COP30: Why Transforming Global Food Systems is Crucial for Climate and Security

There is a critical connection between global food systems and the escalating climate crisis. Unsustainable agriculture drives high emissions (around 30% globally), biodiversity loss (up to 60%), and deforestation, threatening national food security. With COP30 approaching in Belém, Brazil, leaders are urged to place food systems at the heart of climate negotiations. Key objectives include securing a "just transition" that supports farmers and animal welfare while implementing nature-positive farming and reducing supply chain waste. We discuss why failure to act risks widespread hunger, instability, and breaching global warming limits, such as the 1.5°C threshold.

Key Takeaways

• Food systems are one of the biggest drivers of the climate and nature crises; emissions from food alone could cause the world to breach the 1.5°C global warming limit, even if fossil fuels were phased out.
• COP30 in Belém, Brazil (near the Amazon rainforest), is expected to be billed as the "nature, food and climate COP," putting food systems at the heart of the climate agenda for the first time.
• The Amazon rainforest, the "lungs of the planet," is dangerously close to a tipping point where massive deforestation could turn it from a carbon sink into a carbon source.
• Farmers in the UK are currently struggling with the impacts of climate change, including the hottest summer on record and the second worst harvest in 2025.
• The transition to sustainable food production must be a "just transition," supporting farmers with stability, security (like the Sustainable Farming Incentive), and fair returns, while promoting regenerative agriculture and animal welfare.
• Priorities at COP30 include securing deforestation-free supply chains, promoting nature-positive farming, and supporting family farms.

Source: COP30: Food System Transformation
Volume 773: debated on Tuesday 14 October 2025 

Transcript

Amy: 0:03

Hello, and welcome again to the Bench Report, where we discuss recent debates and briefings from the benches of the UK Parliament. A new topic every episode. You're listening to Amy and Ivan.

Ivan: 0:13

Today we're exploring the parliamentary discussions around Crop 30. That's the 30th Climate Summit set for Bellem, Brazil, right in the Amazon.

Amy: 0:22

And the main takeaway seems to be this idea of COP 30 needing to be the nature, food, and climate COP, putting food systems right at the heart of it.

Ivan: 0:31

Exactly. It's seen as critical. And maybe we should start with why it feels so urgent here in the UK. Parliament heard quite a bit about the struggles farmers are facing.

Amy: 0:39

They really are. We saw record climate impacts hitting them hard. That hottest summer led to the second worst harvest in 2025.

Ivan: 0:46

And they came right after, well, over a billion pounds in lost income from the very wet winter before. It's piling up.

Amy: 0:53

You see it in the figures, too. The dairy industry, for instance, contracted 6% in just the last year.

Ivan: 0:58

And there were announcements of almost 20% price drops for November. Farms are actually closing. It really underlines how um fragile our domestic food security is.

Amy: 1:08

And how that fragility links straight back to the supply chain.

Ivan: 1:12

which brings us to a key policy idea discussed. Combining and strengthening the agricultural supply chain adjudicator and the groceries code adjudicator, ACA and GCA.

Amy: 1:23

Giving them, as it was put, real teeth. What's the thinking there?

Ivan: 1:28

Well, they're regulators. They're meant to ensure fairness between, say, big supermarkets or processors and the farmers. But often farmers feel squeezed, taking low prices.

Amy: 1:38

Which can lead to waste, unfair returns.

Ivan: 1:40

Precisely. So giving these bodies more power, more teeth, the idea is they can enforce fair deals, help stabilize things for producers.

Amy: 1:47

And if we zoom out from the UK, this local pressure, this fragility, it really mirrors the global picture, doesn't it?

Ivan: 1:54

It does, because the very system that feeds us is also, unfortunately, a huge driver of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Amy: 2:00

How big are we talking?

Ivan: 2:01

The numbers are quite stark. Food systems globally account for about 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, and they drive something like 60% of biodiversity loss.

Amy: 2:10

Wow. But there was one statistic from the Eat Lancet Commission that really stopped me.

Ivan: 2:14

Ah, yes. That one is crucial. It states that the world is on track to breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit based purely on emissions from the food system.

Amy: 2:24

Even if we stopped all fossil fuels tomorrow.

Ivan: 2:27

Even then, it just shows that transforming how we produce and consume food isn't just, you know, helpful for the climate. It's absolutely essential, possibly the biggest single factor.

Amy: 2:37

And we're already seeing tipping points being reached. Irreversible decline of warm water corals, for example.

Ivan: 2:42

That's research from Exeter University showing we've passed that point. And the Amazon rainforest itself, where COP 30 will be held, is worryingly close to flipping.

Amy: 2:51

From absorbing carbon to releasing it.

Ivan: 2:53

Exactly, because of degradation. All this while global demand for food is set to jump, potentially by over 50% by 2050.

Amy: 3:01

So transformation is unavoidable. What are the priorities emerging for COP 30 negotiations?

Ivan: 3:06

Key things mentioned were getting deforestation out of supply chains, promoting what's called nature-positive farming, and crucially supporting family farms through this change.

Amy: 3:16

And domestically, that links to the idea of a just transition, making sure farmers aren't left behind.

Ivan: 3:22

Yes, using schemes like the sustainable farming incentive, the SFI, paying farmers for environmental benefits. There were also interesting ideas like uh public land being used locally.

Amy: 3:33

Like local councils growing food for schools, perhaps.

Ivan: 3:36

Things like that. Blending local benefits with food system resilience.

Amy: 3:40

On the international side, there was talk about Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. How might that fit in?

Ivan: 3:46

It's a mechanism for cooperation between countries, often on carbon markets. The potential discussed was using it to unlock finance for countries battling, say, soil degradation or drought.

Amy: 3:57

Helping them adapt and maintain food production. Ukraine was mentioned as a possible partner there, given its importance globally.

Ivan: 4:03

It's one potential avenue for support, yes.

Amy: 4:06

And finally, back home, there's the issue of waste. It seems almost too simple, but the scale is huge.

Ivan: 4:11

It really is. 9.5 million tons of food wasted in the UK each year, and about half of that, incredibly, is wasted in our own homes.

Amy: 4:20

So tackling that waste is a direct action, something everyone can engage with.

Ivan: 4:24

Absolutely. It connects individual action to the bigger picture, strengthening our position when we talk about sustainable food systems globally. It seems COP30 is shaping up to be a defining moment for how we manage nature, food, and climate together.

Amy: 4:38

As always, find us on social media at bench report UK. Get in touch with any topic important to you. Remember, politics is everyone's business. Take care.