Additional sessions, research launches, and policy engagement across the summit
Alongside our core activity in Belém, the ProVeg team at COP contributed to a broad set of discussions that expanded the focus on food systems across the summit, including various policy panels and youth-focused exchanges.
At the Children and Youth Pavilion, our UN Policy Officer Bianca Galatanu joined a panel on youth leadership in shaping sustainable agrifood systems. Bianca outlined why plant-based food systems needed stronger positioning in the climate-action space. Drawing on the updated Planetary Health Diet from the EAT Lancet Commission, she showed how plant-based diets, combined with sustainable production and lower food waste, can keep food systems within planetary boundaries and support better public health.
Input from young people from around the world, together with contributions from the ProVeg Youth Board, provided the basis for the Key Youth Demands for Plant-Rich Food Systems, which was launched at the event. These demands are based on the views of more than a hundred young people and outline why plant-rich diets matter for climate, health, equity, and food security. They emphasize the environmental impact of animal-based production, the benefits of plant-rich diets for human health, the importance of food sovereignty, and the role that plant-based sectors play in creating new opportunities for youth entrepreneurship and employment.
Bianca also joined a panel outside the COP30 venue at an Extreme Hangout event. The session formed part of the Planet on a Plate program, which examined the climate implications of dietary choices and looked at themes such as regenerative agriculture, ancestral food cultures, ultra-processed diets, and the role of chefs in shaping change. Bianca’s contribution connected these themes with the need for policies that support plant-rich food systems.
In addition, ProVeg co-organized an official COP30 side event in the Blue Zone on 14 November. The session brought together municipal officials, national policymakers, researchers, and civil-society groups to present practical policy measures for aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity goals.
Speakers shared examples from city-level public-procurement programs in the Rio de Janeiro and Salvador municipalities, looked at national initiatives such as Denmark’s Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods, and explored some of the research on resilience and adaptation. Stephanie Maw, ProVeg Senior UN Policy & Advocacy Manager, introduced the newly launched Diets Toolkit, outlining how governments can integrate healthy and sustainable diets into countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national biodiversity strategy and action plans.
Juliette Tronchon also moderated a session on public policy for low-carbon diets at the Portugal Pavilion. The discussion brought together researchers and policymakers from Portugal and Denmark to examine how national strategies for plant-based proteins, particularly legumes, can support climate commitments and nature-positive food systems. The panel compared Denmark’s Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods with Portugal’s emerging strategy based on its 2030 National Energy and Climate Plan, highlighting the environmental, health, and economic benefits of protein diversification and the importance of effective implementation.
Together, these activities supported ProVeg’s broader aims at COP30 by giving food-system solutions a more consistent presence in the climate space. The work carried forward debates on plant-rich diets, protein diversification, and public-food policy, helping to anchor these issues more firmly in the wider COP agenda.
Simon Middleton
Senior Writer
