CDKN worked with the Meridian Institute to support dialogue on the nexus between agriculture and climate change in the context of UNFCCC negotiations.  The project aimed to facilitate discussion among developing country leaders on agriculture-climate links through a 12 month dialogue process. This process brought agricultural negotiators together and give them the opportunity to speak informally and share their perspectives about how agriculture could be addressed under the UNFCCC. High quality briefing materials were produced to support this work.

The topics covered in the first stage of this briefing process were trade, climate finance, Measuring, Report and Verification (MRV) and early action activities.  Participants identified a need for a concise and accessible high-level policy briefing paper for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17). They also called for more targeted work on early action and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)/Agriculture interface, which would be useful in moving agriculture forward both within the UNFCCC and on the ground. At COP17, Meridian launched the policy brief which explored trade-offs and synergies among food security, adaptation and mitigation. The team distributed the brief widely and held in-person briefings with a diverse audience of Northern and Southern high-level policy makers and NGO representatives.

In 2012, CDKN and Meridian continued to support dialogue among government officials interested in climate and agriculture negotiations. Governments made a formal decision on how to integrate agriculture into the UNFCCC at the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18).

CDKN worked with Meridian on the following areas between COP17 and COP18:

• Policy Briefing Paper: developing an easily accessible policy briefing paper, geared towards policymakers in preparation for COP17 in Durban, South Africa. The paper is available here.
• Early Action on climate-smart agriculture (CSA): creating the enabling conditions for advancing early action. These include: knowledge-sharing, lessons learned and exploring opportunities for country-, bilateral- and donor- coordination in this area. Where appropriate, the project aims to catalyse early action activities for agriculture.
• Expanded Early Action Paper:  expanding upon an existing work on early action on climate-smart agriculture to develop a impactful, self-standing report with a robust range of case studies from around the world. Stakeholders underscored the value of having such detailed case studies throughout the dialogue process, particularly examples of climate-smart agriculture in action.
• Exploring Agriculture’s Interface with REDD+: bringing together a range of key stakeholders including: agricultural and forestry (REDD+)  negotiators, implementers, interested donors and civil society representatives,  to collectively explore how to address agriculture as a driver of deforestation without comprising global priorities like food security and agricultural adaptation. This activity included two in-person dialogues, aimed at facilitating cross-sector discussion and information sharing to help inform the development of a June 2012 Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) report on drivers of deforestation, with respect to agricultural issues.

For more information on this programme of work, please visit the Meridian Institute’s project website.

CDKN funding: £325,000

Project Manager: Helen Baker

Photo courtesy of UN Climate Change.