forests and trees play a key role in climate action. Halting deforestation and increasing forest cover are cost-effective solutions to mitigate climate change, but forests do much more for the climate than store and sequester carbon. Intact forests provide a dramatic global cooling effect through evapotranspiration and via their physical structure and chemistry. Their ability to regulate rainfall and stabilize local climate helps minimize extreme weather, making forests essential for climate change adaptation and resilience. Future agricultural productivity in the tropics, and beyond, depends on the climate regulatory functions that forests provide. Protected, restored and sustainably managed forests also provide a host of biodiversity benefits that enhance the adaptive capacity of people and ecosystems.

Moderator: Houria Djoudi, Senior Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF (in person)

Keynote speakers: 

• Marieke Sandker, Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO
• Frances Seymour, Distinguished Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute (WRI)
• Amy Duchelle, Senior Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO

Teaser: 

This event will highlight the diverse climate benefits of forests and trees through the launch of three complementary publications, including two new FAO publications:

1. From reference levels to results: REDD+ reporting by countries (FAO): https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2899en
2. Not Just Carbon: Capturing all the benefits of forests for stabilizing the climate from local to global (WRI): https://www.wri.org/research/not-just-carbon-capturing-benefits-forests-climate 
3. Forest-based adaptation: transformational adaptation through forests and trees (FAO): https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2886en 

It will be followed by a discussion among a diverse group of stakeholders on the implications of the findings for climate policy and action, including:

• Carlos Nobre, University of São Paulo
• Juan Carlos Jintiach, Coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities
• Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Ghana Forestry Commission.