This sentiment resonated in dozens of pavilions and conference rooms in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, as COP27 turned its attention to the vital issue of adaptation, agriculture and food systems in the context of climate change.
“We need to help rural populations build their resilience to extreme weather events and adapt to a changing climate. If not, we just go from one crisis to the next. Small farmers work hard to produce food for us in harsh conditions,” said Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Goodwill Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), during a press conference.
As a Somali woman, Dhowre Elba indicated that this problem was personal: when COP27 began, her country had experienced four consecutive unsuccessful rainy seasons, a climate event not seen in 40 years.
“I cannot sit idly by while mothers, families and farmers suffer in the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing the most severe drought in its recent history,” he explained, urging developed countries to mobilize political will and investment.
“Trillions of dollars have been made available to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The same is needed for climate change. The same is needed for support of sustainable agriculture. It is crucial for well-being and everyone’s food security,” he added.
Funds for adaptation must be delivered
Dina Saleh, IFAD’s regional director, warned that failing to help rural populations adapt could have dangerous consequences, leading to more poverty, migration and conflict.
“That is why today we are calling on world leaders from developed nations to honor their commitment to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance to developing nations and channel half of that amount to climate adaptation.” he underlined, recalling that this commitment was assumed thirteen years ago and has not yet materialized.
Saleh pointed out that there is a “narrow window” to help the rural poor survive and protect their communities, and that crop yields could be reduced by up to 50% by the end of the century.
“The choice is between adapting or starving,” he said, calling for COP27 to translate into action, credibility and justice for the invisible and the silent.
The importance of investing in innovation
While the agriculture and food sector is deeply affected by climate change, it also contributes about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, from production to consumption, said Zitouni Ould-Dada, deputy director of the FAO Climate and Environment Division , urging the transformation of agri-food systems.
“We cannot continue with the current model of producing food and then degrading the soil, reducing biodiversity, affecting the environment. No. The model to follow must be sustainable,” he said.
The expert argued that if the right decisions are made, agriculture can be an important part of the solution to combat the climate crisis by sequestering carbon in soil and plants, and promoting adaptation and resilience.
“We cannot produce the food to feed a growing population with the current model, with the threat of climate change. We cannot,” he insisted.
The first thing the world should address, he added, is food waste, responsible for 8% of global gas emissions.
“We have about 828 million people who go hungry every day. And yet, we throw away a third of the food we produce for human consumption. We need to change our mentality, our production model, so as not to lose and waste food” , he stressed.
He added that in terms of solutions, harnessing the power of innovation is crucial to reducing emissions, helping to adapt agriculture to a changing climate and making it more resilient to adversities not only caused by climate change, but also by pandemics or wars. .
“Innovation in the broadest sense, like precision agriculture, where you have drip irrigation combined with renewable energy so that you have efficiency. But innovation that taps into the traditional knowledge of small farmers is also important, because it’s happening all the time.” Ould-Dada emphasized.
Civil society calls for financial and economic transformation
UN representatives were not the only ones to highlight the need for countries to invest in transformation and deliver on their pledge to finance climate action.
A massive protest led by a coalition of environmental, women’s, indigenous, youth and trade union organizations took to the roads between the COP27 pavilions.
“The right to territories, the right to resources, human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, loss and damage must be in all the negotiating texts… the 1.5ºC limit increase is not negotiable, that’s what we stand for here,” said Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a Chadian environmentalist and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals .
The activist stated that her people are dying from floods and droughts, while some indigenous communities in the Pacific are losing their land.
“We want to have justice. Justice for our people, for our economies for losses and damages. We are losing our culture, our identity, our life, and that is not paid for, but climate financing must be delivered,” he shouted in the midst of hundreds of protesters.
Source: UN News Service