Food and climate resilience to be key focus of Cop28 agenda, UAE's Mariam Al Mheiri says

Growing sustainable food to tackle the climate crisis will top the agenda at the Cop28 summit, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment has said.

The first day of the global UN conference, which will be held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, will include a high-level session on food, Mariam Al Mheiri said.

The chefs at Cop28 who will cook meals for the thousands of world leaders and delegates will also work with a focus on aiding the climate fight, she said.

Speaking at the opening of Global Food and Security Summit in London, Ms Al Mheiri called on the international community to attend Cop28 "with hope, a positive mindset and action-orientated thinking” to make the summit a “beacon of inspiration for everyone because the world really needs it”.

The UAE’s Cop28 presidency's focus on food and climate issues has built on the momentum “firmly set on course” at Cop26 in the UK, she said.

“Our own contribution to the cause is to really elevate this agenda and place it at the very heart of presidential action agenda,” Ms Al Mheiri added.

“The Cop28 presidency starts with a high-level session on food and climate on the very first day, so we've got food on centre stage on the very first day.”

The London talks on Monday brought together experts to address food insecurity and tackle hunger and malnutrition

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the world “must take action” to address the causes of global food insecurity.

“From the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, to the effect of major natural disasters on food production, I am proud, that alongside our partners, the UK is playing a leading role in finding solutions to some of the greatest global challenges of our time,” Mr Sunak added.

He announced that Britain would launch a new science centre where experts will develop climate-resilient crops and identify risks to global food systems.

Mr Sunak was joined at the event by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia, while billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates gave a video address.

Ms Al Mheiri told the summit that an agreement was reached on the Emirates declaration on resilient food systems, sustainable agriculture and climate action, after weeks of negotiations with more than 100 countries.

She called on other nations to endorse the declaration. “We invite you to add your voice by endorsing the Emirates declaration and join us on stage, as partners during the high-level session or food and climate," she said.

The declaration’s aims are to harness power, adapt to climate change and reduce emissions.

“We in the UAE know how powerful this tool is because, despite our harsh climate, we are successfully growing a variety of vegetables and fruits and more recently, lots of different varieties of berries. all year round in closed agriculture environments right in the middle of the desert,” she said.

The proposal lays out a vision for effective global action in five key areas: adaptation, food security and nutrition, livelihoods, food and waters systems and sustainable approaches.

“Our focus will be really to highlight the solutions and the opportunities presented by them through systems and their interactions with our precious planet,” she said. “We need to identify these, scale them up and ensure that we are able to empower the solutions.”

So far, the proposal has more than 500 partners and $3 billion in investments have been pledged.

Ms Al Mheiri said it was important the UAE “walk the talk” at Cop28. All the catering companies at the summit were brought together for a workshop to ensure “what they're cooking in the kitchen is more 1.5°C aligned”, she said, referring to the global aim to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Ms Al Mheiri said she hoped the move would be replicated at future climate change conferences. “It was such an amazing workshop, not only with fun, but to also get the chef's understanding how powerful they are, and the choices they make and how powerful that is on the food systems," she said.