Fao in the global climate agenda

Navigating the climate crisis is a livewire act: we must address climate change impacts on agrifood systems, and simultaneously reduce the impact of agrifood systems on the environment.

FAO seeks to enhance its support to Member Nations on climate change adaptation and mitigation, to build climate-resilient and low-emission agrifood systems while striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular to eradicate hunger and malnutrition (SDG 2).

Making agrifood systems more efficient and sustainable requires rethinking current agricultural policies, advancing innovation and revolutionizing management approaches.

FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031

The FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031 is a response to the escalating global demand for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

The document outlines the importance of sustainable consumption and production patterns, through efficient and inclusive agrifood value chains.

The Strategic Framework’s better environment Programme Priority Areas include climate change mitigation and adapted agriculture and food systems; bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture; biodiversity and ecosystem services for food and agriculture; and sustainable urban food systems.

FAO Strategy on Climate Change

The FAO Strategy on Climate Change is part of the Strategic Framework.

It includes guiding principles, encompassing all areas of agricultural systems (crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, and forestry). Several of these principles speak of the need for country-driven innovation and science-based policy, taking into account the perspectives and needs of farmers, livestock keepers, fisherfolk, aquaculturists and forest-dependent people.

The Strategy on Climate Change embraces a “no-one-size-fits-all” approach, which considers context, diversity and capacity.

Food and agriculture in the global climate agenda

The 2015 Paris Agreement strengthens the global response to the threat of climate change by pursuing efforts to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

At the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), hosted by Egypt in late 2022, agriculture and food security featured prominently on the agenda.

Discussions in Sharm El Sheikh concluded the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture roadmap – a multisector UN approach that places agriculture at the heart of the fight against climate change – and set up a new, four-year Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security, to work on issues related to agriculture and food security, with a focus on implementation.

FAO and Egypt jointly launched the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation Initiative (FAST), aiming to support climate action in agrifood systems around three pillars:

1. access to finance and investment;
2. knowledge and capacity development; and
3. policy support and dialogue.

FAST will contribute to the implementation of nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, and long-term low-emission development strategies.

FAO global programmes on climate change in agriculture

The Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) programme is a joint programme between FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

SCALA supports countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America in building adaptive capacity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the targets set out in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

It emphasizes private sector engagement, as well as gender-responsive and inclusive approaches to planning and implementation that benefit the most vulnerable natural resource-dependent communities.

Another example is the Strengthening Agricultural Adaptation (SAGA) global project, which is working with farmers, helping them adapt to climate change in three countries particularly vulnerable to its impacts: Haiti, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. It does this by:

1. generating data and scientific evidence on vulnerability and adaptation options in the agriculture sectors;
2. undertaking community-based pilot interventions;
3. developing policy guidance; and
4. capitalizing on existing climate change coordination mechanisms to facilitate dialogue among local, national and international partners.

Scaling up green and climate-resilient finance

Climate finance is a fundamental part of the global development agenda, but agriculture and land use do not always benefit from adequate funding. Between 2000 and 2021, financial support for agrifood systems totaled USD 183 billion, with contributions of USD 19 billion in 2021 marking a 12 percent decline from the previous year. Trends analysis shows that although there is a positive trend in absolute terms, the growth rate of climate-related development finance to agrifood systems lags behind the overall average, resulting in a reduction in the proportion of finance allocated to agrifood systems globally.

FAO helps countries consider different financing options and makes a strong case for mainstreaming climate issues into policy.

FAO and the Global Environment Facility

Since 2018, FAO has supported over 100 countries to design and implement 159 Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects valued at USD 6.9 billion. The projects are helping governments address the critical issues at the nexus between agrifood systems, climate change, biodiversity, land degradation and international waters. They aim to improve productivity and agricultural livelihoods while boosting the sustainability of ecosystems.

The FAO–GEF partnership tackles both climate change mitigation and adaptation by avoiding and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and bolstering climate resilience. Over the past four years, from Uruguay to Uzbekistan, from Kenya to Cambodia, and from Mongolia to Mauritania to Mexico, GEF has supported the management of 150 million hectares of land and sea; restored nearly 4 million hectares of land; and brought over 2 million tonnes of overexploited fish stocks to a point where fish have the time to reproduce to sustain population levels. The funds have also supported measures that mitigated over 570 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and directly impacted the lives of more than 13 million people.

FAO and the Green Climate Fund

FAO and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have been scaling up investments in climate change projects to protect and build the resilience of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, reaching a milestone in 2022 as the value of FAO’s GCF portfolio passed the USD 1 billion mark. The projects focus on limiting or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and helping vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. FAO also extends its technical expertise to projects led by GCF partners.

Through the Readiness Programme, FAO also helps countries access GCF resources to enhance the capacity of national institutions to engage with GCF and to undertake adaptation planning and develop climate investment frameworks.