With strong cooperation and partnership between governments, citizens, and the corporate sector, the world is on the verge of change to end hunger by 2030 and deliver on pledges for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Hunger and the Climate Crisis
- The Intersection of Climate Change and the Food System: From production to consumption, the global food system is impacted by the climate issue.
- It devastates land and crops, kills cattle, depletes fisheries, and disrupts transportation to markets, all of which have an impact on food production, diversity, access, and safety.
- Food systems, on the other hand, have an environmental impact and are a cause of climate change. According to estimates, the food sector contributes roughly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Current Climate-Hunger Crisis Scenario:
- As the climate catastrophe worsens, the goal of eradicating world hunger and malnutrition in all forms by 2030 faces significant obstacles.
- This has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has increased the number of people suffering from chronic hunger from 130 million to 270 million.
Vulnerable, Low Emitter, High Sufferer:
- Vulnerable groups, the vast majority of which rely on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and livestock and contribute the least to the climate problem, will continue to bear the brunt of the consequences, with few resources to cushion the blow.
- The top ten countries with the most food insecurity account for 0.08 percent of global carbon emissions.
Efforts to address all of these challenges at the same time
Building Poor People’s Resilience:
- Food security necessitates adaptation and resilience-building for poor and vulnerable communities.
- Given that the negative effects of climate extremes on people and the environment will continue to worsen as temperatures rise, there is a heavy emphasis on the importance of increasing action and support.
India’s Contribution:
- For increased farm incomes and nutrition security, it must restructure its food systems to make them more equitable and sustainable.
- For more equitable water distribution, sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture, crop diversification toward millets, pulses, oilseeds, and horticulture is required.
Adaptation Funding:
- The industrialized countries’ recent pledges to increase climate finance to aid adaptation in underdeveloped countries are a welcome gesture.
- However, present climate adaptation finance and stakeholder base are insufficient to address growing climate change impacts.
Taking a Multi-Pronged Approach to Addressing the Climate-Hunger Crisis:
- By protecting and strengthening the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, we can build resilient livelihoods and food security solutions.
- Food systems that are sustainable must be achieved in terms of production, value chains, and consumption.
- Cropping patterns that are climate robust must be promoted. Instead of providing input subsidies, cash transfers to farmers for sustainable agriculture might be provided.
Conclusion
Reimagining food systems necessitates examining them through the lens of climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as making them resilient to climate change and pandemics while remaining green and sustainable.
Legacy Editor Changed status to publish June 8, 2023