© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People on horses pass a soybean plantation affected by a long drought that finally ended this month with the arrival of rain, on a farm in 25 de Mayo, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 24 January 2022. REUTERS/Agustín Mar
By Leah Douglas and Simon Jessop
(Reuters) – Funding for a joint effort by the United States and the United Arab Emirates to promote climate-friendly agriculture around the world has risen to more than $17 billion, the countries announced on Friday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
The Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was launched in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow and its funding comes from governments, businesses and non-governmental organisations.
Globally, food and agriculture contribute about a third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Since 2021, almost 80 projects have been announced under the AIM for Climate initiative, with goals of expanding agricultural research, implementing sustainable agricultural practices and reducing methane emissions.
“This partnership embodies our shared commitment to accelerate investments in transformative food systems and climate-smart agricultural innovations,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
Funding for the effort has increased from $13 billion in May, when the United States and the United Arab Emirates co-hosted an AIM Climate Summit in Washington, and from $8 billion at COP27.
The new total includes $12 billion from governments and $5 billion from non-governmental parties such as businesses and humanitarian organizations, an AIM for Climate spokesperson said.
The 27 new projects announced at COP28 range in size from $500 million to $150,000.
Partners in one of the largest initiatives, aimed at expanding regenerative agriculture, include Bunge (NYSE:), Google (NASDAQ:), The Nature Conservancy and the Brazilian state of Pará. Regenerative agriculture generally refers to practices such as reducing tillage of cropland and reducing the use of pesticides.
For the first time, agriculture is a major topic at this year's climate summit, with a full day on December 10 dedicated to food and agricultural issues.
“We are witnessing enormous progress in transforming global food and agricultural systems at COP28,” UAE Minister of Climate and Environment Mariam Almheiri said in a statement.
Advocacy groups want attending nations and companies to commit to addressing agricultural methane emissions in particular, most of which come from livestock production.
(This story has been corrected to clarify the relationship between the partners in paragraph 9)
