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 thus far of their NDCs.
Harriet Lamb CEO WRAP, commented: “Our world meals system is damaged and is wrecking the setting. The IPCC made it clear that meals manufacturing contributes 37% to all greenhouse gasoline emissions and even when all different emissions ended instantly, world meals manufacturing alone would push us far past 1.5°C. Wasted meals contributes virtually 5 instances extra GHG emissions than aviation and had been it a rustic, meals waste could be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA. So the truth that so few international locations are addressing this important scenario of their NDCs is stunning.”
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 out there to shoppers on the retail, meals service and family stage yearly. That is along with 13 per cent misplaced within the provide chain, in line with the FAO.
WRAP warns that meals loss and waste have devastating impacts on society and world economies too. The World Financial Discussion board estimates that meals loss and waste prices the worldwide economic 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 gasoline emissions and improve 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 world meals waste on the retail and shopper ranges and cut back meals losses alongside manufacturing and provide chains, together with post-harvest losses, by 2030,
- Embrace 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
Embrace strong nationwide information to report on progress via the biennial transparency experiences.
Motion on meals loss and waste at COP29
Based mostly on its analysis of how international locations have built-in meals loss and waste into their NDCs to various levels, WRAP and GAD have revealed a greatest apply information Why & How you can Incorporate Lowering Meals Loss and Waste into Nationally Decided Contributions (NDCs) for international locations to incorporate meals loss and waste of their NDCs.
Nations 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 world assembly. Doing so gives international locations that signed the World Methane Pledge (158 international locations, COP26 – European Union and the USA), and people who signed UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Meals Techniques, and Local weather Motion (160+ international locations, COP28) the chance to strengthen their local weather commitments.
WRAP can even be a 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.
Happening within the Motion on Meals Hub (Blue Zone) the classes will convey collectively leaders and consultants to deal with insurance policies and authorized frameworks to discover strategies and improvements in the direction of decreasing the quantity of meals that fails to feed folks. The sequence of workshops will spotlight initiatives and options from around the globe to representatives from authorities, enterprise, multilaterals and different civil society organizations.
Harriet Lamb mentioned: “Meals, textiles and manufactured merchandise account for almost 50% of worldwide greenhouse gasoline emissions. Addressing the issues in our meals system and making a round economic system are key to tackling these enormous emitters of greenhouse gases. We should embrace round dwelling in each boardroom and each residence.”
