Sharm El Sheikh-Egypt: – The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), a global initiative led by the UAE and the US with the support of over 275 government and non-government partners, announced commitments of channeling increased investments in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation from 42 countries and over 235 non-governmental partners with a total value exceeding US$8 billion.
The announcement was made at a high-level event titled ‘From Sharm El Sheikh to the UAE and Beyond: Transforming Food Systems through Climate-smart Agriculture’, organized by the UAE at its pavilion during the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), running from November 8 to 16 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
In addition, the global initiative will see 22 new innovation sprints, bringing their total number to 30. Innovation sprints provide an opportunity for non-government partners to invest in specific, impactful, expedited efforts to drive the goals of AIM for Climate.
Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “A paradigm shift towards resilient, sustainable, productive agriculture and food systems is integral to tackle climate change and enhance food security. AIM for Climate is helping countries make that shift and has managed to exceed its target of securing investment commitments in climate-smart agricultural innovation worth US$8 billion. In addition, we are pleased to see our partner base more than triple – from 79 partners at COP26 to 275 at COP27. We will continue to raise the bar and mobilize even greater investments and coordinated support to drive global food systems transformation at the scale needed to counter our common challenges.”
She noted that food systems innovation is a key priority of the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051. In this context, the country focuses on advancing R&D in saline agriculture and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA).
His Excellency Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, said: “The United States and the United Arab Emirates started AIM for Climate with two goals: first, to raise awareness of the importance of innovation in climate-smart agriculture and our food systems to address climate challenges and second, to accelerate that innovation.The collective response has been phenomenal and is testament to the coordinated global action that is needed to address the current climate challenge.AIM for Climate continues to be committed to spurring innovation in climate-smart agriculture and food systems to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes,promote regenerative and sustainable practices, enable ways in which methane can be reducedand for fertilizers to be used more efficiently, and encourage us to learn, adapt, and support best practices to empower smallholder farmers around the world, especially from marginalized communities.”
Officially launched at COP26, AIM for Climate galvanizes support and investments for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to enable solutions at the intersection of global hunger and the climate crisis.
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