Technical & networking sessions slot 2

EC DG for Climate Action; Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

By 2050, our world may well be 2°C warmer, yet it will need to produce 60% more calories for human consumption, using fewer fossil fuels and energy-intensive chemicals, and adapt to more extreme weather events. Global food production is a major driver of deforestation – the latter being responsible for around 15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. International trade in agricultural commodities (33% of crops and 8% of livestock), means that these products themselves also add to deforestation and emissions. Even domestic consumption – particularly of meat reared on imported feedstock – leads to widespread emissions due to deforestation.

Producing food and biomass more sustainably and consuming it more efficiently is therefore a dual challenge, with significant potential for local adaptation and global GHG mitigation. This event will try to outline priorities (on both the supply and demand sides) for more sustainable land use at a global scale, bringing together practitioners to share their experiences and showcase examples of successful projects on sustainable landscape management and agriculture practices. The session will focus on choices, investments and conditions that have to be met by farmers and other rural stakeholders to mobilize and maximize benefits from available climate finance.

Three key sector- or issue-specific questions the panel will address:

1. What are the key challenges (barriers and opportunities) for farmers and other rural stakeholders for joint mitigation and adaptation at farm level ?
2. How can climate finance be streamlined for the climate smart investments at the farm level?
3. Who is responsible for embedded emissions, and how could a climate finance regime incentivize better climate-proofing of agriculture?

Background reading:

1. T. Wheeler & J. von Braun, Climate Change Impacts on Global Food Security. Science 341, 508 (2013)
2. FAO, 2013. Sourcebook on Climate Smart Agriculture – http://www.climatesmartagriculture.org/72610/en/
3. Mitigation without adaptation can leave communities vulnerable — study – http://blog.cifor.org/18785/mitigation-without-adaptation-can-leave-communities-vulnerable-study/
4. TCG, 2011. Terrestrial Carbon Policy Development: Innovative Approaches to Land in the Climate Change Solution. Terrestrial Carbon Group. http://www.terrestrialcarbon.org/

Agenda

Keynote Speaker

• Krystyna Gurbiel

  Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Speakers

• Jane Feehan

  Natural Resources Specialist with the European Investment Bank (EIB)

• Wiesław Gryn

  President of Zamojskie Towarzystwo Rolnicze - the Zamość Agricultural Society

• Henry Neufeldt

  Head of the Climate Change Unit at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

• Maurits van den Berg

  Scientific /Technical Project Officer at the Monitoring Agricultural Resources Unit, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission

Moderator

• Peter Wehrheim

  Head of Unit in the Directorate General "Climate Action" of the European Commission