Deliver a Just Transition in Food and Agriculture

Agriculture and food systems are the second-largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, and food production accounts for at least 15% of all fossil fuel used annually, yet the sector remains one of the most under-addressed in climate negotiations. This letter, sent jointly by three UNFCCC constituencies, urges Brazil's COP30 Presidency to ensure that any Just Transition package explicitly includes and facilitates a just transition in agriculture and food systems, moving beyond incremental efficiency gains toward equitable, climate-resilient, and agroecological food systems.

Almost 4 billion people rely on agriculture for income and sustenance, including smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples, herders, fishers, and other rural communities, many of them among the most vulnerable to climate impacts, and among the least responsible for causing them. The letter argues that a just transition in the energy sector cannot succeed without a parallel transition in food and agriculture, since the two are deeply interconnected.

Nine Asks to the COP30 Presidency

1. Elevate agriculture and food systems within the Just Transition Work Programme, with attention to adaptation and support for communities transitioning away from harmful, highly-polluting industrialised agriculture.
2. Recognise food systems transformation and agroecology as central to climate goals, with strong emphasis on the right to food and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, peasants, and vulnerable communities.
3. Encourage Parties, especially high-income countries, to embed a just transition of food systems in their climate strategies (including 2025 NDCs), with a focus on sustainable diets, agroecology, and high-welfare, diversified farming.
4. Mobilise public investment and technology transfer toward agroecology and climate-resilient food systems, aligned with the right to food, food sovereignty, land rights, and animal welfare.
5. Ensure high-income countries contribute financially, with funding accessible to Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, fishers, family farmers, and dedicated allocations for women and youth.
6. Secure a firm commitment to halting deforestation and habitat loss linked to agricultural commodity production, including industrial livestock expansion and unsustainable supply chains.
7. Ensure the Global Goal on Adaptation concludes with clear indicators on agriculture and means of implementation, with adequate support for the Global South.
8. Ensure coherence between climate action, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and desertification efforts, while protecting the rights and welfare of people, communities, and animals.
9. Establish clear guidelines against conflicts of interest in corporate participation, with transparency safeguards against greenwashing and space for MSMEs, cooperatives, and civil society-led solutions.

Read the Full Letter