Browsing: Dubai COP28

COP28 food security
  • Analysts observe numerous loopholes in global climate talks, with a failure to address glaring food security concerns.
  • Financial commitments for food systems remain low, affecting implementation, and leaving millions of people hungry.
  • Agriculture accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

For the very first time, food systems were finally discussed at the just-ended COP28 in Dubai late last year, but analysts are up in arms, asking if it's a 'too little, too late' scenario.

“Given the profound impact of agricultural practices and food consumption patterns on our planet's health, this attention is long overdue,” notes the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) in its review of the COP28 outcome.

Better late than never, so “though the talks' long overdue focus on food and agriculture ultimately disappointed, it provides a starting point for future action and advocacy.”

COP28 was held in Dubai late last year, and while there…

  • Creating climate-resilient farmers to address climate change has become urgent.
  • Access to finance is essential to sustain and improve the agricultural livelihoods that vulnerable rural communities rely upon.
  • Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas supports increased employment, income, and services to rural communities.

 

East Africa is frequently impacted by food shortages and clusters of hunger due to complex mix of factors including unstable social and political environments, macroeconomic imbalances in trade and climate change.

Floods, pests, diseases are just a number of challenges hindering farmers in East Africa who rely on rainfed agriculture.

Not only these farmers are significantly limited by their marginalized conditions but also their lower capacity to adapt.

Climate change is another problem the world and this case Africa faces. It impacts the way struggling farmers navigate through crop failure and profitable market limitation.

Following the recent release of data confirming a sharp global

  • President Samia Suluhu Hassan highlighted the need for international commitment to climate agreements and innovative financing, including a $700 million green bond initiative for adaptation and mitigation strategies while representing Tanzania at COP28.
  • Through the African Group of Negotiators, African nations pushed for a just energy transition and increased climate financing, advocating for the right to use fossil fuels for development before transitioning to renewable energy sources.
  • Global leaders recognized Africa’s climate adaptation needs, with significant pledges such as the UK’s GBP 1.5 billion commitment for adaptation in Africa by 2025 and the African Development Bank Group’s initiative to mobilize $14 billion for low-income African countries.

Tanzania at COP28

Tanzanian President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan played a pivotal role at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, where she emphasized the critical need for the international community to fulfil unmet commitments related to climate change. Her speech brought to the fore …