International signatories to the Belém Declaration on Plant-rich Diets call for national action plans on plant-based diets.
Launched in June this year at the UN’s pre-COP climate meetings in Bonn, the Belem Declaration on Plant-Rich Diets calls on national governments to recognize the climate, health, and economic benefits of plant-based foods and to take action through formal National Action Plans for Plant-Based Foods. The initiative will move into the spotlight at COP30, the UN climate summit taking place next month in Belém, Brazil.
The declaration has already gathered more than a hundred signatories, including non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups, as well as local authorities and elected representatives. Its aim is to highlight the role of plant-rich diets in addressing climate change, food security, and biodiversity loss. It also calls for a fair balance between regions, urging high-income nations to reduce overconsumption of meat while encouraging countries in the Global South to preserve and strengthen their traditional plant-based food cultures.
ProVeg International coordinated the declaration. Juliette Tronchon, Head of UN Affairs at ProVeg, commented: “Plant-based diets not only play a huge role in mitigating the climate crisis, they are also healthy for people, support food security, and can bring about large-scale employment opportunities.”
Growing support
More than a hundred organizations have already endorsed the declaration, including Compassion in World Farming International, the Good Food Institute Brazil, Mercy for Animals, and the European Vegetarian Union.
One of the first cities to sign is West Hollywood in California. Mayor Chelsea Byers said the endorsement aligns with the city’s long-standing environmental commitments. “Here in West Hollywood, we have long recognized the impact a changing climate plays in affecting life on this planet,” she said. “Since the beginning of our city’s founding, we have been proud environmental stewards.”
West Hollywood’s plant-based default policy now requires that the majority of food served at city-sponsored events be plant-based. “This aligns our purchasing power with our values,” noted Byers. “It also demonstrates to residents that they have ways in their daily lives to take meaningful action to address their impacts on climate change.”
Local action, global framework
The declaration seeks to link such local examples with national policies. It builds on a growing number of city-level commitments that use food policy as a climate tool, from procurement rules to public-awareness campaigns.
It also underscores the fact that reforming food systems is both an environmental and public-health issue. Plant-rich diets are widely associated with a lower risk of non-communicable diseases and premature mortality. By reducing reliance on resource-intensive animal agriculture, they improve food resilience and make more efficient use of land and water.
Towards COP30 and beyond
The Belem Declaration represents a unified call for governments to embed plant-based strategies into their climate commitments. It reflects a growing recognition that food-system reform is integral to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. As countries prepare their updated Nationally Determined Contributions for 2025, the declaration offers a framework for integrating diet-related measures into climate action.
As Tronchon noted, “The time is ripe for plant-rich diets to climb up the agenda of the UN climate summits.” We are hopeful that COP30 in Belém will mark a turning point, putting food-system transformation firmly on the global climate policy.
Organizations wishing to endorse the Declaration can do so here. The full text is available on the ProVeg website.
Simon Middleton
Senior Writer
