Thread by @mattadamw

While there was grumbling about long queues for decent food #COP27, climate change has been pushing people into malnutrition and serious hunger in many places in the world this yr. 🌽 🚜

Nature also featured heavily, both for the impacts of climate change on it, but also how it can help absorb and store carbon. 🦅 🌳

As we saw on @SkyNews Climate Show w/@tomheapmedia climate change is having devastating impacts on food production around world.

Farmers have been hit harder than ever this year by rising bills - energy and fertiliser.

One thing at the root of - the price of fossil fuels like gas.

eciu.net/media/press-re…

They have also been hit very hard, around the world, by extreme weather which has been made more likely by climate change.

worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change…

Our new report showed that families paying £407 more on average for food this year due to climate + gas prices:

eciu.net/analysis/repor…

So cutting oil and gas, and limiting climate impacts, vital to help farmers & food prices.

At #COP27:
- the only formal space for talking about on farming were due to finish at end of 2022
- this has been extended for 4 years
- but it wasn't widened from farms to "food systems" (which many hoped & called for, to include food waste, diet, and supply chain)

The final deal (the cover text) mentions food and its vulnerability to climate change - the first time this has ever been mentioned in the closing deal of a COP.

Important signal that food system is key part of solution to climate change.

h/t @LeoHickman

But a lot of action was outside negotiations:
- 2x finance for low-carbon agricultural technology from $4 to $8 billion
- 350 million farmers raised voices: want more help adapting climate impacts + use of less high-carbon fertiliser.

- UN food agency will produce first ever plan for how food systems help limit temp rises to 1.5C
- US announced it had over-achieved on $100m Global Fertilizer Challenge, which will help cut fertiliser waste.

Let's pause on this for a second.

In some countries half or more of fertiliser is wasted, never reaching crops. Chemical fertilisers = almost 2% global ghgs.

Cutting fertiliser waste ↓ farmer bills + ↓ climate change

But there were suggestions that increasing fertiliser efficiency would simply be used to sell more to developing world - this would ↑ total amount used and ↑ climate change.

Alongside new low-carbon fertiliser tech & :down waste, the 3rd sol is sustainable farming - using farming techniques (e.g. growing beans and peas) to return richness to soil naturally.

This type of farming receives far ↓ share of funding right now. Balance needs redressing.

So even though formal texts stronger than ever on food/farming, didn't go far enough to bring to heart of talks.

But significant moves outside talks - public + private investment moving towards sustainable food & farming. The formal UNFCCC process needs to catch up.

Now for nature.

Again, for first ever time, "nature-based solutions" mentioned in text and a section on forests.

But the way it is referred to matters. For example - it only "encourages" this.

And there's a ref to not losing "forest cover and carbon" - this means the number of trees + how much carbon they hold important, but whether they're complex ecosystems/good for wildlife disregarded.

"Forest cover" often seen as code for (sometimes) damaging forestry (depends on setting/context) and was language of concern for environmental groups.

It does refer to "ecosystems", which are seen by environmental groups as important language - they are more complex for nature, wildlife, people.

But, the text failed to refer to the forthcoming UN nature meeting - a missed opportunity to send a strong political signal about that conference needing to succeed.

Word on the street was that some countries see it as "not the done thing" to refer to other UN processes within this one.

Also some Parties concerned about buck-passing.

Last-minute efforts did manage to get Brazil and Argentina onside with this, and China did not oppose. But not enough to see it included in final text.

Leaders and govts have chance to go further in Canada next month at this meeting.

But again, strong movement outside the talks:
- Brazil is back in the climate game, important for the Amazon and the planet.
- Brazil, Indonesia, DRC - new trifecta of countries representing over half of remaining tropical forest in world.

- New Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership of 26 countries launched.

Quick x-ref on #Article6 and carbon markets:
- The system being put in place allows fake credits and secrecy.
- Relates to nature bcos carbon removals considered - ie carbon forests can be absorbed. But could lead to over-reliance on nature/land-grabbing

https://twitter.com/mattadamw/status/1594343762452713472

I think those r big things. But let's summarise:

- Food and nature not heart of formal COP deal, despite some +ive moves
- Lots of movement on outside of talks
- Brazil back in game
- UN nature summit just around corner major opportunity to restore nature + help climate

#COP27