Members of our International Affairs team will be heading to Azerbaijan next week to raise awareness of the urgent need to transform our global food system at the 2024 United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, known as COP29.

This year, we will be joining other organisations including ProVeg International, Future Economy Forum and EIT Food as part of the Action on Food Hub. The Hub will create an inclusive space for dialogue, collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders from across the entire food system, as well as actively elevate the voice of marginalised communities, which are so often the most vulnerable to climate change.

On 16 November, the Hub is devoting a day to ‘Just Transition’, which we are co-hosting alongside World Animal Protection, ProVeg International, Mercy for Animals, Four Paws and the Changing Marketing Foundation.

That morning, we will co-present a side event with Four Paws, Climate and animal agriculture: The soil health, nature-positive farming and consumption nexus. Later that day, we are taking part in a roundtable event, called Creating a Vision for Food System Transformation: how do we get there?

Side events focus on agriculture and climate

On 18 November, we’re jointly organising an official UNFCCC side event, From Field to Plate: Aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity goals, with Brighter Green, Proveg International, Consumers International and World Animal Protection. The event will explore holistic and inclusive policies that address animal production and consumption in order to reduce emissions while boosting food security, human health, climate resilience and justice.

Together with the Government of Pakistan, UNEP, INMS and other partners, on 20 November we are hosting and speaking at an event called Sustainable nitrogen management: Collaborative solutions for Climate Action, Environment and Food Security. Held at the Pakistan pavilion, the event will explore the urgent need to optimise nitrogen use in agriculture to tackle climate change, reduce and reverse environmental damage whilst ensuring food security.

Opportunity to address food’s role in climate change

The UN’s Climate Change Conference of Parties provides an opportunity for leaders to gather annually and make commitments to tangibly address climate change.

Overconsumption of meat and dairy products is a major driver of climate change. The livestock sector produces more direct greenhouse gas emissions than the direct emissions of all the world’s planes, trains and cars put together. Unless we address this, we will have no chance of meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

There is growing awareness of the need to fix our food systems and COP29 provides an opportunity to effect real change. For the third consecutive year food and agriculture are acknowledged as key issues in addressing climate change, with 19 November dedicated to ‘Food, Water and Agriculture’.

Andrea Perez, Global Manager of Food Systems Advocacy, Compassion in World Farming comments:

“For the third year running, we’ve teamed up with other NGOs focused on animal welfare and food system transformation. By combining knowledge, expertise and perspectives we can collectively have our voice heard in a more impactful way, sharing solutions and elevating the role of food within the climate negotiations.

"Food systems transformation is no longer the elephant in the room. By being on the ground at the world’s most important climate change talks, we are able to advocate for a better, more compassionate future that benefits animals, people and the planet. We will be monitoring outcomes and are hopeful that countries will take global action on climate and agriculture, with solutions that are context-specific and that leave no one behind”.

Spotlight on climate-friendly food systems at COP29