FAO at COP27. Agrifood systems at the center of solutions to the climate crisis

Every year thousands of delegates from all over the world gather in a bid to fight climate change within the structure of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) and its Subsidiary Bodies. This year the 27th session of the COP will be held from 6-18 November in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt.

COP27 provides a pivotal moment for the food and agriculture agenda that would encourage future actions for climate resilient and sustainable practices.

For the first time ever, the COP27 in Egypt next month will have four pavilions dedicated to food systems solutions, including the Food4Climate Pavilion, a partnership of several NGOs including those local to Egypt, is working to create a unified voice and clear call to action for decision-makers.

But this is no small task to adopt a holistic approach to the food-climate nexus. Agri food systems solutions can be challenge  for policymakers to navigate; with so many sectors and stakeholders involved in the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of our food, they are extraordinarily complex.

FAO plays an integral role in the negotiations by supporting the discussions around the whole value chain of food and agriculture, such as within the framework of the Koronivia Joint work on Agriculture as well as supporting countries in their Nationally Determinate Contribution implementation and reporting requirements to meet the goals under the Paris Agreement.

With priority areas relevant to FAO’s mandate high on the agenda, FAO has an important role to play in identifying opportunities for innovative collaboration and partnerships to support the implementation of its new Strategy on Climate Change at global, regional, country and local level.

The COP Presidency initiatives relevant to FAO mandate include:

• Food and Agriculture Initiative for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Vision: to take concrete actions that would result in improving the quantity and quality of climate finance contributions that would transform agriculture and food systems by 2030.
• Global Waste Initiative 50 by 2050 -  FAO is contributing to the initiative through the intersection of Food Loss and Waste reduction within agrifood systems and waste management systems.
• Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) - Aiming to foster collaboration and accelerate transformative action while addressing the critical nexus of health, nutrition and climate change COP27 Climate Change Conference
• Action for water Adaptation and resilience Initiative: by 2030, inclusive cooperation for water adaptation in supporting water, ecosystem and land management, water storage, disaster risk reduction, food security, sustainable energy transition and other related sectors

The pavilion provides a space for countries to actively engage with FAO and other partners throughout the period.

The food and agriculture pavilion which is led by FAO will be located in the blue zone of the Conference space and it provides a space for delegations to actively engage with FAO and other partners. Each day will focus on a different topic for the periods from 8-12 and 14-18 November. Events related to the topic will be held in collaboration with various governments and other partners including private sector and NGOs.

FAO’s work in the Europe and Central Asia region. Spotlight on key initiatives:

For the Europe and Central Asia region, FAO is supporting the participation of national governments in the COP as well as hosting joint side events during the COP.

The government of the Republic of Armenia is being supported in their participation at the COP27 under the technical cooperation project “strengthening capacities for improving climate action in the agriculture sector” which focuses on enhancing the capacities in the agriculture sector to meet the goals of the National Determined Contribution of Armenia.

The government of Tajikistan will hold three side events:  on 9th November titled “Scaling up green finance in the Republic of Tajikistan – FAO’s support to country climate ambitions” within the framework of the Green Climate Fund Readiness project with FAO as delivery partner. The side event will be held in the Tajikistan pavilion and it focuses on the work being done related to private sector engagement component of the project “Support the Republic of Tajikistan to strengthen its capacities for monitoring and evaluation of climate finance, identifying potential Direct Access Entities and engaging the private sector on climate change-related investments with the Green Climate Fund.”

The role of agrobiodiversity in Tajikistan for world food security on Nov 16, 2022 from 10:00-11:30, Egypt time.

And FAO's support in enhancing the climate reporting under the Paris Agreement: the case of the Central Asia region  on Nov 17, 2022 from 10:00 - 11:30, Egypt time.

Delegations are encouraged to visit the pavilion, participate in the sessions and follow the twitter page (@FAOClimate) for daily updates.