CGIAR at COP 28

Climate change is fueling a global food crisis, pushing levels of hunger and malnutrition to record levels. Many of the 500 million smallholder farmers, who provide a third of the world’s food on 83% of the world’s farms, live in regions especially affected by climate change, putting their lives and livelihoods at risk. In a world that is 2°C warmer, an additional 189 million people will face hunger. In a 4°C warmer world, an additional 1.8 billion people will go hungry.

At the same time, agriculture and food systems are major contributors to climate change. The global food system is responsible for an estimated third of greenhouse gas emissions—second only to the energy sector.

At COP 28, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) will address two of humanity’s most urgent challenges—climate change and food security—making the case that the world cannot meet its climate or development goals without transforming food systems. Its programme of events will engage with global experts and leaders accelerating action and investment to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis, including through the involvement of key partners such as youth.

CGIAR will also co-host the Food and Agriculture Pavilion, along with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Rockefeller Foundation.

CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in the climate crisis. With its worldwide reach thanks to its research-for-development partnership network, CGIAR seeks to respond to the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, environmental degradation, unequal prosperity, a changing climate, and the nutrition-related disease burden.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) will cover the following CGIAR’s events at COP 28:

• 1 December, Launch of the CGIAR Investment Case
• 9 December, CGIAR IPCC-IPBES Event
• 9 December, Agriculture Breakthrough: From Commitment to Action: How Can Existing Initiatives and Tools Help Advance COP 28 Food Systems Transformation Agenda?
• 11 December, The Role of Youth in Smallholder Agriculture

The ENB writers for these events are Laura Bullon-Cassis, Ph.D.; Marc Calabretta; Timothy Neff, Ph.D.; and Wanja Nyingi, Ph.D. The Digital Editors are Ángeles Estrada and Matthew TenBruggencate. The Editor is Leila Mead.