Thousands of people were in Brazil (more than 56,000 registered, with 1600 estimated to be fossil fuel lobbyists) at the 30th Conference of the Parties (Cop30), thrashing out what?
Ideas for how to cope with climate change? Having travelled, how, exactly, to get there?
Cop28 had nearly 84,000 participants; Cop29 had approximately 56,000. And a mere 12 months later, it is all happening again.
From the outside, it is difficult to see how 56,000 people could make progress in anything.
On the inside, there are people doing their best in specific areas.
And from the outside, we hear the grand speeches from leaders giving the big picture about running out of time, while on the inside, every little change might, or might not, make a difference.
For food producers, the focus remains on food production for an increasing global population.
In June, Ireland made its concerns clear.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Association rural development chair Edmond Phelan warned that Ireland is at risk of meeting its emissions targets at the expense of rural communities, food security, and the future of farming.
“It is all very well defining success by hitting targets, but what happens when we look around and realise there are no farmers left on the land?” he said.
The UK made similar statements at the same time.
For example, Nigel Miller’s “A reset of climate change policy is required now”, published in Farmers Guardian.
“A reset with farming at its heart is vital to safeguard food production and maintain the land resource for future generations,” Miller wrote.
The UK included a positive reset for nature, but “how” continues to be the challenge.
Recent research has stated yet again that habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity.
Dr Jacqueline Rowarth.
Protecting nature while feeding the increasing global population means increasing productivity from existing land.
Expansion means habitat loss – and biodiversity decline.
Debates about biofuel and food wastage can continue, but in the meantime, we need research to ensure that the production of protein, particularly of accessible protein (meat, milk, eggs, fish), continues ever more efficiently.
At Cop30, New Zealand defended the current greenhouse gas targets for methane, described as either “weakened” or “made more practical”, depending upon the perspective.
In both cases, context is important.
If you are already good, doing even better requires even more resources.
The Pareto Principle, also termed the 80:20 rule, applies.
In business, a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is needed.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Dr Jacqueline Rowarth on The Country below:
For New Zealand, where climate change is the eighth-most important issue (15%), but the cost of living is far and away the most important issue (61%) with healthcare second (42%) and the economy third (32%), the CBA is in favour of enabling the economy to grow to create an increase in incomes and to pay for healthcare (and education and all the other things that the country needs, such as infrastructure).
Ipsos asks over 1000 New Zealanders aged 18 and older about their top three concerns.
The cost of living has topped the charts since February 2022 – a run of 15 surveys.
Climate change was also in the same position of eighth.
This suggests we have all been running as fast as we can just to stay still.
The Red Queen told Alice: “If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
To avoid having a Through the Looking Glass moment, CBAs and explanations that enable understanding are vital.
In setting the new targets for methane (14-24%, a change from 24-47%; the net zero carbon by 2050 is still in place), the Government explained that the practical target “protects food production whilst substantially reducing New Zealand’s farm emissions”.
The change recognises New Zealand agriculture’s efficiency, protects jobs and production and upholds climate commitments.
The Government is clear that domestic and international climate change commitments, including the net zero by 2050 target, are still in place.
In making this commitment, New Zealand is ahead of Ireland and the UK.
Not “blah, blah, blah” but ensuring that the next generation sees a future in New Zealand as a place where dreams can be fulfilled, just as their grandparents and parents did.