Climate Change Affects Food Access, a Top Reason for World Hunger, FAO Tells UN Climate Summit
NEW YORK - 
(NewMediaWire) - September 24, 2014 - Overcoming climate change is central to
achieving a sustainable future for the planet's growing population, and food
security must lie at the heart of that effort, FAO
Director-General José Graziano da Silva said here today in a speech at the UN Climate
Summit.
"We cannot call development
sustainable while hunger still robs over 800 million people of the opportunity
to lead a decent life," he said, referencing the latest UN report on world
hunger, released last week, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014.
While in the past, efforts to feed the world focused on boosting agricultural
output to produce more food, today's challenges – including climate change – demand a new
approach, Graziano da Silva said.
"We need to shift to more sustainable food systems – food systems that
produce more, with less environmental damage – food systems that promote
sustainable consumption, since nowadays we waste or lose one third to half of
what we produce," he said.
Noting that hunger persists despite the fact that the planet produces enough
food to feed all of humanity, Graziano da Silva said: "Producing enough food for all is a necessary, but not a sufficient
condition for food security. People are not hungry because food is not
available, but because they do not have access to it."
Climate change has a direct bearing both on agricultural production and on
people's ability to access food, the FAO chief said – and there is no
one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with these challenges.
"FAO welcomes the commitments being made to address climate change. FAO
can support them as part of our capacity-building projects at country level.
"We are ready to work with you to successfully address the impacts of
climate change on food security. This is a necessary step to the hunger-free
world and sustainable future we want," he added.
Multiple options for adapting
"There are many alternatives to address climate change and ensure
sustainable food security," Graziano da Silva said. "We need to keep
all the doors open to face the adaptation needed to cope with the climate
change and assure food for all in the near future."
One valuable approach, he noted, is what is known as "climate-smart
agriculture" – adjusting farming practices to make them more
adaptive and resilient to environmental pressures, while at the same time
decreasing farming's own impacts on the environment.
Graziano da Silva welcomed the launch today at the UN Climate Summit of a new Global
Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture, a broad coalition of stakeholders,
including governments; farmers and food producers, processors and sellers;
scientific and educational organizations; civil society actors; multilateral
and international agencies and the private sector.
The Alliance will work together to promote sustainable and equitable increases
in agricultural productivity and incomes; build greater resilience of food
systems and farming livelihoods; and achieve reductions or removals of
greenhouse gas emissions by agriculture.
Graziano da Silva also highlighted "agro-ecology" as a promising
approach to moving food production onto a more sustainable path.
The approach uses ecological theory to study and manage agricultural systems in
order to make them both more productive and better at conserving natural
resources.
Last week, FAO hosted a major event on the approach at its Rome headquarters, where participants called
for UN-wide initiative on agro-ecology in order to help sustainably promote
food security, address climate change and build resilience.
"There are many paths to food security and sustainable development.
Governments need to choose the solutions that best respond to their specific
needs," Graziano da Silva said.
VIDEO:
Climate-smart agriculture: Leslie Lipper Senior Environmental Economist with FAO
LEARN MORE:
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http://www.fao.org/climatechange/en/
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ABOUT FAO
Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. Our three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
FAO creates and shares critical information about food, agriculture and natural resources in the form of global public goods. But this is not a one-way flow. We play a connector role, through identifying and working with different partners with established expertise, and facilitating a dialogue between those who have the knowledge and those who need it. By turning knowledge into action, FAO links the field to national, regional and global initiatives in a mutually reinforcing cycle. By joining forces, we facilitate partnerships for food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development between governments, development partners, civil society and the private sector.
An intergovernmental organization, FAO has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries. http://www.fao.org
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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org
Sudeshna Chowdhury
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FAO Liaison Office for North America (LOW)
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chowdhurys@un.org
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