Global challenges related to climate change and land affect us all. Through an integrated approach, the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), places the responsibility for implementing solutions with government policymakers as well as communities and individuals.
Although there is some resistance to the science presented in the IPCC assessments and reports, many experts and policymakers acknowledge and value its contribution. In 2007 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the IPCC (the prize was shared with former US vice-president Al Gore) for its work “to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about manmade climate change, and to lay the foundations needed to counteract such change.”
The IPCC has continued these efforts, recently releasing a report on climate change and land. The report is unprecedented in that a majority of its authors represent developing countries.
The SRCCL takes a holistic view to address climate change, which has been recognised as a systemic problem. According to the report, “climate change creates additional stresses on land, exacerbating existing risks to livelihoods, biodiversity, human and ecosystem health, infrastructure, and food systems.” The key findings act as a wake-up call, but also offer some optimism on solutions that can deliver a positive change.
Creating sustainable global food systems
Our current global food system is a vicious circle: unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to global greenhouse gases (GHGs), which, in turn, negatively impact the way food is grown. The SRCCL asserts that climate change affects all four pillars of food security: availability (yield and production); access (prices and ability to obtain food); utilisation (nutrition and cooking); and stability (disruptions to availability). These impacts will be felt all over the world, but are likely to be more severe in low-income countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
But land used for cultivation is both a source and a sink of GHGs, and so the SRCCL names sustainable land management as a solution to combat climate change and improve food security. This can include a wide range of practices. Improved forest and peatland management can help to maintain and enhance carbon stocks. Crop variation can improve genetic tolerance to heat and drought in rice paddies. Implementing such practices quickly will avoid further damage and decrease demand for land conversion.
A major obstacle to sustainably feeding the world is food loss and waste, one of the three pillars of the Food Sustainability Index (FSI), developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition. The SRCCL states that 25-30% of food produced is lost or wasted. Riccardo Valentini, director of the impacts division of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and one of the lead authors of the SRCCL, described that the “land used for producing the wasted food is equal to the total land of [the] US, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela.”
According to Mr Valentini: “In the EU, the combination of diet and waste represent 30% of the GHGs produced, a huge amount considering the current EU target of 40%” for cutting emissions. Reducing food loss and waste by engaging decision-makers across the supply chain—including harvesting, on-farm storage, infrastructure, transport, packaging and retail—is therefore critical.
We each have a role to play
Transforming our global food system is possible. The Summary for Policymakers presents a synthesis of the report for governments. But the change that needs to take place is not only in the hands of policymakers; every individual must play a role. Along with food loss and waste reduction in homes, a change in dietary choices is required. This influences how land is used for agriculture and livestock rearing. Moving towards plant-based diets is one of the opportunities for limiting and adapting to climate change.
Mr Valentini notes that by reducing red meat to “five to three times a week we can save 30% of GHG emissions”. Alexander Verbeek, policy director of the Environment and Development Resource Centre, concurs. He recognises the value of individual actions: “each person that moves to a plant-based diet is making a small but relevant contribution to a better, greener, healthier, more equal and hopefully more peaceful planet.”
Communities also have a major role to play. The report notes that local stakeholders (particularly those most vulnerable to climate change, including indigenous peoples, women, and the poor and marginalised) enhance the effectiveness of decision-making and governance. In what has come to be known as citizen science, communities can participate in collecting climate data, land modelling and land-use planning.
There is reason to hope
The message from the SRCCL is clear: viable solutions exist but urgent action is required. The impact of the report will be seen during the upcoming desertification negotiations (COP14 for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD) and climate negotiations (COP25 for the Framework Convention on Climate Change). UNCCD executive secretary Ibrahim Thiaw has indicated support, saying that the report “makes the consequences of inaction crystal clear, we have no excuse for further delay”, urging all to harness “the enormous positive potential of our lands and make them part of the climate solution.” Sustainable land management and plant-based diets are two such solutions, encouraging the participation of policymakers, communities and individuals. “We can feed the world with sustainable practices,” says Mr Valentini, “our land is precious; every small patch of land should be considered important for our future.”