Bats play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystems and food systems by providing natural pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal for various crops such as agave, pecans, and fruits. However, bats are facing threats from habitat destruction, disease, and climate change. Efforts to protect bats include planting bat-friendly gardens, building bat houses, and advocating for bat conservation to ensure the sustainability of food production and ecosystems.
The United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) is set to release the first comprehensive plan to align the global agrifood industry with the Paris climate agreement. The plan, expected to be published during the COP28 summit, will urge developed nations to reduce their meat consumption while encouraging developing countries to improve their livestock farming practices. Food systems contribute to about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with livestock farming being a major source of methane, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. The FAO's plan, although non-binding, aims to inform policy and investment decisions and accelerate the food industry's climate transition. The guidance on meat consumption is intended to send a clear message to governments, even though politicians in wealthier nations tend to avoid policies that influence consumer behavior. The FAO's plan will also address issues such as weather adaptation, food waste, and fertilizer use, and will be rolled out in three parts over the next few years.
John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, emphasized the need to address the agriculture sector's emissions, which alone create 33% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. He called for reducing those emissions to be "front and center" in the quest to defeat global warming and touted climate smart agriculture as a potential solution. The global food system generates about 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to 34% of total worldwide emissions. In the US, agriculture alone generates about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The AIM for Climate Summit brought together public and private sector officials pursuing climate-focused innovation in agriculture and food systems.
