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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, finished his COP28 participation today when he spoke at a joint event on food systems between Ireland and COP28 President and host country, United Arab Emirates. This year’s COP is the first to mainstream agriculture and food systems in the climate debate, and the two countries have agreed to work together in sharing information and knowledge on sustainable food systems.
The Minister congratulated the UAE on the Emirates Declaration on Agriculture, Food and Climate, which 150 countries have now endorsed and said:
"sustainable food systems must now be mainstreamed in climate action as we move forward.
“Ireland’s ambition and commitment is to be a global leader in sustainable food systems. We firmly believe that transformation of our food systems can deliver positive environmental, economic, and social outcomes and are critically important in addressing climate change.”
The Minister spoke at a public event at the UAE pavilion at COP together with Undersecretary of the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Mohammad Mousa Alameeri.
He set out Ireland’s investment in innovation to address the challenges faced by Irish agriculture, using science, research and knowledge exchange to deliver our commitments to climate neutrality.
He said:
“My department and other public research funders will work to find new tools and solutions to achieve sustainability in food systems, including mitigation of agricultural emissions, as well as adding to our store of adaptation options. We’re using public funds to test and learn what works in our context, identify new areas where innovation can make change more rapid but importantly, make sure change is systemic and transformative.”
Using a food systems approach, the Minister said we need to build collaboration and trust with farmers, fishers, food businesses and citizens for the dissemination and uptake of new technologies and good practice. Policy plays a major role, as we need to link innovation, knowledge sharing, extension and education, as well as increasing opportunities for bottom-up innovation.
During his participation at the climate summit, the Minister also highlighted Ireland’s involvement in joint research on methane with New Zealand and also Ireland’s participation in the United States and UAE led “AIM for Climate” collaborative research initiative. These collective approaches can enhance the pace of advancing new technologies to mitigate methane from agriculture and food, he said.
Ireland is a world leader in sustainable foods systems and the Minister is using the opportunity to showcase our story as an example of transformation over the last five decades. This builds on consistent engagement by the Minister and his department at other international forums focused on the role of sustainable agri-food systems.
The Minister concluded:
“I believe that by harnessing the power of science, innovation and technology, we can create a future where food security is ensured, ecosystems are preserved, and the well-being of current and future generations is safeguarded."
What: The format included keynote addresses from Minister McConalogue and from UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s Undersecretary for Food Diversity (H.E. Mohammed Mousa Alameeri), followed by a discussion with Irish and Emirati experts in a fireside chat format.
When: The event was held on 9 December 2023.
Why: The COP Presidency stated its objective is to build consensus to drive climate action and “prioritize efforts to accelerate emissions reductions through a pragmatic energy transition, reform land use, and transform food systems.”
[1] Food systems are a key component of climate action, and sustainable food systems transformation requires consideration of the system in its totality, including the entities, elements, institutions and people involved, and all outcomes - economic, political, environmental, health, and social. In innovation, research and technical excellence needs to be accompanied by measures to ensure uptake and buy-in by users including farmers and food businesses.