CLIMATE NEWS - The United Nations Climate Change Conference kicked off today, 30 November in Dubai. This year’s event is the 28th gathering and runs until 12 December.

While COP has traditionally focused on fossil fuels, this year the United Nations is finally putting the environmental impact of food -  specifically animal agriculture - on the agenda.

In another summit first, and in keeping with the theme, the catering this year will be two thirds plant-based. Delegates from ProVeg International including South Africa’s country director Donvan Will, are attending to advocate for a global food system centered around alternative proteins that they claim is more sustainable and in line with mitigating global warming.

ProVeg SA says according to a 2021 study,  the current food system accounts for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, but its impact on the environment has long been overshadowed by issues like transport, energy and industrial manufacturing. As awareness has grown, the issue has finally been given a seat at the summit. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to lead the South African governmental delegation, with Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy and her department driving the agenda. 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Africa faces the most severe challenges due to environmental factors. The negative effects of climate change on the African continent have become increasingly vivid through disasters such as continuous floods, drought and famines. Seven out of the ten most vulnerable countries by climate change in 2021 were African.

ProVeg will call for a transformational shift to plant-rich, balanced and diversified diets. ProVeg says addressing the issue on an agricultural level is a powerful tool in the hands of the South African government to reach our goal for Nationally Determined Contributions [NDCs] in terms of the Paris Agreement, to lower our greenhouse gas emissions as a country to acceptable levels.

Says ProVeg South Africa director Donovan Will, "Healthy, plant-rich diets and protein diversification present huge untapped opportunities to help countries meet their health and climate action SDGs, and our work at COP28 will highlight this opportunity and encourage world leaders to recognise plant-rich diets as a climate mitigation strategy to be incorporated into their future NDCs.

"Many of the climate mitigation strategies that are being discussed have big down-sides - they are expensive to implement, can take years to implement, and can sometimes put strain on economic growth. On the other hand, plant-rich diets come with other positive benefits other than their potential to help address climate change; they can also promote health and well-being, reduce other environmental issues like water pollution and deforestation, they use less land and water, address food injustice, and reduce animal suffering," he states.

According to ProVeg South Africans consume approximately 2,9 million tons of beef, pork and poultry per annum. “According to the Bureau for Food and Agriculture, there will be a 38 percent  increase in poultry consumption in the next decade, as well as a 28 percent increase in beef consumption and a 33 percent increase in pork consumption. Left unchecked and out of the conversation, these industries remain a growing contributor to our carbon footprint and a net detriment to sustainability,” says Will.

ProVeg says the future of the planet rests on our plates and Food Day at COP will be a watershed moment. “Our diets are feeding a global crisis and this event will be highlighting the need to reduce meat consumption.  

“The global food system has a pivotal role to play in the net zero transition. The industrial rearing of livestock is a major driver of climate change. The large-scale production and processing of animal feed, such as soya and corn, can be the product of mass deforestation, and the journey from industrial farm to plate pumps harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

"Shifting towards balanced, plant-rich diets, which can have a lower carbon footprint, is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land as well as water use from agriculture. Plant-based diets cut the emissions of animal-based foods in half, whilst also promoting health and creating the opportunity to safeguard animal welfare,” ProVeg states.

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