Minister of State with responsibility for research and innovation at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Martin Heydon, highlighted Ireland’s efforts to become a world leader in sustainable food systems at the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) Summit which took place in Washington D.C.
Speaking about the event, which is viewed as an important milestone ahead of COP28 in Dubai in November, Minister Heydon said: “Over 500 partners have come together under the AIM4C initiative to commit increased investment and support for climate related agriculture and food systems research at a time of worsening food security globally.
“It reflects the global drive to accelerate innovation and to develop implementable solutions.”
Minister Heydon held a series of bilateral meetings over the course of the summit, including:
- Mariam Almheiri, minister at the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment;
- Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, under secretary at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for research, education and economics;
- Robert Bonnie, under secretary at the USDA for farm production and conservation
- Dr. Cary Fowler, US Special Envoy for Global Food Security
Minister Heydon said the engagements were an important opportunity to highlight the considerable work being done in Ireland to address the challenges of climate change and food security through innovation.
“Through sharing our experience, we hope to play a key role in the global transformation of food systems which will be of benefit to all.”
Washington D.C summit
During the summit, Ireland was invited to participate in the EU-led breakout session on soil health to address climate change.
Dr. Karen Daly from Teagasc spoke about the practical challenges of monitoring and verifying soil carbon sequestration.
Minister Heydon pointed out the importance of soil health in sequestering carbon, producing nutrient dense food, supporting biodiversity, and building resilience against climate change.
The DAFM hosted a session at the summit entitled ‘Ireland’s Agri-Food Sector Transformation Deep Demonstration’, which was led by the minister of state.
In his opening remarks, Minister Heydon said: “To meet the UN sustainability goals of addressing climate change while also achieving zero hunger, there is a collective responsibility to find a way to meet the competing demands of land use, while ensuring our food productions systems continue to produce food but with fewer emissions.
“The answer is innovation, but these innovations need to be implemented. To help deliver an accelerated pathway, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine [has] partnered with EIT Climate KIC to support national climate action in the agriculture sector.”
Concluding on the summit, Minister Heydon added: “I am confident that the agriculture community will deliver on its commitments on the global journey to net zero; scientific innovation will ensure that we develop our food production systems to continue to produce food more sustainability.
AIM for Climate
The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate / AIM4C) is a joint initiative by the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The initiative was established in 2021, being formally launched at COP26 in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021.
The summit in Washington D.C saw the announcement of new investments, partners and resources to propel the initiative into COP28, including:
- Increased investment: Partners increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to more than $13 billion (over a 2020 baseline), exceeding the challenge by U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry at COP27 to achieve $10 billion by COP28;
- Innovation sprints: 21 new innovation sprints totaling an additional $1.8 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation, bringing the total number of innovation sprints to 51 (over $3 billion);
- Partners: New partners including the governments of Argentina; Fiji; Guatemala; India; Panama; Paraguay; and Sri Lanka; bringing the total number of government, innovation sprints, and knowledge partners to more than 500;
- Agriculture breakthrough :The Breakthrough Agenda, launched by 45 world leaders at COP26, is an international plan to coordinate and strengthen collective climate action year-on-year to dramatically scale and speed up the deployment of clean technologies and drive down costs. It is focused on international action to accelerate deployment and adoption of technologies and solutions that can “make climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture the most attractive and widely adopted option for farmers everywhere by 2030.