Environmental NGO WRAP is utilizing COP29 to spotlight the necessity for international locations to incorporate meals loss and waste of their Nationally Decided Contributions (NDCs).
A brand new report reveals that, of the 195 international locations attending COP29, solely 12 have dedicated to decreasing meals waste and simply 17 to tackling meals loss. In whole, 24 international locations (12%) decide to decreasing meals loss and/or waste whereas 88% attending the worldwide local weather convention have made no commitments to handle both up to now of their NDCs.
Harriet Lamb CEO WRAP, commented: “Our international meals system is damaged and is wrecking the setting. The IPCC made it clear that meals manufacturing contributes 37% to all greenhouse fuel emissions and even when all different emissions ended instantly, international meals manufacturing alone would push us far past 1.5°C. Wasted meals contributes virtually 5 instances extra GHG emissions than aviation and have been it a rustic, meals waste can be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA. So the truth that so few international locations are addressing this vital state of affairs of their NDCs is surprising.”
The newest Meals Waste Index Report (2024), compiled by the United Nations Setting Programme (UNEP) and co-authored by WRAP, discovered that the world wastes over a billion tonnes of meals – one fifth of all meals obtainable to shoppers on the retail, meals service and family degree yearly. That is along with 13 per cent misplaced within the provide chain, in response to the FAO.
WRAP warns that meals loss and waste have devastating impacts on society and international economies too. The World Financial Discussion board estimates that meals loss and waste prices the worldwide financial system $936 billion a 12 months, whereas greater than 783 million folks go hungry and a 3rd of humanity faces meals insecurity.
WRAP advises that international locations are lacking a golden alternative to sort out greenhouse fuel emissions and enhance safety of meals provides to their residents by stopping meals loss and waste. The worldwide NGO will use COP29 to restate its message that we can not sort out local weather change if we don’t repair our damaged meals system.
As a member of The World Motion Drive group (GAD)*, WRAP and its companions are calling on all international locations to take the next decisive steps:
- Decide to delivering UN Sustainable Growth Objective 12.3 and halve per capita international meals waste on the retail and client ranges and scale back meals losses alongside manufacturing and provide chains, together with post-harvest losses, by 2030,
- Embody this dedication of their new NDCs to be submitted by early 2025,
Set significant targets and intersectoral mechanisms to operationalise comply with up, - Again this dedication with particular sensible coverage measures,
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Begin measuring and reporting meals loss and waste at nationwide and sector ranges, and
Embody strong nationwide information to report on progress by the biennial transparency studies.
Motion on meals loss and waste at COP29
Primarily based on its analysis of how international locations have built-in meals loss and waste into their NDCs to various levels, WRAP and GAD have printed a finest follow information Why & Learn how to Incorporate Lowering Meals Loss and Waste into Nationally Decided Contributions (NDCs) for international locations to incorporate meals loss and waste of their NDCs.
International locations have till February 2025 to submit their NDCs for COP30 and WRAP is asking on all governments to incorporate meals loss and waste discount forward of the following international assembly. Doing so affords international locations that signed the World Methane Pledge (158 international locations, COP26 – European Union and america), and those that signed UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Meals Methods, and Local weather Motion (160+ international locations, COP28) the chance to strengthen their local weather commitments.
WRAP will even be part of with The World Meals Banking Community, ReFED and FareShare to host a sequence of classes devoted to addressing meals loss and waste at COP29.
Going down within the Motion on Meals Hub (Blue Zone) the classes will carry collectively leaders and consultants to give attention to insurance policies and authorized frameworks to discover strategies and improvements in direction of decreasing the quantity of meals that fails to feed folks. The sequence of workshops will spotlight initiatives and options from world wide to representatives from authorities, enterprise, multilaterals and different civil society organizations.
Harriet Lamb stated: “Meals, textiles and manufactured merchandise account for practically 50% of world greenhouse fuel emissions. Addressing the issues in our meals system and making a round financial system are key to tackling these big emitters of greenhouse gases. We should embrace round residing in each boardroom and each residence.”
