A series of side events at COP23 for setting an agenda for transforming agricultural development in the face of climate change

Both part of the cause of climate change, but also part of the solution, agriculture is central to any debate on global warming and extreme weather events. The interactions between the agricultural sector and climate change have undeniable implications for both global food security and our environment. Despite this global significance, and perhaps due to the complexity of the subject, there has been little progress to date on agriculture in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. Although COP17 in Durban made issues relating to agriculture in an agenda item under the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), the process has failed to conclude and determine concrete next steps. However, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris Agreement overwhelmingly prioritise the sector for climate action. 119 countries include agricultural mitigation in their INDCs, and of the 138 countries that include adaptation, almost all (127) include agriculture as a priority (Richards et al. 2016). Agriculture is also key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals set by countries.

“Agriculture Advantage: The case for climate action in agriculture” was an initiative and collaboration effort between different organizations with the same mission to transform agricultural development in the face of climate change. The event aimed to articulate the different dimensions of climate actions in the agricultural sector.

Specific objectives were:

Setting an agenda for transforming agricultural development in the face of climate change
Creating a collective case for investment in climate actions in agriculture
Charting a path for bringing expanded partnerships to scale up climate actions in agriculture

This initiative linked multiple side events that will be held during the 2 weeks of COP23 into a single theme, which had the effect of a day-long conference, but spread out over multiple days.