World Wildlife Fund charts path to combating climate change, biodiversity

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has underscored the importance of aligning efforts across the three Rio Conventions—on climate change, biodiversity and desertification.

This was part of the insights shared from the recent Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29 negotiations, highlighting key developments and ongoing challenges in climate action.

WWF noted that although discussions on food and agriculture were limited, some positive outcomes emerged. Notably, more than 30 countries signed the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration, which focuses on integrating methane reduction targets into future Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

As focus turns to the upcoming the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 in Riyadh, WWF said the integrated approach is vital for creating solutions that benefit both people and nature.

The WWF’s alignment paper, released at the start of the tri-COP period, outlines critical actions needed to enhance food systems resilience, reduce agricultural emissions, promote nature-positive food production, and secure financing for food systems transformation.

“WWF is actively working on food systems transformation in countries and places around the world and is ready to help translate integrated commitments made at COPs into action on the ground and in the water. We can support stakeholders across food systems in all parts of the world in a number of ways.

“The Great Food Puzzle is a new approach to identifying and accelerating implementation of the highest-impact food systems solutions in different countries all over the world. Place-based solutions are key to transforming food systems – the complex network of activities that involves the production, processing, transportation, and consumption of food – and unlocking their global potential to restore biodiversity, limit climate change and provide everyone with enough healthy and nutritious food.”

WWF said, “because countries have unique food cultures and physical environments, there isn’t one thing that everyone should do. But there are groups of countries that can apply similar solutions to deliver the biggest impact in the shortest time.”

The Fund noted that in the first global study of its kind, it analysed more than 100 countries and classified them into six different Food System Types, based on their environmental and socioeconomic characteristics, and ranked the highest-impact actions in each.

“The inclusion of environmental factors sets the study apart from other food system typologies. It is critical they are considered, given food systems’ widespread impact on nature and total dependence on a functioning natural world. There are lots of examples of how some of the highest-potential solutions are already being implemented.

“Scaling those in the appropriate places can lead to a rapid transformation of global food systems. The interactive tool includes more than 50 success stories of how countries in all parts of the world are applying high-impact solutions.”