Options for multilateral initiatives to close the global 2030 climate ambition and action gap : policy field sustainable food systems

To increase climate policy ambitions and achieve carbon neutrality, countries need to take much more ambitious action already in the coming decade. One of the key areas of action is the transformation of our food systems towards sustainability. In this regard, two aspects stand out as having a large climate mitigation potential: (1) Reducing food losses and food waste and (2) diet shifts towards diets that are rich in plant proteins and low in animal products. Both areas also offer the potential to unfold many other positive sustainability impacts, including health and resource efficiency. This paper discusses options for how a shift towards sustainable food systems, including food waste reduction and a dietary shift, can be enhanced through multilateral cooperation in different political processes (UN Food System Summit, G20/G7, UNFCCC COP26 and others). An overview of existing partnerships, alliances and networks at the international level illustrates existing international activities on which such efforts can build. The challenge is that food policy is a relatively young policy area which so far lacks an integrated and cross-sectoral approach while at the same time, actions to reduce food waste and accelerate diet change depend on a transformative change towards sustainable food systems more broadly. Therefore, the identified four options for increased multilateral cooperation take a broad ‘food systems approach’ including further activities which go beyond food waste and loss and diet shift. The four options are 1) the setup of an international institution that assists in building appropriate national frameworks with a food system approach (here called “Biting back better”), 2) an initiative to strengthen a food system approach in international climate policy (called “ClimEat-Change”), 3) a multilateral collaboration and exchange mechanism on how to implement and locally adapt the Planetary Health Diet requirements into National Dietary Guidelines (called “Nutrition Guidelines for Future”) as well as 4) an initiative to set up an international food loss and waste accreditation scheme that helps to measure and manage food loss and waste all along the value chain (called “Ensure 12.3”).