ProVeg welcomes the summit host’s move to provide plant-based food to delegates
Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s UN climate summit, COP29, has committed to providing plant-based food at the event in a move welcomed by food awareness organization, ProVeg International.
“The precedent was very much set by the UAE at COP28 when two thirds of the catering was plant-based. So we are delighted to see that Azerbaijan will continue to emphasize the important role of plant-based food,” Lana Weidgenant, Senior UN Policy Manager at ProVeg, said.
Plant-based foods emit half as much CO2 as animal-based foods (1), so encouraging greater consumption of more plant-based foods offers an effective way of tackling the climate crisis.
The UN’s own Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has called for a shift to plant-based food to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions (2), 32% of methane emissions (3) and is also a leading cause of deforestation. Around 70% of deforestation in the Amazon is due to cattle farming alone (4).
Catering revolution
Azerbaijan will not be the first global event this year to put an emphasis on the importance of plant-based food for CO2 reduction. The event held between the annual COPs, the Bonn Climate Conference, which took place in June this year, also saw an increase in the amount of climate-friendly food offered.
And in July this year, the Paris Olympics offered largely plant-based food in a move by France to halve the carbon emissions of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Stephanie Maw, Senior UN Policy and Advocacy Manager at ProVeg, worked as a volunteer managing sporting events, welcoming thousands of visitors during the Paris Olympics. She saw firsthand how the plant-based catering options were very well-received throughout the Games. “There were plenty of people saying how tasty and healthy the food was and the organizers did a great job at presenting their green menu in a fun and creative way,” Maw said.
“It was an excellent decision to provide mainly veggie and vegan food at the Games, not just because it made the event greener, but because it ensured a wide variety of nutritious and interesting food for the global community of spectators, staff and athletes,” she added.
Further progress on food and agriculture in Azerbaijan?
Last year’s COP28 in Dubai saw some progress in highlighting the need to make the food system more climate-friendly, including the signing of a Declaration on sustainable agriculture by countries who pledged to reduce carbon emissions from the food system by including them in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other national climate action plans.
This year, COP29 will have a dedicated Food, Agriculture and Water Day on 19 November. Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate, has said that the thematic day demonstrates the importance the COP29 Presidency places on agriculture and “advancing sustainable and resilient food systems globally”. (5)
A joint project between the COP29 Presidency and the UN FAO, called the Harmoniya Initiative, will also be launched at the summit. The initiative will facilitate the sharing of experiences and identify synergies and gaps in work to achieve the transformation of agrifood systems.
ProVeg will be on the ground throughout COP29 at the Action on Food Hub, which will aim to unite and represent the whole food systems community and will have a dedicated policy area.
Juliette Tronchon, Head of UN Affairs at ProVeg International, said: “Policy engagement is incredibly important at COP, and with the creation of the new Policy Zone within the Action on Food Hub, we will be able to concentrate more effort on providing evidence-based resources about the role of food systems in climate adaptation and mitigation to negotiating parties, as well as ensuring the food community at COP can better follow and support these important negotiations.”
ENDS
Footnotes
- Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods | Nature Food
- Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods | Nature Food
- Cutting livestock methane emissions for stronger climate action (fao.org)
- Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Reducing Amazon Deforestation through Agricultural Intensification in the Cerrado for Advancing Food Security and Mitigating Climate Change (mdpi.com)
- Here’s What’s On The Table For Food Systems At COP29 (forbes.com)
Notes to Editors
For media inquiries, email Peter Rixon at [email protected]
For scientific data about the benefits of plant-based eating, see our Food System Data website.
About ProVeg International
Our vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet. ProVeg International is a food awareness organization with the mission to replace 50% of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040.
