FAO Analysis Identifies Opportunities, Gaps and Risks Related to Agrifood Climate Solutions

Almost all countries look at agrifood systems as a primary consideration for climate change adaptation (94%) and mitigation (91%) in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This finding is according to the latest analysis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). NDCs are national climate action plans and the primary tool for attaining the Paris Agreement's goals.

The FAO Agrifood Systems in Nationally Determined Contributions: Global Analysis calls for the urgent attention of policymakers to address the climate crisis and place agrifood solutions as the main priority. Thus, the analysis provides vital information that can guide countries to improve their plans and work on bridging the gaps in mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance within agrifood systems. It offers an overview of major climate-related risks and greenhouse gas hotspots in this sector and synthesizes key adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The key findings of the analysis include:

• Food insecurity and biodiversity loss are the most frequently reported climate-related risks, featuring in 88% of NDCs. These risks that threaten to undermine hard-earned sustainable development gains are particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Around two-thirds of all countries report climate-related impacts and risks for crop-based systems in their NDCs, while around one-half do for livestock, forest, and ocean and coastal-based fisheries and aquaculture systems. 
• Least Developed Countries and low-income countries report climate-related risks at a higher rate than the global average, especially risks to agrifood systems and food security; livelihoods, poverty, and inequality.
• Inequalities within agrifood systems remain a significant barrier in NDCs. Addressing poverty and inequality is increasingly recognized as essential for adaptation and fair transitions, but only a fraction of NDCs target the specific vulnerabilities, risks, and capacities of different segments of the agrifood population.  

FAO also stressed that without greater attention to these socioeconomic gaps, agrifood systems risk leaving the most marginalized groups even more exposed to the impacts of climate change.