The Plant-based Food Alliance UK (PBFA) has today welcomed the decision by the Presidency of COP28 to ensure that two thirds of the catering at this year’s UN climate summit, COP28, will be plant-based.
“We are delighted that a global and highly influential environmental summit will be largely providing climate-friendly food,” Marisa Heath, CEO of the PBFA, said.
“This is a first for a COP summit and we hope that country delegations – including that of the UK – will experience firsthand how tasty and nutritious plant-based food really is and will be inspired to implement strategies to promote the consumption and production of plant-based food in their own countries,” Heath said.
The Governments of both Denmark and South Korea have already announced plans this year to implement plant-based food strategies that will promote production, research, export and public procurement of plant-based food.
The UK has yet to follow suit, despite the Government’s own advisor on climate change – the Climate Change Committee – recommending making plant-based food “attractive, accessible and affordable”.
Food is playing a much bigger role at the UN summit, with an entire day – 10 December – dedicated to food, agriculture and water. Both King Charles III – a renowned advocate of meat reduction for environmental reasons – and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, will be in attendance this year.
The main way countries can set climate targets at COP is through a country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
“Leaders know that food systems contribute 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and mainly from animal agriculture, so we hope they will be resolved to address this head-on. In doing so, they will be heeding the advice of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, among many other bodies, to move towards climate-friendly food systems,” Heath said.
How plant-based food came to be served at COP28
The decision by COP28 to serve mostly plant-based food followed months of collaboration between YOUNGO, the Youth and Children constituency of the UNFCCC, and Food@COP, a campaign within YOUNGO dedicated to ensuring COP events have climate-friendly catering. Both organisations were supported by food awareness organisation, ProVeg International, which is a founding member of the PBFA.
Food served at COP28 will also feature emissions labelling and efforts are being made to reduce food waste by the organisers.