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Rapid decarbonization of all sectors is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement. Recent analyses have shown that climate action is not moving anywhere near quickly enough. Across all sectors, we need more urgency and a shift from making commitments to implementing solutions. Rapid action on food system transformation is especially critical given food systems produce around 33% of global greenhouse gas emissions but have historically been overlooked as a climate solution. We can’t phase out food in the same way we can fossil fuels, but we can transform food systems so that they have net-zero emissions. With systemic transformation, the food system can become a major part of the solution to the climate crisis.
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) met in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024. Overall, COP29 failed to deliver the critical outcomes needed to accelerate climate action. Countries agreed a climate finance deal that does not come close to meeting the needs of developing countries and COP29 failed to send a strong signal on the need to rapidly reduce emissions and phase out fossil fuels. Food and agriculture were not as widely discussed as in other recent Climate COPs, with just a handful of outcomes, reflecting another missed opportunity to accelerate the transformations desperately needed for a stable climate.
The brightest spot was more than 30 countries, responsible for almost half of global methane emissions from organic waste, signing up to the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration, a new pledge focused on setting sectoral targets in future NDCs to cut methane emissions from waste. Governments and philanthropic organisations also pledged almost $500m in new global grant funds for methane abatement.
The Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative was officially launched, with the goals of combining and streamlining the flows of information around climate action for farmers and increasing public and private investment However, countries did not make any new commitments or pledges.
Negotiations in the formal negotiation worktrack dedicated to food systems and agriculture in UNFCCC, Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security, were largely administrative. Countries discussed the functions and structure of the Sharm el-Sheikh online portal, where countries and observers can submit information on how climate action can support agriculture and food securitty, but not the actual solutions that need to be implemented on the ground and in the water.
By February 2025 countries must submit updated NDCs, though several have already indicated they may miss the deadline. WWF has worked closely with policymakers for the past several years to scale up food-based climate action and deliver Food Forward NDCs. COP29 opened brightly with Brazil and the UAE publishing new NDCs that include commitments to reduce agricultural emissions. The UK also announced an ambitious new NDC but are yet to publish the details. However, no other countries made concrete NDC updates. Although COP29 was not the deadline, this is a poor return with 2030 racing ever closer.
There is still a significant opportunity to influence what is included in the next few months - to that end WWF published several new resources at COP29 to help policymakers strengthen food actions in their NDCs. Explore the resources below.
ALIGNING THE RIO CONVENTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION
WWF has identified four key actions which international bodies, national policymakers and other stakeholders across food systems, including the private sector, investors and financiers and NGOs, should prioritize at the upcoming COPs:
1. ELEVATE FOOD SYSTEMS AS A PRIORITY
Integrate food and agriculture into national plans (NDCs, NAPs, NBSAPs, LDNs) and collective agreements
2. USE FOOD SYSTEMS AS AN ENTRY-POINT FOR SYNERGIES
Prioritize and promote solutions with multiple benefits e.g. agroecology
3. SCALE UP FINANCE FOR FOOD SYSTEMS Increase total and proportional amount of finance related to food systems, and ensure it reaches actors implementing solutions on the ground and in the water
4. MULTISTAKEHOLDER, EQUITABLE APPROACH
Ensure all stakeholders are part of decision-making processes, leveraging local and traditional knowledge, and increasing representation for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, women, youth and other under-represented groups
TOOLKIT TO TRANSFORM NDCs, NAPs and NBSAPs
Building on a synthesis of existing guidance and lessons learned on implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for food system transformation that was published at COP28, this toolkit supports national policymakers and decisionmakers aiming to accelerate national climate efforts in agriculture and food systems. It supports the implementation of the Global Stocktake outcomes, implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Implementation of Climate Action on Agriculture and Food Security (adopted at COP27) and the Emirates Declaration on Resilient Food Systems, Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Action adopted at COP28. Additionally, the updated toolkit can help countries to progress towards the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (under the CBD) both globally and at the national level, especially Target 10 on enhancing biodiversity and sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry.
It was jointly developed by WWF, Climate Focus, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, the NDC Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, CGIAR, and Alliance of Biodiversity and CIAT
ASSESSING INCLUSIONS OF FOOD IN UPDATED NDCs
distribution of food." The COP28 Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action sets a 2025 target to integrate agriculture and food
systems into their NDCs as well as national adaptation and biodiversity plans and long-term climate strategies.
Prior to COP29, 172 Parties to the UNFCCC (including the European Union) have submitted 146 updated or revised NDCs. An analysis of these updated NDCs shows that while most countries include at least one measure related to food systems, any progress in the application of food systems approaches is marginal. Countries are continuing to overlook crucial parts of climate action and additional measures and implementation are needed.
FOOD SYSTEMS TRENDS IN NDC PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT
This Insight Brief analyzes requests for support the NDC Partnership has received from developing country members that are related to food systems. It identifies trends related to country requests and support offerings, informing how the Partnership can refine and scale up needed support for food-related initiatives and interventions.
Why & How to Incorporate Reducing Food Loss and Waste in NDCs
Many countries are already addressing food loss and waste but not linking it to climate action, which impedes efforts to reduce both waste and emissions. Countries can unlock new sources of funding, improve livelihoods for their citizens, strengthen their agricultural sectors, and reduce climate emissions by incorporating food loss and waste into NDCs and government strategies. This paper, published by the Global Action Drive, a coalition to accelerate regional and national action on food loss and waste of which WWF is a member, outlines the specific ways in which reducing food loss and waste can be incorporated in NDCs.
FOOD FORWARD NDCs
Food Forward NDCs provides detailed policy options and measures in more than 30 specific areas - including improving access to food, reducing emissions from livestock, shifting to clean energy on the farm, implementing circular food systems, and increasing demand for sustainable healthy diets - categorised in five priority intervention areas. By considering which intervention areas - namely food environment, food governance, food production, food supply chains and food consumption - are most important in their particular context, along with whether climate change mitigation or adaptation is the more pressing concern, policymakers can identify the most relevant policy options that will help deliver NDC commitments, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The guidance has been compiled in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme, FAO, NDC Partnership, FAIRR Initiative, CGIAR, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation and the Agroecology Coalition, with financial support from the German government - specifically, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Sustainable Food and Freshwater Systems are Fundamental to Climate Action
Integrated action on food systems will align and amplify environmental agendas
Supporting women to transform food systems and deliver the SDGs
by Martina Fleckenstein, Global Head of Policy, Food, WWF and Cheryl Margoluis, Executive Director, CARE-WWF Alliance
The urgent need for governments to commit to food loss and waste
by Pete Pearson, Global Food Loss and Waste Initiative Lead
A comprehensive toolkit to help national policymakers translate global climate and food commitments into local actions has been launched as part of the COP28 Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda. The COP28 Agriculture, Food and Climate Action Toolkitwas produced by a taskforce - which included WWF, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Climate Focus, NDC Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, CGIAR and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT - convened by the UAE COP28 Presidency and will be a valuable resource for countries as they transform their food systems to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The COP28 Agriculture, Food and Climate Action Toolkit directly supports the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action. The opportunity for the Declaration’s signatories to translate their commitments into ambitious national-level action lies in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
To take the continent out of poverty, Africa’s food systems need to provide sufficient affordable, nutritious food for its population, whilst generating income and employment to support Africa’s economic and social development. But the long-term functioning of food systems relies on natural capital – the natural resources and ecosystems that provide the inputs needed for food production, including fertile soils, water and a conducive climate. These resources are currently being depleted and degraded at an alarming rate, with significant impacts on biodiversity, climate change, and ultimately, on the ability of food systems to fulfill their functions.
This report from WWF includes recommendations on how to move away from an unsustainable “business as usual” trajectory towards a scenario where food systems development in Africa goes hand in hand with long-term climate resilience and overall ecological sustainability.
Many approaches are needed to accelerate the food systems transformation we so desperately need, provided we are aligned on a common vision about what success should look like regarding the future of food.
COP28 presents an opportunity to strengthen alignment among stakeholders on the core principles underlying approaches to food systems transformation—namely agroecology, regenerative agriculture, and nature-positive solutions.
WWF believes these three approaches can be complementary to each other. By expanding the framing of regenerative agriculture to include essential elements of agroecology and nature-positive frameworks, we can align behind common objectives and catalyze necessary changes to our global food system.
READ: THE ROLE OF REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE TO DRIVE FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION
The world is facing a nutrition crisis, and the way we produce and consume food is altering the equilibrium of our planet, causing environmental damage and biodiversity loss, and climate change which further compromises food security. Children are disproportionately affected, and school meals are being increasingly recognized as a key investment for governments to tackle these challenges.
Through national school meals programs, around 418 million children currently receive a meal at school every day. This provides an exceptional opportunity for the implementation planet-friendly policies which have enormous co-benefits for child health and the wider society.
The importance of grasslands and savannahs for people, agriculture, nature and our climate has been systematically undervalued and overlooked around the world. Every opportunity must be taken by governments to meet the UNFCCC and UNCBD targets for climate change and biodiversity loss, alongside the land degradation neutrality targets set by Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD).
To achieve this, they cannot afford to ignore grassland and savannah biomes that cover over 50% of the world’s land. Therefore, countries’ NDCs and NBSAPs must specifically include targets, actions and legislation for the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of grasslands and savannahs.
READ: INTEGRATING GRASSLANDS AND SAVANNAHS INTO NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE COMMITMENTS
Policymakers must urgently increase the scale and ambition of food-based climate solutions included in national plans if there is to be any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
While many countries mention the agriculture sector in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), very few set targets in relation to other stages of the food system, such as food loss and waste reduction, sustainable diets or food consumption.
Countries are overlooking critical climate solutions. All stakeholders must urgently implement climate solutions across food systems, from farm-to-fork.
READ: UNLOCKING AND SCALING CLIMATE ACTION IN FOOD SYSTEMS - AN ASSESSMENT OF NDCs
Food systems in African countries are already experiencing clmate impacts on growing seasons, and the frequency and intensity of dry spells and heavy rainfalls. Effective holistic measures across food systems can help build resilience while providing mitigation benefits, putting the continent on a sustainable development pathway.
Most African countries recognize the urgency of, and potential in, building adaptive food systems, as evidenced by their climate pledges, but rich countries must ramp up international climate finance and support to these countries to achieve these pledges. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provide a platform to bring all policy priorities together and implement food systems adaptation measures in a holistic manner.
Climate change adaptation in food systems is considered as an important part of contributions of NDCs and NAPs to furthering the Paris Agreement goals, alongside linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report focuses on the integration of adaptation measures for food systems transformation in the NDCs and NAPs in Africa to identify opportunities for enhancing actions and accelerating progress in the continent.
Read: Scaling and accelerating climate adaptation in food systems in Africa