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Happy New Year!

GRSB Updates for 27 December 2023

This is the last Connect for 2023. I hope you are having a peaceful and joyful holiday break, and that we will all be together again with renewed energy in 2024.

You have probably had a chance to read many reviews of the outcomes of CoP28 by now, but when I wrote the last Connect we had not yet had the final text, so I will give a brief overview of what I think is significant for us.

The Global Stocktake (GST) did include significant references to food security, sustainable agriculture and resilience, touching also on regenerative land management. We were provided this useful summary of the relevant paragraphs by Emerging Ag, who were assisting us in the lead up to and engagement in CoP:

a. Preamble Emphasis on Food Security: The preamble recognizes the essential priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, highlighting the vulnerabilities of food production systems to climate change.
b. Para 28 (Mitigation and methane): It further acknowledges the need for deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in emissions, aligning with 1.5 °C pathways, focusing on substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions, notably methane, by 2030.
c. Para 36 (Mitigation and sustainable lifestyles): Notes the importance of transitioning to sustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production in addressing climate change. This includes embracing circular economy approaches and encouraging efforts.
d. Para 55 (Adaptation): Encourages integrated, multi-sectoral solutions like land-use management, sustainable agriculture, and resilient food systems.
e. Para 63 (Adaptation targets): Set food-related adaptation targets, including attaining climate-resilient food and agricultural production, sustainable and regenerative production, and equitable access to food and nutrition by 2030.
f. Para 70 (Role of Private Sector in Finance): Recognizes the private sector's role in achieving low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. It highlights the need for policy guidance, incentives, and regulations to scale up investments, encouraging Parties to improve enabling environments.
g. Para 103 (Role of Private Sector in Technology Development and Transfer): Highlights gaps in technology development and transfer and the uneven adoption of climate technologies. It urges Parties to address these barriers and strengthen cooperation, especially with the private sector, to scale up technology deployment and innovation.

You can find the whole text here.

The Global Goal on Adaptation also covers the need for climate-resilient food and agricultural production, focusing on sustainable, regenerative production and equitable access to adequate food and nutrition.

Those are the two texts agreed by all parties.

Many of the other things you will have heard coming out of CoP, such as the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action were not adopted by all parties, but the declaration has been signed by 152 countries, indicating increasing willingness to engage on the subject of food systems within climate discussions. The declaration paves the way for agriculture and food systems to be included in Nationally Determined Contributions and Adaptation plans.

Important for us to know is that the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub will be supporting national efforts. The Hub will be conducting a series of consultations with different stakeholders and will use the UNFSS+4 as a key milestone alongside COP30 in 2025. Again from Emerging Ag on this:

a. The Alliance for Champions of Food Systems Transformation is spearheaded by five countries (Brazil, Cambodia, Norway, Rwanda and Sierra Leonne) and supported by a broad group of non-state actors (including WWF, CGIAR, Bezos Earth Fund and WRI). The five countries committed to driving systemic change in their food systems and inspiring others.
b. COP28 Food, Agriculture and Climate Action Toolkit: A task force including WWF, GAFF, Climate Focus, NDC Partnership, FAO, CGIAR and the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT was convened by the UAE Presidency to produce a toolkit of resources, case studies and priority actions for integrating food in NDCs and NAPs. The toolkit is seen as a major potential resource to help countries translate global commitments into ambitious local action.
c. FAO's FAST initiative will be developed as a multi-stakeholder partnership programme to support the implementation of the Emirati declaration. An initial board meeting at FAO in April 2024 will include supportive countries and observers' organizations to develop a work plan and establish working groups.

The two FAO reports I mentioned last time are significant as they contribute to all of the above, and the position they have taken is more nuanced on livestock than has recently been the case. FAO launched the Roadmap for transforming food systems to achieve SDG2 (zero hunger) without exceeding 1.5°C. The intention is to develop regional plans by COP29 and country-specific action plans with monitoring systems by COP 30.

The Roadmap focuses on solutions across ten domains including achieving CO2-neutral agrifood systems, (excepting other GHGs), by 2035 and transforming agrifood systems into a net carbon sink (-1.5 Gt CO2eq/year) by 2050. Sector-specific targets for livestock include reducing methane emissions by 25% by 2030 and increasing total factor productivity by 1.7% annually by 2050.

On diets, the target is to update dietary guidelines and introduce legislation against child-targeted food ads by 2030. They also released Pathways towards lower emissions – A global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems.

It uses FAO's Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM), which we know is not perfect, but hopefully we can contribute to improvements on data used. In this. an overview of reduction potentials is presented best summarized by this graph: (Click graph to see larger version.)

Base year and projected emissions from livestock systems (including growth to feed increasing population) shown as a waterfall chart with a range of mitigation measures applied to 2050 with their potential.

Thanks for all of your collaboration in 2023,
and all the very best for 2024!

Thank you,

Ruaraidh Petre
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Executive Director
27 December 2023

The assessment that I have heard about the results of CoP28 in Latin America was about the lack of bold climate action, where concrete actions that have a real and sustainable impact are promoted.

Climate change poses a unique threat to our region of Latin America, as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, deforestation and biodiversity loss threaten our communities. Climate solutions must put people and the Earth first, and advance social justice, as well as benefit our economy.

The Global World Balance from the perspective of the Latin American region must prioritize locally focused adaptation, including:

attention to ecosystem-based solutions
investment in public services that are essential for the realization of human rights

such as education, health, water and sanitation

commitment to strong mitigation action, including

revised NDCs with strong and equitable just transition plans aligned with human rights and gender equality principles

provided accountability mechanisms that include local communities and non-state actors
and align financial flows to meet global commitments.

It is important for world leaders to interpret the implications of the Global Balance that are specific to our region.

I believe that the paths are being paved in the right direction, but in a slow way, where there are still no clear action plans.

Thank you,

Josefina Eisele
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Regional Director for Latin America
27 December 2023

We are delighted to welcome you as a GRSB member.
We look forward to working with you.

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Announces Election of Board of Directors and Executive Committee Officers for 202424

The newly elected 2024 GRSB Board of Directors represents the six active constituencies of GRSB.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand, New Zealand, and Cattle Australia, Australia, represent the Producers Constituency, which includes livestock producers, organizations and associations who are actively engaged in the ownership and management of live cattle used to produce beef.

Breedr Ltd.,US, and LSQA, Uruguay, will represent the Allied Services & Industries Constituency, which are organizations and companies supplying goods and services to beef producers.

ABIEC, (Brazilian Beef Exporters Association), Brazil, represents the Processing Constituency of organizations processing live cattle into beef products.

A&W Food Services of Canada, Canada, represents the member organizations and associations which bring beef and beef-related products to consumers as the Retail Constituency.

The Nature Conservancy, US, represents academic institutions, non-government and non-commercial institutions, foundations and associations with a stake in the beef value chain as part of the Civil Society Constituency.

The Roundtable Constituency, made up of local, national or regional Roundtables and initiatives who share the vision, mission, and statement of purpose and objectives of GRSB, will be represented by the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, Australia, and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Canada.

The 2024 GRSB Board of Directors elected new officers for 2024 from the top leadership of its organizational members.

Bob Lowe, Tri-L Ranch, Canada, was elected President for the coming year, with Justin Sherrard, Rabobank, Netherlands, as Vice President.

Brian Lindsay, Dairy Sustainability Framework, United Kingdom, was elected as the third Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee. The other two Members-at-Large continuing to serve are Lucas McKelvie, McDonald's Corporation, US, and Luiza Bruscato, Brazilian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Brazil.

Ian McConnel, Mt. Brisbane Pty, Australia, will serve as the immediate Past President on the committee.

GRSB is seeking nominations for Secretary/Treasurer for 2024. Nominations for the GRSB Secretary/Treasurer will be received through Friday, January 5th at 12:00 midnight Eastern US/Canada Time.

SECRETARY/TREASURER ELECTION INFORMATION

LINK TO NOMINATING SITE