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Here at COP30, where the world is looking to national leaders to take action on climate change, high-level negotiators have a huge task on their plates.
As Simon Stiell, who leads the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said yesterday: “Clearly there is a huge amount of work ahead for ministers and negotiators. I urge you to get to the hardest issues—fast. When these issues get pushed deep into extra time, everybody loses. We absolutely cannot afford to waste time on tactical delays or stonewalling. The time for performative diplomacy has now passed.”
As the cascading climate crises our planet faces become more complex, it’s not enough for one nation to act on its own: What we need is cross-border collaboration and knowledge-sharing, as several COP national negotiators told us during a special Food Tank happy hour yesterday.
“We need to solve these issues together. We are dependent on one another. We share scientific knowledge…we have many ways we [rely on] on our neighbors,” says Anna Salminen, a food and agriculture negotiator from Finland.
As Adam Schalimtzek, Director of International Relations for Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, added: “Every country can find something they can learn from each other.”
Yesterday at COP30, a group of international governments, agencies, NGOs, and other coalition members launched the Bioeconomy Challenge, a three-year platform designed to build measurable climate and development action—including goals of the Paris Agreement and the COP30 Action Agenda—via the bioeconomy, which refers to an economic model based on renewable resources rather than fossil fuels.
“Through this initiative, we are building bridges between the ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples and traditional communities and the rigor of modern science; between metrics that reveal the true value of nature and the financing that reaches those who truly protect the territories; and between markets and the necessary maintenance of standing forests, living rivers, and the socio-biodiversity that sustains life,” said Marina Silva, Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
Already at COP30, we’re seeing some action on phasing out fossil fuels. South Korea announced it would close all coal-fired power plants by 2040 as part of its decision to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which counts about 60 nations and even more local governments and businesses as members. Brazil also unveiled a plan to cut industrial emissions as part of a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and as a member of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, Colombia is set to hold an international conference in April on phasing out fossil fuels.
These steps are welcome, of course—and as we also know, 2040 or 2050 commitments are not happening at the pace we need to see. I’m pleased to see some countries emerge as leaders in pushing their global counterparts to act on an even quicker timeline than what’s being discussed at COP30.
As Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change of Vanuatu, told The Guardian, “We are trying to bring ambition back into this process…We need the whole world to do (this) with us.”
So I’m hopeful that the COP30 Bioeconomy Challenge will be another force for kickstarting global partnerships for climate action, because we can’t move forward without coordination and standardization.
“To help global bioeconomy grow at scale, we need to anchor it in context-specific, transparent, and comparable indicators so that sustainability means the same everywhere,” said Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment.
As climate change becomes more multifaceted, we need system-wide solutions that respond to the challenges we’re facing today, not the challenges we faced 30 years ago. And at all levels of government—from high-level U.N. negotiating tables to national Congress halls to local city council meeting rooms—the leaders we need are those who recognize that climate solutions must be rooted in collaboration, not competition.
News Stories/Reports I’m Reading Today:
- Highlights from the Extreme Heat and Agriculture Report — As we know, extreme heat is both a devastating effect of the climate crisis and also the cause of even more downstream effects, and this Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations report focuses on agriculture-related solutions.
- On Brazil’s Combu Island, Chocolate Makers Hold Clues to Climate Action — A fascinating feature from U.N. News spotlights Izete Costa, known affectionately as Dona Nena, who’s proving that community-led solutions can power global climate action.
- Brazil Says it’s a Climate Leader. Not Everyone Buys It — The Washington Post asks why, despite rhetoric and some action from Brazil, the COP30 host country is still expanding offshore oil drilling and Amazon Rainforest highways as leaders struggle to reconcile international and domestic priorities.
- As COP30 Takes Place, Can Africa Draw Lessons from Brazil on How It Develops Its Livestock Sector? — At IPS, read analysis from Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute, who joined Food Tank earlier this year at Climate Week NYC.
- ‘I Couldn’t Speak. I Couldn’t breathe’: This Is Climate Breakdown — As told to The Guardian, Neha Singh, a 25-year-old warehouse worker in Manesar, India, recounts the difficulties of maintaining daily life during a summer when temps would reach 122°F (50°C). This is one of many sobering personal stories of the climate crisis in The Guardian’s ongoing series.
- Global Methane Status Report 2025 — This U.N. Environment Programme report provides updates on global progress on methane mitigation and the remaining work needed.
Powerful Quotes From Recent Discussions:
- “Climate insecurity fuels hunger and poverty; poverty drives migration and conflict; and conflict, in turn, deepens poverty and deters investment. So therefore, to break the vicious cycle, we have to deliver on the climate goals.” — H.E. Annalena Baerbock, U.N. General Assembly President
- “We know the world is off track. Now it’s all about how we get back on track and how we translate promises into real change on the ground.” — Manish Bapna, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (via New York Times)
- “A just transition cannot succeed without transforming agriculture and food systems to benefit small-scale producers, forest peoples and rural communities. Over 1 billion people depend on agrifood systems for their livelihoods, including family farmers, small scale producers, agrifood workers, and Indigenous peoples who help feed the world and steward its biodiversity. Yet they face the highest levels of poverty, food insecurity and growing climate risks. A just transition must meet their needs and protect their rights through inclusive, whole-of-society approaches.” — Simon Addison, FAO Senior Economist
Ways to Take Action:
Eat Deforestation-Free
- via WWF — Interested in learning more about deforestation- and conversion-free foods and why they matter? Check out this guide.
Embrace The Bioeconomy
- via World Economic Forum — The bioeconomy is emerging as a viable way to tackle challenges like the climate crisis and food insecurity. Check out WEF’s explainer on how biotechnology is already woven into our everyday lives.
Catch Up On COP30 And Climate
- via New York Times — Trying to cut through the noise and better understand the climate crisis? Get your questions answered.
- via PBS — Looking for a quick recap on where things stand at COP30? PBS shares key takeaways from COP30 in this 5 minute segment.
Add These to Your Calendar:
2:00PM–3:00PM [12:00PM–1:00PM ET] @ Peru-Resilience Hub (PV-B50), Blue Zone: “Climate resilience for a nourishing, regenerative, equitable future.”
Regenerative agriculture, community-led innovation, and inclusive policy can create pathways toward a food future that nourishes both people and planet. As we’ll discuss, resilience is not only about adaptation, but about transformation toward systems that are nourishing, regenerative, and equitable. Speakers include Roy Steiner, The Rockefeller Foundation; Fabrício Muriana, Instituto Regenera; Joshua Gilbert, Indigenous Consultant, Agriculturist & Innovator; Francine Xavier, Comida do Amanha; and Rosinah Mbenya, PELUM Kenya.
3:00PM–4:30PM [1:00PM–2:30PM ET] @ UNFCCC Official Side Event (Room 8): “Regenerative Solutions at a Global Scale: Agriculture, Innovative Finance and Community”
To achieve scalable climate solutions, we’ll need innovative finance mechanisms, community-based models, South-South cooperation, and other partnerships. We’ll discuss these pathways with speakers including Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism Solutions; Merijn Dols, NOW Partners Foundation; Ahmed Elshazly, Heliopolis University and SEKEM; and Leonardo Silva de Andrade, Soluções Naturais.
4:45PM–6:15PM [2:45PM–4:15PM ET] @ UNFCCC Official Side Event (Room 8): “Sharing Solutions for Resilient Food Systems and a Circular Bioeconomy.”
A resilient and sustainable food system supported by circular bioeconomy is a prerequisite for advancing climate action, and experts will unpack cross-sector innovation, multilateral knowledge-sharing, and other solutions during this conversation co-hosted by Food Tank alongside the Government of Finland, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the U.N. Food Systems Coordination Hub. Speakers include Karen Ellemann, Nordic Council of Ministers; Sari Multala, Finland’s Minister of Climate and the Environment; Martial Bernoux, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization; Johanna Hagelberg, Stora Enso; Khaled Eltaweel, U.N. Food Systems Coordination Hub; Bernhard Mauritz Stormyr, Yara International; Markku Kanninen, University of Helsinki; Jelle Van Loon, CIMMYT; and Jean-Francois Soussana, U.N. Food Systems Coordination Hub.
Please CLICK HERE for more details on how to join us in Belém.
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