Governments and businesses join farmers and local communities at COP26, reaching new agreements to protect nature and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture and land use practices by making them more attractive, accessible and affordable than unsustainable alternatives.
Along with the events marking Nature and Land Use Day, marks the end of the first week of COP26, with negotiations accelerating and work focused on the second week.
Twenty-six countries, including Nigeria, have made new commitments to change their agricultural policies to make them more sustainable and less polluting, and to invest in the science needed for sustainable agriculture and to protect the food supply from climate change. climate change, set out in two ‘action programs’.
All continents were represented, with countries like India, Colombia, Vietnam, Germany, Ghana and Australia. Examples of national commitments aligned with this program include: Brazil’s plan to expand its ABC + low-carbon agriculture program to 72 million hectares, saving one billion tonnes of carbon emissions. by 2030; Germany’s plans to reduce emissions from land use by 25 million tonnes by 2030; UK target to engage 75% of farmers in low-carbon practices by 2030
The UK has also announced funding of £ 500million to support the implementation of the Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Roadmap which was launched at the Summit. from world leaders last week, in which 28 countries work together to protect forests while promoting development and trade.
An additional £ 65million will support a ‘just rural transition’ to help developing countries change their policies and practices in favor of more sustainable agriculture and food production.
Country commitments will help implement the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, which is now endorsed by 134 countries covering 91 percent of the world’s forests. The Declaration aims to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “If we want to limit global warming and maintain the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, then the world must use the land sustainably and place the protection and restoration of nature at the heart of everything we do.
“The commitments made show that nature and land use are recognized as essential to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and will help address the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss.
About 45 countries, including Nigeria, pledge to take urgent action and invest to protect nature and adopt more sustainable farming patterns.
Nigeria also joins other countries such as Australia, Uganda, Madagascar, India, Tanzania, Vietnam, Nigeria, Lesotho, Laos, Indonesia, Guinea, Ghana, l ‘Germany, the Philippines, Ethiopia, United Kingdom, Colombia, Costa Rica, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates in the action program for a sustainable agricultural policy for the transition to sustainable agriculture and the global action program for innovation in agriculture.
Already, the World Bank will commit to spending $ 25 billion in climate finance per year until 2025 as part of its climate action plan, including with a focus on agriculture and food systems. .
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