A call to action for all levels of government to tackle climate change through integrated sustainable food policies
Global food systems currently account for 21-37% of total GHGs. They are a primary cause of environmental degradation, and significantly contribute to socio-economic and health inequalities.
In turn, food systems are also being affected by the climate and nature crisis, which has already begun to affect the predictability of yields and food prices, the reliability of distribution, as well as food quality, food safety, and food security for all.
Thinking of food systems as a whole makes it easier to develop coherent policies, address tensions and trade-offs, and deliver the food systems transformation needed to tackle urgent environmental and nutritional challenges.
Integrated food policies that take a food systems approach therefore hold the key to tackling the climate and nature emergencies, reducing the burden of malnutrition and chronic disease, and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of our food systems, the vulnerability of both urban and rural populations, and highlighted the need for food system preparedness and resilience in the face of shocks and stresses.
The climate COP26, which will be held in Glasgow on November 1-12, 2021 in partnership between the UK and Italy, provides a key opportunity to highlight the role of substate actors in tackling the climate and nature emergencies through integrated policies on food.
Alok Sharma, COP26 President and Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said, “While we rightly focus on fighting the immediate crisis of the Coronavirus, we must not lose sight of the huge challenges of climate change. With the new dates for COP26 now agreed we are working with our international partners on an ambitious roadmap for global climate action between now and November 2021. The steps we take to rebuild our economies will have a profound impact on our societies’ future sustainability, resilience and wellbeing and COP26 can be a moment where the world unites behind a clean resilient recovery.”
Everyone will need to raise their ambitions to tackle climate change and the expertise of the Friends of COP will be important in helping boost climate action across the globe.
In addition, the Committee on Food Security is currently drawing up Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition, and the UN Secretary General is convening the first Food Systems Summit in 2021.
Along with the Nutrition for Growth Summit and Convention on Biological Diversity COP, these events are paying increasing attention to the role of substate actors and the importance of integrated food policies and provide an opportunity to raise awareness and call for action.
1.The Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration
The Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration pledges to accelerate the development of integrated food policies as a key tool in the fight against climate change, commits local authorities to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban and regional food systems in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and calls on national governments and international institutions to act.
Who are the core partners of the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration?
The partners behind the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration are IPES-Food, Nourish Scotland, ICLEI, Rikolto, the Under2 Coalition, FAO Urban Food Agenda, MUFPP, and Sustainable Food Places.
What is the objective of the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration?
The Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration pledges to accelerate the development of integrated food policies as a key tool in the fight against climate change with co-benefits for biodiversity, ecosystem regeneration, circularity, access to sustainable and healthy diets for all, and the creation of resilient livelihoods for farm and food workers. The declaration commits sub-national governments, including cities, regions, federal, and devolved states, to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban and regional food systems in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
It further calls on national governments to develop similar policies which build on, align with, and reinforce local change efforts. The declaration builds on previous work by the World Urban Forum Medellin, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the C40 and others helping to strengthen the governance mechanisms for food systems transformation.
Why a prominent role for sub-national actors?
Local actors are often best placed to implement effective policies in many areas of food systems. Cities, regions, and sub-national states are already leading the way in pioneering integrated food policies and strategies to drive positive food system change at a local and regional level, where the majority of sustainable food system innovation is occurring.
This includes food waste reduction schemes; healthy and sustainable food procurement for public canteens; public campaigns to encourage behavioural change towards:
- healthy diets
- the creation of urban gardens
- agricultural parks
- incubator farms
- regional food hubs, and farmers markets
- frameworks to support short supply chain and social and solidarity economy initiatives
- strengthening agroecological development plans
- integrated territorial and urban food planning
- strengthening urban-rural linkages
- the development of pesticide-free and GMO-free districts, bio-districts and organic regions.
At the same time, limited international and national government recognition, mandate and support for sub-national food system policies and partnerships hamper or fails to incentivise effective scaling and extension of this vital action.
This declaration by July 2020 sub-national actors is designed to amplify their voices in global conversations on food and climate, nature and health, where to date they have had a limited input.
Why take a food systems approach to Climate Change?
Food touches on many different policy areas and this often leads to policy contradictions and friction. A food systems approach makes it easier to develop coherent policies, address tensions and trade-offs, and deliver the food systems transformation needed to tackle urgent environmental and nutritional challenges.
It considers the range of actors and interactions involved in producing, manufacturing, supplying, consuming and disposing of food, while recognising their profound interconnections with public health and the underlying socio-cultural, economic, biophysical, and institutional factors that shape our food systems.
A food systems approach, therefore, considers that different problems in food systems are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Unless all food systems’ impacts are considered together, climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies associated with food production and consumption are likely to be inefficient.
Why integrated food policies?
To achieve sustainable food systems transformation actions must be aligned horizontally across policy areas and vertically between different levels of governance to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems. In most countries, responsibility for food systems is split across several ministries, with agriculture, trade and industry, health, labour, and environment departments typically setting agendas based on different priorities and conflicting objectives. There are also important inconsistencies between governance levels.
The majority of sustainable food system innovations are occurring at the local and regional levels. However, limited international and national government recognition, mandate, and support for city and regional food system policies and partnerships fails to incentivise this type of experimentation.
The development of integrated food policies would serve to correct these oversights, particularly through multi-actor and multi-level governance mechanisms. Integrated food policies can also create mechanisms for cross-sectoral work, inclusive priority setting and multi-level exchange of best practice and evaluation tools across governance levels, which are generally lacking.
