Current:Home > BackU.S. and UAE-backed initiative announces $9 billion more for agricultural innovation projects-LoTradeCoin
U.S. and UAE-backed initiative announces $9 billion more for agricultural innovation projects
View Date:2024-12-23 19:20:12
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An additional $9 billion of funding to tackle agriculture’s role in the climate crisis was announced on the sidelines of the United Nations climate talks on Friday.
The Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, a joint initiative led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates that debuted at the climate talks in Glasgow two years ago, now has $17 billion to invest in agriculture and food systems innovation. Food systems — all the processes involved in making, shipping and disposing of food — account for about a third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Countries have been convening at the annual Conference of the Parties to discuss and negotiate what to do about climate change that has Earth bumping up against the Paris agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since industrial times. With difficult negotiations still underway on how aggressively countries might agree to cut fossil fuel use, it’s been easier for nations and companies to announce funding for programs not directly related to that issue.
This year’s summit, COP28, is unique in its emphasis on farming. “We would not be able to reach 1.5 degrees if we don’t fix our food and ag sector,” UAE Minister for Climate and the Environment Mariam Almheiri said in a press conference in Dubai on Friday.
The funding announced Friday is enough money and will support enough different approaches to be a good start, said Mario Herrero, a professor of food systems and global change at Cornell University. But he added that the real test will be to see whether more money comes in, and whether the projects are held accountable for doing what they say they will.
“That’s something we will need to monitor very carefully, whether this is largely greenwashing,” Herrero said.
Projects the initiative has funded in the past include building a $500 million agri-processing plant in Nigeria, restoring degraded pastureland in Brazil and backing research to reduce synthetic nitrogen.
The new projects being funded address a wide range of areas. Some, like a $500 million action agenda on “regenerative agriculture,” have no single definition but involve a range of techniques that encourage farmers to switch to practices that lower emissions. Others target food manufacturing and processing or animal feed and fertilizer. The most futuristic range from developing microbes to store carbon in soil to using food-safe industrial waste to produce microalgae that help grow oysters on land.
Many of the projects are targeted at middle- and low-income countries, where farmers often have less technology at their disposal to combat climate change. But while some are targeted at reducing waste, none of the new projects mentioned had an explicit focus on reducing consumption. Wealthier countries eat more of the foods like meat and dairy that make up the vast majority of global food-related emissions.
If the funding helps low- and middle-income countries adapt to climate change while also helping them mitigate emissions, that’s a good thing, Herrero said.
“Now the hard work starts,” Herrero said.
___
Walling reported from Chicago.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- 'Treacherous conditions' in NYC: Firefighters battling record number of brush fires
- Taylor Swift Reveals the Real Meaning Behind The Tortured Poets Department Songs
- Without cameras to go live, the Trump trial is proving the potency of live blogs as news tools
- William Strickland, a longtime civil rights activist, scholar and friend of Malcom X, has died
- Oprah Winfrey Addresses Claim She Was Paid $1 Million by Kamala Harris' Campaign
- When red-hot isn’t enough: New government heat risk tool sets magenta as most dangerous level
- Celine Dion talks accepting stiff person syndrome diagnosis, first meeting husband at 12
- Contact restored with NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe
- The Daily Money: Mattel's 'Wicked' mistake
- What is the best milk alternative? Here's how to pick the healthiest non-dairy option
Ranking
- New wildfires burn in US Northeast while bigger blazes rage out West
- For years, a Michigan company has been the top pick to quickly personalize draftees’ new NFL jerseys
- Utah school district addresses rumors of furries 'biting,' 'licking,' reports say
- Supreme Court denies request by Arizona candidates seeking to ban electronic vote tabulators
- Man killed in Tuskegee University shooting in Alabama is identified. 16 others were hurt
- Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan heads to the Senate for final approval after months of delay
- 'Unspeakable loss': Chicago Police Department officer fatally shot returning home from work
- Jury deliberating in Iraq Abu Ghraib prison abuse civil case; contractor casts blame on Army
Recommendation
-
ONA Community Introduce
-
US advances review of Nevada lithium mine amid concerns over endangered wildflower
-
Insider Q&A: Trust and safety exec talks about AI and content moderation
-
The body recovered of 1 of 2 men who vanished last week after kayaks capsized in Indianapolis
-
Trump’s economic agenda for his second term is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates
-
Mississippi lawmakers move toward restoring voting rights to 32 felons as broader suffrage bill dies
-
Storm relief and funding for programs related to Maine’s deadliest-ever shooting included in budget
-
Beyoncé shows fans her long natural hair and reveals wash day routine using Cécred products