Ugandan Slow Food Campaigner Not Happy With COP28

A Ugandan pushing for reform in the global food systems, Edward Mukiibi says he is disappointed with the outcome of the ending UN Climate Summit.

Mukiibi, who is also the President of Slow Food said this was supposed to be the Food Conference of Parties (COP) but the conclusions were not good neither for the future of the food systems nor for limiting the effects of climate change.   

Slow Food believes that one way to fight and prevent climate change is to move away from industrial agriculture and towards diversified agroecological food systems.  

“The expectations around potentially positive efforts such as the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, signed by over 150 States, the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security and the FAO Roadmap were failed by the lack of concrete and binding targets, the influence of major emitters in the agriculture sector and the postponement of the discussions to transform the food systems at the next meetings,” Mukiibi, Slow Food president, said.

 He said the main outcome of COP28, namely the Global Stocktake, was largely void, with just one mention of food systems under the Adaptation section but excluded from the Mitigation section.  

Mukiibi in a statement said at last, after long negotiations, the mention of a transition away from fossil fuels has been included for the first time, but the deal is full of loopholes that will allow countries not to move as fast as needed to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“In addition, despite the different historical responsibility for emissions between developed and developing countries, it does not properly differentiate their roles in the transition away from fossil fuels,” he added. 

Mukiibi expressed their disappointment that agroecology was sidelined and did not emerge in policy discussions as a key element, nor was it mentioned as the solution that will allow us to reverse the course and fight against climate change.   

According to Mukiibi, the failure of the conference to tackle food systems means a further worrying delay in addressing the urgent climate challenges the planet is facing, ignoring crucial climate solutions through a meaningful food systems transformation.  

“On the other side, fortunately, municipalities, regional organizations and civil society are taking more concrete steps to tackle daily challenges related to climate change and biodiversity loss. The future stays in the hands of our communities on the ground and the collaboration with those truly interested in the transition to sustainability”, concludes Mukiibi. 

Since the Paris Agreement from the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21), stronger mitigation efforts have been embraced worldwide to slow down and stabilize global warming. Many countries have revisited their mitigation plans to strengthen their effectiveness or to find new solutions. 

The agriculture sector, together with forestry and other land uses, contributes nearly a quarter of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).   Half of this share comes from direct agricultural emissions, mainly from livestock, with most of the rest from deforestation of which agriculture is the main driver.

Emissions from the global fishing industry are only 4 per cent of emissions from food production but grew by 28 per cent between 1990 and 2011, with little coinciding increase in production. Emission reductions from food production have so far received less attention in GHG mitigation policies than those from energy, transport and other industrial sectors; consequently, emissions from agriculture could become the dominant source of global emissions by mid-century.

Therefore, meeting the Paris Agreement’s targets to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C or well below 2°C, will be impossible without the sector doing its part to tackle climate change.