Politics & Law

Oatly at COP27: “The Global Food System Needs Urgent Transformation”

The current Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27) marks, incredibly, the first time ever that the UN climate event has featured pavilions related to the impact of food systems on climate change.

The new Food4Climate Pavilion at COP27, organised by ProVeg International together with Oatly and 19 other NGOs/Think Tank Partners and Food Industry Partners from around the world, aims to raise awareness on how the food and agriculture system must change now to effectively tackle the climate crisis.

Image: UN

Oatly‘s Cecilia McAleavey, Sustainable Eating and Public Affairs Director and Shaunagh Duncan, Head of Sustainability are in attendance at Cop27, and here offer their commentary on the event and the importance of these conversations.

Cecilia McAleavey, Sustainable Eating and Public Affairs Director for Oatly
“It’s great that food is finally on the agenda at COP 27, it is truly an essential step forward. But it is not enough. Food systems need urgent transformation to become sustainable. The food sector is responsible for about one third of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions — second only to the energy sector, with the majority of those emissions attributed to agriculture and land use.

“Food systems need urgent transformation to become sustainable”

Climate change is also a key driver of food insecurity, which has been further exacerbated by the effects of the war in Ukraine, supply-chain disruptions, the COVID-19 Pandemic, energy crisis and rising food prices. Policymakers must make the food sector and more specifically a plant-centric diet a core part of their national and international climate strategies and take critical action to put food on top of the climate agenda. It’s time we transform the food industry from farm to fork!”

Shaunagh_Duncan, Oatly UK
Shaunagh Duncan, Head of Sustainability ©Oatly UK

Shaunagh Duncan, Head of Sustainability for Oatly in the UK and Benelux
“At COP 27 we’ll be asking policy makers to make the food sector a core part of their national climate plans. The global food system needs urgent transformation to become sustainable. Responsible for about one third of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions — second only to the energy sector – it is one of the most vulnerable sectors in the world to extreme weather, storms and other climate shocks. 

Food companies must play their part in tackling the climate crisis by incorporating sustainability within their supply chains, addressing land use change, managing waste, and promoting sustainable eating. At Oatly, we are committing to our own ambitious goals to tackle climate action. But for change to happen at scale, companies need support from governments too, to enable quicker transformation of the food sector as a whole.”

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