COP29: Azerbaijan, Uruguay, Netherlands discuss agriculture, food production, freshwater crisis amid climate change

Agriculture could become a key area in the transformation of climate change efforts—from promoting sustainable land use practices to improving water efficiency, said Jala Ibrahimova, COP29 Action Agenda Team Co-Lead.

She made the remarks at the event dedicated to the launch of the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers under COP29, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

According to her, the agricultural sector can become a leader in climate change decision-making.

"We are proud to maintain this momentum by launching 'Baku Harmoniya' for farmers. This initiative will help strengthen harmony, coordination, and knowledge-sharing to achieve greater impact. As part of the COP29 Action Program, it will bring together various initiatives, coalitions, networks, and partnerships around a common goal of strengthening efforts by farmers, villages, and rural communities to increase climate resilience," she said.

Ibrahimova added that last week, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to further advance this initiative.

"Through this initiative, we aim to create an integrated system that not only addresses climate challenges but also contributes to long-term sustainability, food security, rural development, and the achievement of sustainable development goals," she noted.

Addressing the event, Uruguay's Minister of Agriculture Mattos Costa said food production plays an important role in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

"14% of the world's food is produced in Latin America, by developing countries highly sensitive to climate change. Uruguay is committed to making food production more efficient, inclusive and sustainable. We are fully aware of the magnitude of this challenge and the limited existing resources to address it," he said.

At another high-level meeting within COP29, Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Climate Policy of the Netherlands noted that the Netherlands continues its efforts to address the acute shortage of fresh water, which is also one of the consequences of climate change.

According to her, countries must join forces to tackle the climate crisis and the Netherlands is ready to make its own contribution to joint climate action.

"The Netherlands invests in climate projects at home and abroad. The EU is a reliable donor, and so are we. The Netherlands currently provides €1.8 billion of climate finance per year, public and private. Of our public climate finance, 60 per cent goes to adaptation measures. Our funding is targeted at the most vulnerable countries.

We are also leading an international coalition to fulfil the promise made at COP26 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. I encourage everyone to join us in taking the next step in increasing transparency, identifying barriers and taking national action," she said.