Food Climate Partnership

GHG emissions from agricultural land are systematically underestimated. Putting agriculture in a bucket with the forestry sector— which represents a big carbon sink— obscures the impact of agriculture on climate change. civileats.com/2021/06/30/the…

1/3 of global households rely on biomass for cooking. Switching to cleaner cookstoves can save lives, cut food system carbon emissions, and promote gender equality. At COP27, leaders should take steps to ensure universal clean cooking access by 2030. news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/11/14/tra…

It's not too late to register and join our #ClimateWeek Spotlight on China's Food and Climate Nexus. We'll welcome our speakers and start in one hour - register and join now! climateweeknyc.org/events/food-an… foodclimatepartnership.org/policy

In 40 years, Chinese grain consumption tripled and meat consumption increased 14x. Today, China is the world's largest agri producer and importer. Join us tomorrow am for our #ClimateWeek spotlight on China's food system and its links to climate change. foodclimatepartnership.org/policy

Food systems account for 1/3 of global GHG emissions, with China alone emitting 1.9 GtCO2e from its agri-food sector in 2019. Join our #ClimateWeek spotlight on Monday to learn about how this impacts Chinese climate policy. Register here: climateweeknyc.org/events/food-an…

To achieve net zero, we need to zero in on the food system. Join us next Monday for a #ClimateWeek spotlight and panel discussion on China's food-related emissions and its impact on climate policy. Register today: climateweeknyc.org/events/food-an…

Thank you @wilsonCEF for hosting an excellent event on food+climate opportunities in China and the US. Great convo on the importance of keeping food policy priorities— e.g. nutrition, security and safety— at the forefront of the food/climate discussion. wilsoncenter.org/event/climate-…

Congratulations to Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, one of our founders, for being named The World Food Prize Laureate for 2022! A very well-deserved honor. Congratulations also to @AgMIPnews and the entire AgMIP team for being recognized as well. worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm?node…

Great write-up in Science News using some of the GHG emissions data we helped develop. "All the steps that take food from the farm to our plates to the landfill... bring food-related emissions... to 33 percent." sciencenews.org/article/food-e…

The conversation on GHG emissions from food systems tends to focus on ag and land use (rightfully so, due to their magnitude). However, GHG emissions generated outside of agricultural land are increasing at higher rates, esp. in industrialized countries. essd.copernicus.org/articles/14/17…

Climate change poses great challenges to food systems. How will it impact global nutrition? What is the future of smallholder farming? How can we finance healthy & resilient food systems? Join us Apr 1 to hear leading experts discuss the future of food eventbrite.com/e/columbia-uni…

@danrejto @TheBTI Great thread. Curious if/how the order here changes if emissions intensity is in kg CO2eq per kg protein instead of per kg product?

Cultured meat has potential but its GHG impacts "depend on the meat being substituted" and industrial energy use as explained here and in the #IPCCReport. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food/cu… @TheBTI

Cultured meat is featured in the new #IPCCReport as a technology that can help meet growing protein demand and reduce environmental impacts. THREAD 🧵

@waiterich From the Feng et al. paper (1st two columns are commodity and small-scale ag, respectively, last column is the total)

Deforestation in the tropics has been more severe than what's reported by standard bookkeeping methods. Also, food systems drive the vast majority of tropical deforestation. For the 3 countries with highest avg annual rates (Brazil, Indo, DRC) ag drives over 90% of deforestation

The foodprint of methane emissions is even higher than what this image suggests— about 35% of 🗑️methane emissions come from solid food waste in landfills! (#data/GW" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fao.org/faostat/en/#da…)

Energy use in agriculture and fisheries is a significant source of GHG emissions (>1 gigaton in CO2eq in 2019). On-farm electricity use has tripled since 1990 providing major opportunities to decarbonize the food system by advancing clean energy systems. essd.copernicus.org/articles/14/81…

Expanding robust cold chains can reduce food waste, w/ positive impacts on climate. Where possible, countries should invest in energy-efficient systems based on next-gen refrigerants & renewable energy, else the climate impact may be minimal or reversed. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijre…

The 1989 Montreal Protocol targeted ozone-depleting Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were replaced by Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)— many of which have global warming potentials 4000X greater than CO2. The Kigali Amendment aims to phase out the most harmful. doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle…

One of the fastest growing sources of GHG emissions from food systems are fluorinated gases released from refrigeration systems. Food system f-gas emissions increased from near 0 in 1990 to 427 megatons in 2015, in CO2 equivalents. (Source: FAOSTAT) #data/EM" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fao.org/faostat/en/#da…

Solid food waste in landfills is the second highest source of methane emissions from food system activities (source: FAOSTAT). Solutions to this issue are generally two-pronged: 1) throw away less food, and 2) improve waste management systems globally— particularly for organics.

Counterintuitively, GHG emissions associated with some food products may actually be fewer when they are grown *further away* from where they are ultimately consumed. fao.org/3/cb6754en/cb6…

Transportation accounts for only 1-5%, on average, of the GHG emissions from the most emissions-intensive food products (e.g. animal-sourced foods) (2/3) fao.org/3/cb6754en/cb6…

GHG emissions from agricultural production are typically much greater than GHG emissions associated with transporting that food. Air-freighted products are notable exceptions that prove the rule. (1/3) ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs…