Dispatch From UN Climate Change Conference: Wednesday, Nov. 19

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg

Every UN Climate Change Conference in recent years has run into overtime, as negotiators and leaders go past the official end—sometimes by hours, sometimes by a day or two—working to hammer out agreements. 

We have yet to see how things shake out here at COP30, of course, but it seems that the Brazilian conference presidency is pushing countries to act quickly, with a two-package approach aimed at trying to avoid major last-minute political snags.

In a draft released by the COP30 Presidency yesterday morning (PDF link), we got a first glimpse into what outcomes we might expect to see from negotiations here in Belém. The draft is incomplete and contains several proposals and rough ideas that might not make it into a final deal, but there are several aspects that I think are worth pointing out at this early stage.

First, we see the return of language around the shift away from fossil fuels. At COP28 a few years ago, countries agreed to signal their openness to phasing out fossil fuels, but we have yet to see major implementation plans there, and there’s still plenty of resistance from oil-dependent nations. So the fact that a fossil fuel phase-out actually made it to the draft text and was not dead-on-arrival at COP30 like it was last year at COP29 is, to quote The Guardian journalist Fiona Harvey, “itself a minor miracle.” Of course, the draft text is far from final, but the fact that more than 80 countries have already joined a call for a roadmap toward phasing out fossil fuels does give me some hope.

Second, the draft language also suggests countries might agree to annual reviews of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), a.k.a. country-level action plans to meet the terms of the Paris Agreement. Currently, these action plans are only submitted and reviewed every 4–5 years, so an annual timeline might be effective at keeping national leaders accountable. 

However, there’s no mention of food and agriculture just yet. 

Given how foundational we know food systems are to climate solutions, I’m sad to see that we haven’t reached a point where negotiators use food as a day-one tool—but at the same time, since today and tomorrow are both themed around Agriculture, Food Systems and Food Security, Fisheries, and Family Farming, I’m hoping the food movement will be able to deliver a powerful reminder.

At UNFCCC Side Events yesterday hosted by Food Tank and our global partners, we discussed how resilient food systems are integral to a circular bioeconomy that can sustain equitable finance and long-term adaptation solutions on a global scale. This is something that some countries, like Cambodia, already recognize in their NDCs and negotiation strategies. Let's continue to find ways to support and uplift farmers and value chains—like those around school meals—that are doing things right.

“We can talk about resilient food, climate-resistant food, but if farmers can’t sell their product, we’re not going to create the change we want,” Roy Steiner of The Rockefeller Foundation said during a discussion at the Peru-Resilience Hub. “School meals are not just feeding kids, which is important: It’s also a climate solution.”

It’s also worth pointing out that the absence of food systems in this draft text might not be entirely coincidental. Ahead of COP30, we were fully expecting agriculture, food systems, and climate justice to be priorities—but lobbyists have shown up in Belém in full force and have been particularly influential in pushing back.

If anything, this underscores how vital it is for the global food movement to deliver a strong counter-narrative: We need to highlight actionable and inspiring pathways for farmers, ranchers, producers, workers, principled business leaders, civil society advocates, scientists, and citizen eaters to all work together to build a more equitable, resilient, nourishing, climate-smart future.

That’s why we’re here at COP30. Our presence has an impact. Our voices have an impact. 

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” Joshua Gilbert, an Indigenous Consultant, Agriculturist & Innovator, told me onstage yesterday. “If you can’t see an Indigenous farmer proactively promoted…then you’re not likely to step in as an agricultural farmer.”

I hope—for the health of people and the planet—that COP negotiators step up and make food and agriculture systems central to the final deals made here in Belém over the next few days. But the idea that, by elevating authentic farmers’ voices on the world stage, we can inspire people to make a meaningful difference in their communities—that fills me with hope, too.

(Danielle Nierenberg is the President of Food Tank and can be reached at danielle@foodtank.com)