COP26: Governments vow to strengthen nature protection and expand carbon sinks
UK government announces 45 countries have signed up to new coalition designed to accelerate efforts to expand nature based solutions to the climate crisis
A group of 45 governments will today promise to take urgent action and mobilise increased investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow.
With negotiations continuing through the weekend, Saturday has been designated ‘Nature and Land-Use Day’ at the Summit and a raft of announcements are expected on how governments and businesses can ramp up efforts to expand natural carbon sinks, encourage greener farming practices, and bolster climate resilience across the agricultural supply chains.
The UK government announced this morning that 45 countries had agreed to set out their commitment to transform agriculture and food systems through policy reforms, research, and innovation so as to reduce emissions and protect nature.
The initiative includes plans to leverage over $4bn billion of new public sector investment in agricultural innovation, including the development of climate resilient crops and regenerative solutions to improve soil health, and support for making these techniques and resources affordable and accessible to hundreds of millions of farmers.
But in a move that will further fuel accusations from some campaigners that the UK government has oversold several of the announcements made in the first week of COP26, the original press release announcing today’s moves did not contain a list of the 45 countries that have pledged to take action.
The government did, however, detail how the commitment includes a pledge to support internationally agreed ‘Action Agendas’, which set out steps that governments, farmers, and others can take through policy reform and innovation to deliver the changes necessary for sustainable food systems.
Sixteen countries are expected to launch a “Policy Action Agenda” and more than 160 stakeholders will join a “Global Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture” tasked with accelerating the global transition towards climate resilient agriculture and food systems and more sustainable farming practices, the UK government said.
“To keep 1.5C alive, we need action from every part of society, including an urgent transformation in the way we manage ecosystems and grow, produce and consume food on a global scale,” said Environment Secretary George Eustice. “We need to put people, nature and climate at the core of our food systems. The UK government is leading the way through our new agricultural system in England, which will incentivise farmers to farm more sustainably, create space for nature on their land and reduce carbon emissions.
“There needs to be a fair and just transition that protects the livelihoods and food security of millions of people worldwide – with farmers, indigenous people and local communities playing a central role in these plans.”
The government said it will also outline a range of new farming and nature related funding commitments from its £3bn fund for nature, including plans to invest nearly £25m in work to develop sustainable supply chains in tropical countries, provide £38m for a new global sustainable farming research initiative, and contribute up to £40m of international climate finance to establish the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate.
The UK will also launch a £65m Just Rural Transition support programme to help developing countries move towards more sustainable methods of agriculture and food production.
The government pledges come on the same day as a group of nearly 100 high-profile UK companies announced plans to work together to halt and reverse the decline of nature by 2030 and commit to becoming ‘Nature Positive’.
“If we are to keep the 1.5C target in reach, we need to work with other nations to halt global deforestation, investing in the sustainable trading of commodities that will help communities thrive, while protecting our planet for generations to come,” said UK Clean Growth, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands. “Backed by a £500m package of support, today’s historic UK commitment at COP26 will help protect millions of hectares of land, boosting rural communities and forest-friendly businesses, while creating thousands of green jobs across the world’s rainforest regions.”
Separately, today the World Economic Forum is set to launch a new global initiative designed to reach 100 million farmers with net zero and nature positive innovations by 2030.
Meanwhile, the UK government is set to the launch the Gilbert Initiative, which aims to “coordinate investments in evidence generation, technology development and delivery to support a food system that by 2030 feeds nine billion people with nutritious, safe foods; uses environmental resources sustainably; enhances resilience and adaptation to climate change; and generates inclusive growth and jobs”.
In addition, a series of further announcements are expected from governments that are designed to extend marine protection zones and support the commitment earlier this week to end deforestation by 2030.
However, the new package of measures are likely to face a mixed response from green groups, who have noted that some of the major emerging economies are yet to commit to the various initiatives to curb biodiversity impacts and that previous pledges to reverse deforestation and halt biodiversity loss have gone unfulfilled.
