Food and energy production accounts for more than half of the world´s total greenhouse gas emissions. Food production alone constitutes one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, while the expansion of pasture land for cattle ranching is responsible for 41% of tropical deforestation.
However, unlike energy, there's still no large-scale roadmap to mitigate agriculture's emissions, according to Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director Zitouni Ould-Dada.
Making agriculture sustainable and more environment-friendly is vital in tackling climate change mitigation. That's why the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) announced that a global plan will be released this year to transform the world's food system into a more sustainable one.
During the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) climate talks in Egypt, Dada shared that more than forty investors urged the UN FAO to launch a roadmap to curb emissions in the agricultural sector.
The sector's contribution to global emissions was overlooked in the past several years, but the recent war in Ukraine and the worsening effect of climate change urged more leaders to discuss it at the table. "There has never been this much attention to food and agriculture anytime before. This COP is definitely the one," Dada said.
In a separate interview, Jeremy Coller, the leader in the investor-led campaign, said that they are looking forward to a roadmap that will provide guidance on methane emissions and 'Just Transition' for farmers. "We welcome the FAO’s commitment to producing a roadmap for food and agriculture which will provide much-needed clarity to both companies and investors, which will allow companies to plan for the transition and investors to assess investment risk and opportunities," Coller said.