Climate-smart Agriculture

1. Climate-smart Agriculture Peter Holmgren FAO

2. Peter Holmgren, FAO 3 November 2009

4. Two Goals of Our Time • Achieving Food Security • 1 billion hungry • Food production to increase 70% by 2050 • Adaptation to Climate Change critical • Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change • ”2 degree goal” requires major emission cuts • Agriculture and Land use = 30% of emissions.. • ..and needs to be part of the solution

5. Climate Change and Food Security Climate Change, Food and Security

6. CBD “Species” WSFS “Calories” UNFCCC “Carbon” Food Security Biodiversity Climate Overlaps, Synergies and Trade-offs GLOBAL OBJECTIVES + Human rights, Health, Trade, Education, ..... National -> International National -> Local LOCAL REALITIES

8. But solutions also depend on • Demographic changes • population • urbanization • Economic growth • Structural changes in agriculture • Consumption patterns

9. Remember: Climate change mitigation will never be the main goal for agriculture.

10. Climate-smart Agriculture Agriculture that sustainably: • increases productivity • increases resilience (adaptation) • reduces/removes GHGs AND • enhances achievement of national food security and development goals

11. Key messages 1: Practises • Climate-smart practices exist • Ecosystem approach at landscape level is crucial • Investments are needed in • filling data and knowledge gaps • R&D of technologies, methodologies • conservation and production of varieties and breeds

12. Key messages 2: Policies • Smallholders need institutional and financial support for the transition • Strengthened institutions for dissemination and coordination • Consistency between agriculture, food security and climate change policies

13. Key messages 3: Finance • Available financing, current and projected, are substantially insufficient • Combining finance (public/private, climate change/food security) improves options • Fast-track financing must take sector-specific considerations into account

14. On scope of agriculture mitigation • It is not only about soils. • Vegetation in agriculture landscapes has a very large potential • Emission reductions per produced unit will be a major contribution

15. On MRV and Monitoring • Often said to be an obstacle • but, Don’t Worry! • Some consolation: • No need to measure Carbon or emissions everywhere • Only at strategic levels do we need to monitor actual emissions • At operational levels, focus will be on proxies that help implement policies

16. Links to REDD+ • Emissions from forests are largely caused by agriculture • So REDD+ is largely to be achieved in the agriculture sector • Which means that climate-smart agriculture should be included in REDD+ strategies and finance

17. FAO actions • MICCA Programme • Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture • Knowledge – emissions, mitigation potentials • Pilots of mitigation payments • EX-ACT – incorporating climate impact in agriculture investment projects • Adaptation Framework Programme • Brings together adaptation in all FAO work areas • UN-REDD Programme

18. Two Goals Achieving Food Security Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change We must reach both.

19. Peter Holmgren, FAO 3 November 2009