Post COP28 reflections: food security or higher carbon emissions?

In the last hours of COP28, a monumental agreement was reached for all countries to transition away from fossil fuels. While this is still far away from the complete phaseout of fossil fuels the US and EU are pushing for, I found an interesting opinion:

Two diplomats from African countries, [...], said that for many countries on their continent the idea of a fossil fuel phaseout was unworkable.

This got me thinking about environmental inequity: to increase economic development, environmental damage is inevitable for African countries, yet, western countries want them to reduce their carbon emissions. As African nations strive towards achieving food security, more energy-intensive technologies such as irrigation are required (Nalule, 2019; Tongwane & Moeletsi, 2018). In an ideal world, the phaseout of fossil fuels would come at no expense, but in reality, there is a strong dichotomy between development (and food security) and carbon emissions. Which should take precedence? I don't have an answer.

 Lake Nyinambuga, a crater lake near Kasiisi in Uganda. It is one of the sources of freshwater to locals living in the area. Photo: Yi Xi Kang

Uganda and Kenya have already recognised the importance of agriculture to their countries' carbon emissions in the COP28 Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. Both countries will also stand to benefit from the US $49 million from Norway to help smallholder farmers, and can also follow the food security roadmap released by the FAO. However, it is paramount that governments ensure that energy and water remain affordable to locals despite more advanced technologies (Ngetich et al., 2009). In the next post, I will discuss one of the key areas that have received significant funding from COP28: genetically-modified crops.

Eucalyptus plantation I saw in Uganda. These trees are important fuelwood to many locals.

References

COP28 UAE (2023). COP28 UAE Declaration on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems, and climate action. Available at: https://www.cop28.com/food-and-agriculture (Accessed 21 Dec 2023).

European Parliament (2023). COP28 climate talks agree on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20231205IPR15686/cop28-climate-talks-agree-on-transitioning-away-from-fossil-fuels (Accessed 21 Dec 2023).

FAO (2023). Achieving SDG2 without breaching the 1.5°C threshold: A global roadmap. Available at: https://www.fao.org/interactive/sdg2-roadmap/en/ (Accessed 21 Dec 2023).

Nalule, V. R. (2019). Transitioning to a low carbon economy: Is africa ready to bid farewell to fossil fuels? The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions, 261–286.

Ngetich, K. A., Birech, R. J., Kyalo, D., Bett, K. E., & Freyer, B. (2009). Caught between Energy Demands and Food Needs: Dilemmas of Smallholder Farmers in Njoro, Kenya. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS), 110(1), 25–30.

Norway Government (2023). Norway signs new agreements for climate adaptation with NOK 500 million. Available at: https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/norway-signs-new-agreements-for-climate-adaptation-with-nok-500-million/id3016530/ (Accessed 21 Dec 2023).

Politico (2023). Greens erupt as fossil fuel ‘phaseout’ is dropped from proposed climate deal. Available at: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/11/fossil-fuel-phaseout-dropped-cop28-00131066 (Accessed 21 Dec 2023).

Tongwane, M. I. & Moeletsi, M. E. (2018). A review of greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector in Africa. Agricultural systems, 166: 124-134.