ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has initiated the process for the development of a groundbreaking global roadmap aimed at eliminating all forms of malnutrition without exceeding the 1.5C threshold set by the Paris Agreement.

Unveiled at the United Nations Climate Conference COP28 on Sunday, the ‘Global Roadmap for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) Without Breaching the 1.5°C Threshold’ outlines a comprehensive strategy spanning the next three years that encompass a diverse portfolio of solutions across 10 distinct domains of action.

The process will undergo extensive fine-tuning and elaboration over the next three years. The COP29 will delve into regional adaptation and financial options, while COP30 will outline concrete investment and policy packages at the country level.

The FAO’s call for this comprehensive global roadmap aligns seamlessly with its mandate and organisational capabilities, leveraging expertise across diverse topics.

Plan aims to reduce agrifood systems’ methane emissions by 25pc in 2030, achieve carbon neutrality by 2035

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.

The roadmap identifies 120 actions and key milestones within 10 domains, supported by evidence gathered by FAO over several years. These domains include clean energy, crops, fisheries and aquaculture, food loss and waste, forests and wetlands, healthy diets, livestock, soil and water, and data and inclusive policies — the latter two identified as overall systemic enablers.

Against the backdrop of a projected 600 million people facing chronic hunger by 2030 and an escalating global climate crisis, the roadmap calls for a transformative shift in agrifood systems. It challenges the prevailing narrative that increasing production is synonymous with higher emissions and environmental degradation.

Instead, it emphasises the opportunity within agrifood systems to enhance production efficiency while aligning with climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience objectives.

On the emissions front, it aims to reduce agrifood systems’ methane emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 relative to 2020, achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, and transform them into a carbon sink by 2050, capturing 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Concerning food and nutrition, it sets a path to eliminate chronic undernourishment by 2030 and ensure access to healthy diets for all by 2050. Additional milestones include halving per capita global food waste by 2030 and updating food-based dietary guidelines (FBSG) by countries to provide context-appropriate quantitative recommendations on dietary patterns.

The roadmap also emphasises the symbiotic relationship between agrifood systems transformation and climate actions, urging the mobilisation of climate finance for implementation.

“The FAO’s Global Roadmap for SDG2 and 1.5°C underscores the importance of climate financing for agrifood systems’ transformation to achieve good food for all, today and tomorrow,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

The roadmap envisions transforming agrifood systems from a net emitter to a carbon sink. It calls for alternative production methods, adjusted consumption patterns, refined forestry management, and innovative technologies such as carbon capture.

Advocating for global resource optimisation beyond crop production, the plan suggests rebalancing consumption patterns and promoting healthy diets for all. It stresses that adaptability to specific contexts is crucial, cautioning against one-size-fits-all solutions.

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero announced that, together with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Bank, and CGIAR and FAO will launch the Agrifood Sharm-El Sheikh Support Programme, a three-year support package consistent with the roadmap to help advance and operationalise the Sharm-El Sheikh joint work and its outcomes.

“The programme will support knowledge, evidence, and tools that help raise ambition through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change processes, unlock finance, and accelerate action on the ground,” he explained.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2023