9 December 2015

Agriculture key to concluding climate change agreement

Federated Farmers National President, Dr William Rolleston, believes the treatment of food production will be critical to gaining developing world country support for a comprehensive deal on climate change.

Dr Rolleston has just returned from the climate change negotiations in Paris (COP21) in his role as Vice President of the World Farmers Organisation, where he was part of a delegation of some fifty farmers from around the world.

“Agriculture has really hit the agenda at these talks, particularly the issue of food security in a world with a growing population. There is growing recognition that policy makers need to address the important but conflicting challenges of mitigating climate change as well as expanding food production,” says Dr Rolleston.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that food production will need to expand by 60% by 2050, and Dr Rolleston says that a meaningful agreement can’t happen without obligations to control greenhouse gas emissions also falling on developing countries many of whom are already struggling to feed their people.

“While issues such as financing and technology transfer from rich countries to developing countries are central to the negotiations, farmers from throughout the world have been discussing the issue of better productivity and therefore carbon efficiency to play their part in meeting these challenges.”

“The effects of a changing climate also threatens food security through pests and diseases, as well as changing weather patterns in particular drought and floods,” Dr Rolleston says.

Developing countries, who have similar emissions profiles to New Zealand in that a significant portion of their emissions are from agriculture are seeking assurance that food production will not be compromised. They seek help to build resilience as well as the assurance that the agreement itself will facilitate rather than inhibit their ability to produce food.

Dr Rolleston says, "This is the message Federated Farmers has been saying for some time. It is a message common to farmers across the world who are united in their view."

“It is good to see that the importance of food security and food production has made it into the text at this stage, but with several days still to go anything could happen.”

ENDS

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