The only way to reduce carbon emissions and limit global warming is to “transform” agri-food systems, the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) told COP29 today (Tuesday, November 12)
QU Dongyu said agri-food systems are on the “frontlines of the climate crisis” and called for a transformation to “more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable” global agri-food systems.
World leaders at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan also heard today that climate impacts are “carving up to 5% off GDP” in many countries.
UN climate change executive secretary, Simon Stiell, said: “The climate crisis is a cost-of-living crisis. Because climate disasters are driving up costs for households and businesses.
“Worsening climate impacts will put inflation on steroids unless every country can take bolder climate action.”
He warned that rampant climate costs should be “public enemy number one”.
Stiell also told delegates that parties involved in negotiations at COP29 had now agreed “strong standards for a centralised carbon market under the UN”.
COP29
According to Stiell “bolder climate action” can drive economic opportunity and “cheap, clean energy” can be a bedrock of economies.
“We also need your direct engagement on new national climate targets and plans. So all of you can benefit from the boom in clean energy and climate resilience,” he told COP29 delegates.
Separately the  Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) also warned today that the sharp increase in greenhouse gases GHG since the start of the Industrial Revolution has “triggered unprecedented changes in the Earth’s system”.
Laurence Rouil, CAMS director, said that it was crucial that everyone worked on “improving our understanding of the actual GHG emissions and how they impact global systems”.
“The only way to stop the escalation of climate change will be borne by strong global commitments on developing more effective strategies to reduce emissions and concentration of damaging gases in the atmosphere, especially methane and CO2,” he added.