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DUBAI / COP28 FOOD AND CLIMATE CHANGE
STORY: DUBAI / COP28 FOOD AND CLIMATE CHANGE
TRT: 04:21
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 9-10 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / FILE
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
1. Wide shot, COP28 venue
10 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
2. Wide shot, Al Waha Theatre
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Leadership and operational relationships with local actors, including the private sector, food industry groups, food sector associations, civil society, and citizen groups, are key to ensure robust and sustainable supply chains. Together, all actors must work jointly to transform food systems to adapt to climate change and ensure global food security, compatible to the 2030 Agenda.”
4. Wide shot, Al Waha Theatre
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
5. Wide shot, COP28 venue
09 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
“So, the reason why we are talking about food and food systems at each COP, but especially at this COP where we really raised it, is because the food that we produce also has a carbon footprint. First of all, it may be that we have cleared some forests to have these open fields. That's obviously, much of that could have been done 100 years ago, but some of it could been done right now.”
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
7. Wide shot, COP28 venue
09 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
“Secondly, of course, to produce food, we use farm vehicles, we use fertilizer. Fertilizers are, and essentially have a significant release of nitrogen and, therefore, of impact on our nitrous oxide, a short-lived climate pollutant that has an impact on our carbon footprint, sorry, on our greenhouse gases. So, this is a significant issue.”
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
9. Wide shot, COP28 venue
09 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
“And thirdly, of course, we need to understand that our beef production, our meat production does have a significant carbon footprint, as does food waste. Organic waste, as it rots and decomposes, releases methane, and methane CH4 is a powerful greenhouse gas too.”
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
11. Wide shot, COP28 venue
09 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
“We need to think about what we do in each step. Do we all need steak every night at dinner? If we all want that, it won't compute. So, can we do more plant-based? Not that we are anti-meat, but can we do more plant-based proteins? Do we? Can we avoid food waste? Yes, absolutely. We need to ensure that we do. Can we be sure that we do not clearcut new virgin forests but that we farm on the land that we already have? These are the kinds of conversations that are happening at the COP, and that is why food is at the table here at COP 28.”
FILE - DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
13. Wide shot, COP28 venue
09 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
“The private sector has a huge step, a huge opportunity here, both when it comes to alternatives but also when it comes to smart farming that has less of a carbon footprint. And, of course, we, the consumers, have a responsibility: is the thing that we pick up in the supermarket deforestation-free? Do we know how much pesticide insecticides were used? Was it very water efficient? These are questions that today are hard for us to answer because there is no marking on them. And this is something that the private sector is considering in a number of countries and jurisdictions, precisely so that the consumer, too, can make a wise choice.”
10 DECEMBER 2023, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
15. Close up, food demonstration, UNEP pavilion
16 Wide shot, food demonstration, UNEP pavilion
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Leyla Fathallah, Chef, UNEP Advocate on Food Waste in West Asia:
"Food waste is related to climate change because the food that goes into the waste basket emits methane gas, which has a negative impact on climate.”
18. Close up, food demonstration
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Leyla Fathallah, Chef, UNEP Advocate on Food Waste in West Asia:
“It is not only about the Hotels, Restaurants and Catering (Horeca) sector. People at home must be careful and limit food waste because, as we are seeing, the numbers are big in the Horeca sector, and there is definitely a large number also in households, meaning at the individual level. So, we have to work on individuals and the Horeca sector in parallel to reach a place in which we can limit or reduce food waste."
20. Close up, food demonstration
The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said, “Together, all actors must work jointly to transform food systems to adapt to climate change and ensure global food security, compatible to the 2030 Agenda.”
In a video message on COP28 thematic day on food, agriculture, and water (10 Dec), Mohammed said, “Leadership and operational relationships with local actors, including the private sector, food industry groups, food sector associations, civil society, and citizen groups, are key to ensure robust and sustainable supply chains.”
Climate change creates severe pressure and risks for the agri-food and water systems that underpin human well-being.
In the face of escalating climate change challenges, which pose severe threats to agri-food and water systems essential for human well-being, this thematic day delved into critical areas such as innovation investment, regenerative agriculture, and national transformation pathways.
Several discussions at COP28 underpinned financing mechanisms and project preparation, reflecting a holistic approach to achieving sustainable and circular food systems.
In an interview on today’s topic, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), explained, “The reason why we are talking about food and food systems at each COP, but especially at this COP where we really raised it, is because the food that we produce also has a carbon footprint. First of all, it may be that we have cleared some forests to have these open fields. That's obviously, much of that could have been done 100 years ago, but some of it could have been done right now.”
She continued, “Secondly, of course, to produce food, we use farm vehicles, we use fertilizer. Fertilizers are, and essentially have a significant release of nitrogen and, therefore, of impact on our nitrous oxide, a short-lived climate pollutant that has an impact on our carbon footprint, sorry, on our greenhouse gases. So, this is a significant issue.”
She added, “And thirdly, of course, we need to understand that our beef production, our meat production does have a significant carbon footprint, as does food waste. Organic waste, as it rots and decomposes, releases methane, and methane CH4 is a powerful greenhouse gas too.”
She concluded, “We need to think about what we do in each step. Do we all need steak every night at dinner? If we all want that, it won't compute. So, can we do more plant-based? Not that we are anti-meat, but can we do more plant-based proteins? Do we? Can we avoid food waste? Yes, absolutely. We need to ensure that we do. Can we be sure that we do not clearcut new virgin forests but that we farm on the land that we already have? These are the kinds of conversations that are happening at the COP, and that is why food is at the table here at COP 28.”
Answering a question, Andersen said that the private sector has “huge opportunity here, both when it comes to alternatives but also when it comes to smart farming that has less of a carbon footprint. And, of course, we, the consumers, have a responsibility: is the thing that we pick up in the supermarket deforestation-free? Do we know how much pesticide insecticides were used? Was it very water efficient? These are questions that today are hard for us to answer because there is no marking on them. And this is something that the private sector is considering in a number of countries and jurisdictions, precisely so that the consumer, too, can make a wise choice.”
Later in the day, Chef Leyla Fathallah, UNEP Advocate on Food Waste in West Asia, in a cooking demonstration, prepared a recipe with leftover ingredients and provided concrete tips on how to reduce food waste at the household and restaurant level.
In an interview after the event, Fathallah said, "Food waste has a relation with climate change because the food that goes into the waste basket emits methane gas, which has a negative impact on climate.”
She noted, “It is not only about the Hotels, Restaurants and Catering (Horeca) sector. People at home must be careful and limit food waste because, as we are seeing, the numbers are big in the Horeca sector, and there is definitely a large number also in households, meaning at the individual level. So, we have to work on individuals and the Horeca sector in parallel to reach a place in which we can limit or reduce food waste."
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