Experts link food waste to rising global temperatures

Organic waste generated through food loss and waste is significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and intensifying global warming, experts have warned, calling for stronger awareness and coordinated action worldwide.

Speaking to Anadolu at the Zero Waste Forum 2026, Ana Catalina Suarez Pena, senior director of strategy and innovation at the Global FoodBanking Network, discussed the role of food banking in addressing food waste and food insecurity.

She highlighted that nearly 20% of global methane emissions originate from organic waste, with food waste accounting for roughly 77% of that total.

"At the same time, 2.5 billion people are facing food insecurity across the globe. There is a paradox — on one hand we are losing and wasting food, on the other, people are facing hunger and food insecurity. What food banks do is interconnect those two conversations," she said.

Suarez stressed that issues related to food insecurity, land use, agriculture, and food systems have gained increasing prominence and have featured on the agenda of every COP summit since COP28.

"When we face a climate-related disaster — floods, extreme rainfall, wildfires — it becomes more and more relevant how food stability is affected. Harvesting changes, the cost of fertilizers rise. Then we need to talk about how we are producing food and how people are going to be fed under the circumstances that we are living," she said.

According to Suarez, measures aimed at preventing food waste are expected to be a key topic at COP31 as part of the broader zero-waste agenda.

"The most important step we need to take is to prevent food loss and waste from the outset, because the best waste is the one you never generate. Our expectation from COP31 is that the waste agenda takes a very important place. What we are discussing with the COP31 presidency is that it becomes part of the negotiations, that there are incentives and a clear agenda to reduce food loss and waste," she stated.

By Jeyhun Aghazada