Over $7.1 bn mobilized during COP28 for climate positive action in food sector

A total of more than $7.1 billion has been mobilized for climate positive action in the food system sector on the  Food, Agriculture and Water Day of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).

This day came up with key announcements on food systems transformation, including the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4Climate) commitment to an increased $3.4 billion in aggregated funding for climate-smart food systems and agriculture, as well as 27 new innovation sprints.

Also, philanthropic funders pledged $ 389 million  to support food producers and consumers.

Building on a $200 million commitment from the COP28 Presidency and a group of international organizations and governments to support the Technical Cooperation Collaborative (TCC), Italy pledged a further commitment of up to EUR €10 million to be made available over the next two years, and the United Kingdom announced a new commitment of GBP 45 million over the next five years which will be channeled through the World Bank’s Food Systems 2030 Trust Fund.

Meanwhile, $100 million was announced by Water Equity, raised as part of their Water and Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Investment Strategy.

This will seek to leverage impact investments in climate-resilient water infrastructure to enhance the coping capacity for the most vulnerable communities at the urban water system and watershed levels in emerging markets in South and Southeast Asia, Sub- Saharan Africa, and Latin America.

Also, Germany and the Netherlands, together with the EU and other international partners, announced the intention to establish the Urban Water Catalyst Initiative (UWCI) at the UN 2023 Water Conference. The UWCI focuses on accelerating urban water utility turnarounds worldwide and mobilizing finance for performance improvement, climate- resilient infrastructure investment and improving access to underserved population groups.

At COP28, EUR 42 million in funding was announced for the UWCI including EUR 32 million from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and EUR 10 million from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, the COP28 UAE Presidency and partners announced more than new 30 country members of the Freshwater Challenge, which commits members to work to protect and restore 30 percent of the Earth’s degraded freshwater ecosystems by 2030. During the Food, Agriculture and Water Day ministerial, members also committed to progress reviews at the upcoming One Water Summit and Ramsar COP.

The announcements on water build on outcomes from the World Climate Action Summit. The UAE pledged $150 million in funding for innovation to address water scarcity, and eight Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) announced that they will double the number of people benefiting annually from their technical and financial support on water within 3 years.

The COP28 Water Agenda is anchored in its partnership with the Netherlands and Tajikistan. Its aim is to implement the outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference.

Commenting on the COP28 Water Agenda and Freshwater Challenge, Stuart Orr, WWF Freshwater Lead said: “the climate crisis is a water crisis and the COP28 Presidency has ensured that water is higher up the agenda than ever before. We urgently need to protect and restore our rivers, lakes and wetlands, which are central to mitigation and adaptation.”

COP28’s Food, Agriculture and Water Day saw major announcements on climate action for both water and food security and decarbonization, as countries demonstrated their commitment to implement the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action (the Declaration).