A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Fixing the World’s Broken Food Systems

The United Nations summit on the state of the world’s food systems took place in Rome, Italy, this week, building on the work of a previous convening in 2021. The meeting focused on the environmental impact of agriculture and making food production more sustainable.

Nearly one-third of all food produced across the planet is wasted, and many of the world’s food production systems are unsustainable. Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division at UNEP, stated that “[food systems] are a major contributor to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”

The 2021 summit focused on the imperative of making food systems more sustainable to alleviate hunger and malnutrition while promoting diverse and nutritious crops. It also examined sustainable farming practices such as agroecology. Yet despite some promising progress in these areas, transforming food systems will require more work—including studying indigenous food system knowledge and incentivizing local production.

LISTEN | Addressing the Global Food Crisis: CIMMYT Experts Weigh In

Loss and Damage: Climate Change Across the Indo-Pacific

The concept of “loss and damage,” as it relates to climate change, was included in the United Nations Paris Agreement. Yet the hard-won funding mechanism to address it now faces challenges, including funding sources, eligibility considerations, and distribution.

One major issue? “Loss and damage” remains ill-defined. Melanie Pill of the Lowy Institute writes that it often refers to the “consequences of climate change that are unavoidable, unprecedented, and beyond a country’s ability to adapt to.” It is a definition that encompasses severe weather events, as well as slow-onset events like sea level rise.

Yet small island states and countries in the Indo-Pacific, which have contributed little to climate change, suffer greatly from the impacts of climate. The concept of “loss and damage” not only has triggered an increase in climate change-related legal cases, but also questions about the reliability of stated global commitments to addressing climate change. For instance, as a “climate laggard,” Australia could face litigation related to its insufficient climate policies and diplomatic tensions.

READ | A Climate Finance Rethink Can Help Those Most Impacted by Climate Change

Anticipating Climate-induced Human Mobility in the Asia-Pacific

El Niño’s resurgence has brought consequences for the Asia-Pacific region, including erratic weather patterns, prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall, cyclones, and floods. Over the past decade, such disasters also caused 225 million internal displacements in the region. This is significant because these climate-related migrations account for 78% of the global displacements.

Agriculture bears a substantial burden of the economic consequences. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have both raised the alarm about the potential impact of El Niño on displacement trends. In a recent joint publication, they advocate for a model to “predict, prevent, and manage climate-induced displacement” with early-warning systems that can inform proactive measures.

El Niño impacts also have prompted the declaration of a ‘disaster emergency’: In 2022 alone, over 140 disasters battered the Asia-Pacific region, causing an estimated $57 billion in damages. This “disaster emergency” has prompted the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to focus on its efforts to establish early warning services for all by 2027, using AI and cloud sourcing to enhance understanding the patterns of extreme events and their risks.

READ | Investigating Climate Migration: Global Realities and Resilience