Opening of the relay
On 9 June 2020, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, called for action to avoid an impending food emergency as a result of COVID-19: “Unless immediate action is taken, it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have long term impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults.” There was already cause for concern about our food systems, but COVID-19 is making things worse, pushing millions into extreme poverty and food insecurity, disrupting the supply chains that feed the world, and affecting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Never before have we faced such a crisis.
However, with every crisis emerges an opportunity:
We have an opportunity to build a more inclusive and sustainable world. Let us build food systems that better address the needs of food producers and workers. Let us provide more inclusive access to healthy and nutritious food so we can eradicate hunger. And let us rebalance the relationship between food systems and the natural environment by transforming them to work better with nature and for the climate."
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
It is in this context of an urgent need to transform food systems that this virtual relay, “A new era for food and climate: Driving transformative actions” will launch the flaghsip report, “Actions to Transform Food Systems Under Climate Change,” and examine how the findings of the report are relevant to the COVID-19 response, both now and in the future. The session will include a message from Dr David Nabarro, Special Envoy for COVID-19 at the World Health Organization.
See full program and other sessions.
 | Moderator: Amelia Yachya, News Anchor, CNN Indonesia |
 | Speaker and Host: Andrew Campbell, CEO, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) |
 | Speaker: Bruce Campbell, Director, CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) |
 | Speaker: David Nabarro, Special Envoy for COVID-19, World Health Organization (WHO) |
Where to watch the event
Partners
Resources
- Report: Actions to Transform Food Systems Under Climate Change
- Blog: What's in the soil, stays in the soil: Conserving carbon in our soils to transform food systems
Hosted from: Canberra, Australia
Local time: 16:30 – 17:00 ACT
The event will be livestreamed on our website, watch now.
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