WESTERN PRODUCER — Food and agriculture were the main themes at the 2023 edition of the United Nations climate change conference, the Conference of the Parties.
COP28 in Dubai was dubbed the Food COP because of that focus on agriculture. Other organizations said food was finally on the table in climate discussions.
Food production was also a crucial topic at COP29, held last week in Baku, Azerbaijan. However, the main outcome from Baku was financing and a loose commitment to spend more on climate change.
“With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 … reached a breakthrough agreement that will triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of US$100 billion annually, to US$300 billion annually by 2035,” the UN said.
COP typically dominates headlines and social media for weeks in November. But another UN conference, held in Colombia this fall, could be equally meaningful for farmers and agriculture.
“Biodiversity is quickly ramping up … in being (just as) important (as climate). In fact, the timeline for it to become a mainstream issue is shortening,” said David McInnes, a consultant from Ottawa who specializes in sustainability in the agri-food sector.
McInnes is the principal of DMci Strategies and for several years has been leading Canada’s National Index on Agri-Food Performance. It’s a coalition of about 155 partners who are trying to measure and track sustainability in Canada’s agri-food sector.
“With an Index in hand, Canada can credibly show its track record, leadership and mark progress on improvements going forward,” its website says.
McInnes traveled to Colombia in October to attend the COP16 biodiversity conference. It featured multiple presentations in which speakers said grasslands, wetlands, watersheds, soils and other ecosystems play a critical role in food production.
The question is, how do you measure the value of a watershed for crops or measure soil health and put a number on it?
“What does it mean for food production? And how do we best measure that?” McInnes asked in the third week of November.
“How do we truly and properly measure nature’s impacts … so we can … figure out a way to continue to benefit from nature? Growing food. Producing wood.”
It’s simple to say that a wetland in a farm field in eastern Saskatchewan has value for ducks, insects and the natural world. But measuring what that wetland means for growing wheat or raising livestock isn’t a simple task.
It’s become apparent to McInnes, and others working in the sustainability world, that large food companies and governments are thinking about this and the value of biodiversity.
“Because of this view that nature risk equals business risk … it’s about assurance of supply.”
Canada’s farmers and the ag industry are in a good position to respond to this new expectation around preserving wetlands, grasslands, soils and natural systems. The National Index on Agri-Food Performance has put Canada on the “leading edge,” McInnes said.
“This is an immense tool to respond to the growing requirements to better measure impacts of agriculture and food.”
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