Ministry Statements & Speeches:
New Zealand welcomes this discussion on the nexus between food and environmental issues.
Food security and climate change are two major international challenges of our time and accordingly are reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the recent adoption of the Paris Agreement by the UNFCCC.
However, increasing food production could lead to an increase in emissions. Equally, aiming for zero emissions for agriculture, while still producing enough food for the world, will not be possible.Unlike emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels, agricultural emissions arise from complex biological processes. And, at present the technologies to reduce these emissions are limited.New Zealand has led a global effort to address the challenge by partnering with countries around the world to foster research of new agricultural mitigation technologies.
New Zealand is also a founding member of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. The GRA focuses on reducing agricultural emissions while meeting food security goals through collaboration and co-operation and ensuring that we do not duplicate efforts and resources.
The GRA has an exciting collaboration with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition on a project that identifies regionally appropriate practices, which enhance productivity and reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions. The project operates across Central and South America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In some regions results are already being shared through local agricultural ministries, including by providing data to allow countries to develop business cases for funding of sustainable agricultural projects.
Agriculture faces a unique and complex mitigation challenge and the present technical options are not sufficient.
However, New Zealand believes that with strong investment in research and a collaborative international effort, it will be possible to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing food security.