Launch of the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration

On 14th December 2020, the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration was launched during a special webinar gathering cities and local authorities from across the world.

In the run up to COP26 in Glasgow next year the Glasgow Declaration is a pledge and call to action by subnational, local and national governments to accelerate the development of integrated food policies as a key tool in the fight against climate change with co-benefits for biodiversity, ecosystem regeneration, circularity, access to sustainable and healthy diets for all, and the creation of resilient livelihoods for farm and food workers.  The declaration commits subnational governments, from towns and cities to federal and devolved states, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban and regional food systems in order to fulfill the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration has been drafted in partnership between international networks of subnational governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations working with food systems and climate change and in consultation with subnational, city and region governments. It builds on previous work by the World Urban Forum Medellin, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the C40 and others to strengthen the governance mechanisms for food systems transformation and further calls on national governments to develop similar policies which build on, align with, and reinforce local change efforts.

The launch, moderated by IPES-Food co-chair Olivier De Schutter, was joined by the cities of Barcelona, Brighton, Glasgow, Istanbul, London, Milan, New Haven, Paris, Quito and Surakarta, as well as the FAO, the Scottish Government and many listeners worldwide.

The City of Brighton & Hove was one of the speakers at the event. Via the University of Brighton, Katrin and André have been working since more than 10 years with Brighton-based stakeholders on tackling local food system issues. And among the 16 early signatories of the declaration are at least 7 international cities that have worked with or heard of the CPUL / Productive Urban Landscape concept before.

The Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration can be read and signed here.

For more information the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) see here.

Image: The Glasgow Declaration aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Glasgow Declaration www 2020)