Calling Out the Financial Elephants in the Room: Tackling the Myth of Scarcity to Finance Agroecological Food System Transformation

History shows that governments often have had to take unprecedented and exceptional measures in times of war and global pandemics. Similarly, the existential threats of biodiversity loss and climate change cannot be tackled through business-as-usual approaches: extraordinary decisions are now required on a war-like footing.

Globally, agri-food systems are responsible for close to a staggering 40% of total GHG emissions. Recent research shows that if current trends in global agri-food systems continue, they will prevent the achievement of the 1.5°C target and threaten the achievement of the 2°C target by the end of the century – even if fossil fuel emissions were immediately halted in other sectors of the economy

A rapid and substantial reduction in carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane emissions is urgently needed on the farm as well as throughout the entire agri-food system and its global supply chains.