Vienna, 3 October 2022 – For the first time ever, this year’s 27^th United Nations (UN) climate change conference will host pavilions dedicated to food system change, organised by global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS and 15 other partners from around the world.

The Food4Climate Pavilion will cover 130 square metres and feature 10 food and agriculture topics.

COP27 takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November this year and the Food4Climate Pavilion will highlight to the nearly 200 country delegations visiting the conference how the food and agriculture system needs to change in order to effectively tackle the climate crisis.

Worldwide, meat and dairy production provides just 18%¹ of calories consumed but uses 83% of global farmland. In addition to this, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from animal agriculture are twice² those from plant-based diets, so policies need to be pushed that encourage plant-based nutrition and reduce the number of animals farmed.

Under the banner, Diet Change Not Climate Change³, FOUR PAWS and partners will be engaging UN member states to transition away from resource-intensive and harmful animal farming systems and accelerate dietary shifts as part of their climate policy.

Sophie Aylmer, FOUR PAWS Head of Farm Animals and Nutrition Policy, highlighted that “Without addressing food systems⁴ at UN level, global climate targets such as those set out in the Paris Agreement, will not be met and food production itself will become even more vulnerable to climate change impacts. It is pretty simple, at this point, ignoring food systems is no longer an option and requires unliteral global action to meet current and future targets.

“To successfully reduce CO2 and methane emissions, we need to shift more people to plant-based diets that keep us within the planetary boundaries Technological solutions alone cannot help us address the many global challenges we face. The scientific data demonstrates that this transition, however, can contribute to slowing climate change and ensuring future generations' access to food. COP27 offers the opportunity to ensure these changes happen at a global level, and before it is too late.”

Background

About the Food4Climate Pavilion partner organisations

The Food4Climate Pavilion – supported by FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organisation, alongside ProVeg International, Compassion in World Farming, Food Tank, IPES Food, A Well-Fed World, and 16 other NGOs, think-tanks and commercial companies –Throughout COP27, delegates from nearly 200 UN member states will be able to attend daily talks and network with NGOs, the commercial industry, academic institutions and researchers at the Food4Climate Pavilion, which will be in the Blue Zone of COP27, taking place this year in Sharm El Sheikh from 6th-18th November.

Food4Climate Pavilion will aim to present plant-rich diets as a key mitigation and adaptation solution to the climate crisis at this year’s COP27 conference in Egypt in November. The Pavilion’s diverse stakeholders highlight the rich plurality of actors and factors shaping our food systems. With a strong focus on Just Transition, the programme will explore multiple perspectives and concrete ways to create inclusive mechanisms for leveraging the potential of plant-rich diets to make our food systems more sustainable and equitable.