FAO Liaison Office in New York

10/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 08:15

Briefing: The important role of agrifood systems across the Rio Convention Conference of Parties to the United Nations CBD, UNFCCC, and the UNCCD

Briefing: The important role of agrifood systems across the Rio Convention Conference of Parties to the United Nations CBD, UNFCCC, and the UNCCD

Guangzhou Qu, Director of the FAO Liaison Office of the United Nations in New York

09/10/2024

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear colleagues, 

  • In New York, we are proud to be working with other Liaison Offices in organizing a series of briefings over the past two years, to bring FAO's technical knowledge and the support we offer to our Members, partners, and other stakeholders ahead of important global discussions.
  • In this spirit, I am delighted to welcome you to today's discussions.
  • We know that agrifood systems hold solutions to the major interlinked challenges we face.
  • Just two weeks ago, the Pact for the Future was adopted during the Summit of the Future, and it contains three actions which I would like to highlight as they are very relevant to today's discussion:
    • Promoting equitable, resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems so that everyone has access to safe, affordable, sufficient and nutritious food.
    • Strengthening our actions to address climate change.
    • And accelerating our efforts to restore, protect, conserve and sustainably use the environment,
  • More and more, we are seeing these issues discussed in an interlinked manner. And we are pleased to bring together a discussion on the role of agrifood systems across the upcoming three COPs.
  • We look forward to hearing reflections today from Representatives of the Presidencies of this year's Conferences of the Parties to the Rio Conventions: Colombia, which will host CBD COP16, Azerbaijan which will host UNFCCC COP29, and Saudi Arabia, which will host UNCCD COP16.
  • We will hear about FAO's work to support Member States in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and land degradation neutrality goals.
  • We will also welcome youth reflections on the upcoming COPs, as well as insights from a representative of World Farmers' Organisation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

  • Agrifood systems must be at the center of positive transformations to ensure better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. 
  • I wish you fruitful discussions today, and thank you for joining us.