Ecology

Climate change and agriculture are inextricably linked, given that food production and distribution contribute heavily to global emissions, but also because major climate shifts pose a significant threat to food security worldwide. Therefore, you’d think that agriculture would be high on the list of discussion topics at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. But according to some reports, the U.S. seems to be skirting the issue and planning to avoid mention of food security.

According to a representative from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, as reported by Grist:
And then there is the U.S. position. Arguing that the language on agriculture needs to be short and very specific, and that it should avoid any mention of food security, or of linkages between mitigation and adaptation. Hard to believe. How does the U.S. government expect this to be acceptable to developing countries where agriculture is a source of livelihoods for large shares of their populations? And, more broadly, to all stakeholders involved in discussions about agriculture, food and climate change? It has become widely accepted that Copenhagen needs to open a space to deal with agriculture and food security concerns associated with climate change—the U.S. cannot be serious!

Yet, judging by the press release of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who spoke yesterday at the conference, the link between climate change and global food security is an important issue to be addressed. In the release Vilsack explains:

We are working to take action to address the impacts of climate change and have made a long-term commitment to eliminating food insecurity. If we can now put our global commitments into action at the national, village and farm level, we are confident we will succeed in making agriculture an important tool in eliminating the devastation caused by hunger and in combating global climate change.

So, I’m not really sure what to believe. Ultimately, though, what seems to be absent from the official negotiations are concrete plans to address the food-climate link. Encouragingly, there was a meeting today of the world’s largest alliance of agricultural scientists who unveiled new strategies about reducing the impact of climate change on global food supplies. Let’s hope that more of those discussions begin happening on the inside, too.

Source:  www.takepart.com