Nestlé among COP28 agricultural ‘action agenda’ signatories, yet major challenges remain

Global food group Nestlé was among COP28 environmental event’s signatories for an ‘action agenda’ on regenerative landscapes, supporting farmers adopting agricultural best practices in helping preserve valuable land and forests, writes Neill Barston.

The annual summit, which has just concluded in Dubai, was attended by governments of almost 200 countries, which had also explored a key motion on ‘phasing out the use of fossil fuels’ – which prompted much wrangling from participants over agreed declaration wording – with reported pushback from oil rich nations agreeing to the term.

Instead, a watered-down final agreement was arrived at of ‘transitioning away from coal, oil and gas’ with no firm commitments on timelines, or indeed legally enforceable targets applicable to the joint declaration. However, some observers have placed this as a historic moment, given that there had been little expectation of any agreement at all.

The eventual agreement was welcomed by environmental campaign group, Mighty Earth, which believed there remained pressing challenges in order for the world to meet its targets of limiting climate change by 1.5 degrees.

Its senior director Alex Wijeratna, said: “While we’re dismayed that countries couldn’t agree to ‘phase out’ fossil fuels at COP28, it’s an important win for climate and nature that tackling how we produce and consume food and reducing emissions in our global food systems has finally been recognized as a core climate issue.”

“That means decarbonising agriculture and urgently reducing emissions from the intensive livestock sector, which is one of the biggest climate polluters. We also need to massively scale-up agroecology and regenerative systems of food production that support nature, building on local, traditional and Indigenous knowledge.”

“In richer countries, it also means diet shifts towards eating less meat and more plant proteins, and rapidly reducing rampant food loss and waste.”

agricultural progress

For its part, Nestlé noted that around a third of total greenhouse gas emissions coming from the production, distribution and consumption of food, COP28 acknowledged, for the first time, the important role food and agriculture play in tackling the climate crisis. As a food company, the Swiss-headquartered firm asserted that it had been pushing for this action and believes the momentum it creates will enable the global transition to agriculture that restores and enhances nature.

As previously reported, the company is among the ‘big six’ confectionery firms sourcing its cocoa from territories including West Africa, which has continued to be affected by major issues of deforestation and illegal gold mining causing significant damage to natural landscapes and agricultural assets.

In addition, private sector participants, farmers, civil society, financiers and local government representatives agreed at the summit to coordinate and scale up their efforts to make food production and agriculture more sustainable and resilient. Signatories of the COP28 Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes, of which Nestlé is a founding member, will collaborate and support farmers who adopt regenerative practices. They will help facilitate government policies, support research and development and advance education in this space.

As Nestle concluded, the Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes is an important means for delivering on the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. Signed by 134 world leaders, the Declaration makes sustainable agriculture and food production key components for dealing with climate change.

“At Nestlé, we have made regenerative agriculture a cornerstone of our roadmap to net zero greenhouse gas emissions,” said Rob Cameron, Nestlé’s Global Head of Public Affairs. “As one company, we can have a positive impact on the environment and on farmers and their communities. The cooperation across sectors agreed at COP28 is another major step forward that will make a big difference.”