Agriculture sustains our humanity, but it is also responsible for around 30% of carbon emissions linked with direct greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural land, transport of food, processing and preparation, and finally food waste.
There has been progress at COP28 with a Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture signed by 150 countries agreeing to “integrate agriculture” in their climate change mitigation plans. Although many critics highlight the fact that the declaration is not legally binding, the fact that agriculture was the center of COP28 discussions is hopeful. More details on different aspects of the agreement are presented in the Guardian link below.
One of the center pieces was an exhibit of ReFarm, intercorporate international collaboration on novel agricultural technologies. One of the companies – Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) based in Dundee and Edinburgh develops high-tech tower structures for controlled growth of crops without pesticides and herbicides. A short promotional video shows a vision of future farms that can be developed without the need for large areas of land, without soil and in any climate. This might be an important development in climate change adaptation in the situation of droughts and on land not suitable for agriculture. Although it is currently at an experimental stage, there are first installations planned all over the world.
IGS – https://youtu.be/NitecJs3Lto?si=DSS8EndzNzNLHoU_
More information on different technologies developed are presented on www.refarmtheworld.com
‘Food is finally on the table’: Cop28 addressed agriculture in a real way | Cop28 | The Guardian
