There are many contradictions inherent in attending CoP and you have to keep reminding yourself why you are there and what the justifications are of supporting a process that was quite clearly set up this year by an oil state to distract people from the main cause of climate change, fossil fuels.
We come here because it is vitally important for farmers and ranchers that governments recognise the stress that climate change puts on food production, and that farmers, ranchers and land managers in general are a huge part of the solution. Climate change policy must support food production and human nutrition, because if it does not, it is not a solution at all.
Josefina and I have been joined at CoP by GRSB members including our Vice President Bob Lowe and Mitchell Zoratti from the Canadian Cattle Association, EC member Luiza Bruscato, Jesse Sevcik from Elanco, Sheila Guebarra and Jason Weller from JBS, Fernando Sampaio from ABIEC, Brian Lindsay from DSF. as well as a host of people from organisations with whom we regularly, including national roundtables and those from the Dairy Sector.
It is interesting to see how some of the media, in particular the Guardian, reacted to the presence of livestock representatives at CoP28, as though this was somehow a secret plot to influence negotiations. That was despite the fact that we were hosting events that were public and open to all attendees, and that any influence one might wish to have over the formal negotiations would have to have been well in advance with individual country representatives.
On this, the final day, I am much happier than I was last year, and this is largely because of a perceptible change in the narrative around livestock and agriculture in general.
There are still many who quote inaccurate or at the least, misleading figures for emissions from food, but they are starting to temper those figures with a recognition that we need more food, not less, and that the way to tackle emissions is to produce more food with less.
Efficiency, productivity and the many elements we have been promoting for ten years are now being recognised as genuine solutions to the conundrum of feeding a growing population while decreasing impacts.
Two reports that underline a shift in the narrative were released by FAO this week; the first on combatting emissions from the livestock sector and the second on the roadmap to meeting SDG2 (zero hunger) without broaching 1.5C. We have tended to be wary of new FAO reports as there have been many over the years that have presented livestock in an unfavourable light and have generally offered decreased consumption as a major strategy to reduce impact. These two reports, however, recognise the need for increased production of animal source food to feed a growing population, particularly for those in developing countries where consumption may currently be inadequate.
I see significant alignment in what they are now proposing and a presentation I gave to senior FAO representatives back in February on Livestock and Climate Change – naturally FAO already had all of the expertise in-house and all I did was draw together much of their material combined with many of our members’ work, but it is heartening to see the gap in messaging closing.
At that time, I talked about the impact of climate change on agriculture and livestock systems, and the urgent need for adaptation, as well as the gains that can be made through Improved animal health, Husbandry (breeding and genetics), Grazing management to improve productivity & Silvopastoral systems. I also addressed enteric emissions, including the need for better feeding strategies, right sizing herds and the potential of feed additives, and the urgent need to scale up practices that improve soil health and sequester carbon. Finally, I talked about the need for a holistic and joined up approach at national, regional and global levels.
I will go into more detail on actions and outcomes of CoP in the next edition of Connect.
