David Cameron, the recently appointed UK foreign secretary (and former prime minister) seems to be enjoying himself at Cop, shaking hands and beaming his way around the conference centre. Our environment editor, Fiona Harvey, is, as we write, sitting just behind him at a press conference and we will find out from her what he has to say very soon. For now, enjoy these pictures of a very happy Cameron. He seems delighted to be out of his shed and back on the world stage.
So good to see @David_Cameron engaging with some of the great indigenous leaders at #COP28 There’s no tackling climate change without nature & there’s no better or more effective guardians of nature than indigenous peoples @JUANJINTIACH @MinaSetra2 pic.twitter.com/bLJ0OebIQ0
It’s now been confirmed that more than 130 prime ministers and presidents today signed the Cop28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action – the first of its kind commitment to adapt and “transform” food systems as part of broader climate action. But, the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (Ipes-Food), an independent, expert panel on sustainable food systems, points out that the declaration contains no legally binding commitments. And there are no targets or clear steps to tackle key climate-related issues such as the crazy amount of food waste in some countries, the overconsumption of industrially produced meat and processed foods, and the food industry’s huge fossil fuel footprint.
Lim Li Ching, co-chair of Ipes-Food and senior researcher for Third World Network said: “It’s encouraging to see that food systems are finally taking their place at the heart of climate negotiations and at the highest levels of government. We cannot meet our global climate goals without urgent action to transform the industrial food system, which is responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and 15% of fossil fuel use. But while this is an essential first step, the language remains very vague – and specific actions and measurable targets are conspicuously missing.”
Zambia’s president, Hakainde Hichilema, has hit back at suggestions that a wave of carbon offsetting deals in African countries by a UAE sheikh, which include his country, are a new “scramble for Africa”.
Speaking after an EU event on carbon markets alongside Ursula von der Leyen, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Hichilema said his country lacked expertise on developing carbon projects and needed international organisations to help.
This year, the rights over vast tracts of African forest have been sold off in a series of huge carbon offsetting deals that cover an area of land larger than the UK to a UAE-based firm called Blue Carbon, with concerns raised about the previous business dealings of the young Dubai royal behind the agreements.
When asked about the secretive Blue Carbon deals, Hichilema said they would benefit local people.
“It shouldn’t be [a scramble for Africa’s resources]. When someone comes to our country and brings an idea around carbon, we say that we don’t understand how to work through this. That is why we have asked the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, the African Development Bank to put the technical capacity together, learning from what the countries of the north have done,” he said.
In a speech that lacked specifics, Ursula von der Leyen has said carbon markets and taxation were important for global decarbonisation, including voluntary carbon markets which have been beset by accusations of poor quality by scientific research and journalistic investigations.
The new World Bank president, Ajay Banga, said his organisations would soon be presenting high-quality forestry projects in three countries that, he hoped, would help assuage concerns about lack of environmental integrity in forest carbon projects.
Leaders speeches begin with pleas on Palestine and Pacific islands
Hello, Helena Horton here, an environment reporter here at the Guardian and I’ll be blogging throughout the rest of the day. The leaders have started speaking. Here are a few highlights.
We are starting with some monarchs – the UK’s King Charles spoke earlier.
Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, the king of Jordan linked the climate emergency to the war happening in Gaza. He said:
“As we speak the Palestinian people are facing an immediate threat to their lives and well being. Tens of thousands have been injured or killed in a region already on the frontline of climate change. The massive destruction of water makes the environmental threats of water scarcity and food insecurity more severe.”
He added that people there are living without clean water and with a bare minimum of food supplies and points out that climate change exacerbates the destructive nature of war.
The monarch asked for more aid to be sent to the most vulnerable and pointed out that Jordan does not contribute significantly to climate breakdown but is greatly affected, with water scarcity a real threat.
Tupou VI, the King of Tonga said it was “painful” for small developing island states to see that Cop28 “may not be the milestone moment we were all hoping for” and that progress on the Paris agreement had been far too slow.
Every year, we hear anguished pleas from those representing small island states who are literally sinking under the water due to climate breakdown. Unsurprisingly they have felt ignored as large, wealthy countries continue to belch out fossil fuels. Tupou said that over 50,000 Pacific island people were displaced every year as their homes are lost as a result of climate breakdown. He told the conference: “We are ocean people, the ocean is our lifeblood, it feeds us, is our mode of transportation and is a deep part of our culture.”
It has been a busy morning with big name politicians from around the globe arriving for day two of Cop28.
King Charles addressed delegates telling them “I pray with all my heart that Cop28 will be [a] critical turning point towards genuine transformational action.”
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, arrived for a flying visit but his decision to push ahead with new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea and rowing back on key climate measures has not got down well.
A new declaration on transforming food systems has been agreed, the first Cop resolution which directly tackles the relationship between what we eat and the changing climate.
Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, was due to arrive with a cadre of administration officials, including Tony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and Michael Regan, administrator of the EPA.
My colleague Helena Horton is taking over the blog now as leaders begin their addresses to conference
Some reaction to the new declaration on food that my colleague Nina Lakhani reported on earlier.
Tom Mitchell, executive director of the International Institute for Environment and Development, said:
“This agreement is a tentative first step in addressing one of the thorniest problems of the climate crisis – our broken food systems. They are responsible for so many greenhouse gas emissions, from cutting down forests and clearing land for animal feed, to the emissions of cattle themselves. It’s staggering there has been no obligation to include this sector in emissions reductions plans for so long.
“Government subsidies have long supported the polluting effects of large scale agriculture, acting as a hidden brake on climate action. These payments should be redirected in a way that means people and nature can thrive.”
Patty Fong, from the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, said:
“The declaration doesn’t set out how governments will tackle food emissions, and makes no reference to fossil fuels, despite food systems accounting for at least 15% of fossil fuels burned each year –equivalent to the emissions of all EU countries and Russia combined. This is a glaring omission.
“However, the commitment to integrate food and farming into domestic climate action plans is welcome and long overdue. Over 70% of countries’ nationally determined contributions lack adequate action on food systems – updating them is where there is real potential to tackle emissions and unlock climate finance.
“Our more than two dozen philanthropic members and other partners around the world are working to catalyse much-needed food system transformation that can help to phase out dependency on polluting fossil fuels in the sector while improving health, community wellbeing, and biodiversity.”
King Charles (left) speaks with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as they attend the opening ceremony of the world climate action summit at Cop28 in Dubai. Photograph: Chris Jackson/PA
King Charles talks with emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
India prime minister, Narendra Modi, attends a plenary session. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP
World leaders after a family photo session. Photograph: Anthony Fleyhan/UN press office/ EPA
A quick analysis shows that while women and girls bear the brunt of the climate crisis, only 15 out of the 133 world leaders participating in this year’s Cop28 are women.
Last year, seven out of the 110 world leaders attending Cop27 were women. So although there has been a welcome increase since last year, at 11%, women are still significantly underrepresented.
Helen Pankhurst, senior adviser on gender equality at Care International UK said: “Yet again, the red carpet is being rolled out for male leaders at Cop and men dominate among the senior negotiators. How are we going to achieve a fair outcome in climate negotiations with such inequity at the top? Women and girls are the most affected by climate change, yet they are silenced. Invisible. This must change.”
More from Nina Lakhani on the new food declaration
While far from perfect, the groundbreaking declaration was widely welcomed by small-scale and Indigenous farmers – who produce a third of the world’s food – as well as right to food campaigners, consumer associations and small business groups.
“The destruction of nature and climate change threatens food security, rural livelihoods and nutrition, but our food systems also cause a third of global emissions and are a primary driver of wildlife loss. It’s about time the Cops put them on the main menu,” said Hilal Elver, a former UN special rapporteur on the right to food. “Food and agriculture must be at the heart of new climate plans and funding if we are to meet the Paris agreement and have enough nutritious food for everyone.”
Esther Penunia, secretary-general of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Development, a regional alliance representing 13 million family farmers, said: “The declaration is a major milestone on the road towards a more resilient and sustainable food system. Governments need to work with family farmers networks to ensure these promises are translated into the concrete policies and funding needed to support small-scale producers and promote a shift to more diverse and nature friendly farming, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says is needed to safeguard food security.”
Other commitments include a pledge to accelerate and scale science and evidence-based innovations – including local and Indigenous knowledge – which increase sustainable agriculture, promote ecosystem resilience and improve livelihoods, including for rural communities, smallholders, family farmers and other producers.
It’s been a long time coming but finally, world leaders seem to be catching on to the fact that achieving the long-term goals of the Paris agreement will be impossible without transforming agriculture and food systems. Progress on this is a key area to watch, especially given the power and influence of the meat, dairy and industrialized farming conglomerates.
World leaders have signed a declaration on transforming food systems – the first ever Cop resolution which directly tackles the symbiotic relationship between what we eat and the changing climate. The resolution recognises that “unprecedented adverse climate impacts are increasingly threatening the resilience of agriculture and food systems as well as the ability of many, especially the most vulnerable, to produce and access food in the face of mounting hunger, malnutrition, and economic stresses … [we recognise] the profound potential of agriculture and food systems to drive powerful and innovative responses to climate change and to unlock shared prosperity for all.”
The 100+ countries to sign the declaration on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action have committed to including food and land use in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national adaptation plans by Cop30 in 2025.
Globally, food systems account for about one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, with the vast majority coming from industrialised farming, particularly livestock and fertilisers. The climate crisis is already impacting agriculture and food security, as extreme weather events like floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires – and slow-onset impacts like sea level rise and desertification – fuel high prices and food shortages in countries across the world.
