UN 
Rome-based United Nations (UN) agencies and the presidencies of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have called for urgent action on climate change and increased funding for resilient agriculture and food systems in vulnerable and conflict-affected areas.
The Rome-based UN agencies Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) issued a joint written statement.
The statement said the UN agencies in Rome, as well as COP28, chaired by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and COP29, chaired by Azerbaijan, called for urgent scaling up of climate action and financing for adaptive and resilient agri-food systems in vulnerable and conflict-affected regions.
The call was made at a high-level meeting in Rome in preparation for the COP29 Summit, which brought together ministers from governments of vulnerable and conflict-affected regions, donors, international financial institutions, multilateral climate funds, and climate, development and humanitarian organizations.
The meeting also discussed how to address food insecurity and reduce dependence on emergency food aid, including resilience-building measures such as providing farmers with the tools and inputs they need to produce food.
“Extreme weather events such as droughts, cyclones, flash floods, desertification, tropical storms, heat waves and erratic rainfall continue to fuel acute food insecurity and cause severe damage in fragile and conflict-affected areas. According to the 2024 Global Food Crises Report, climate-related shocks such as droughts and floods were the leading cause of acute food insecurity in 18 countries, affecting more than 72 million people, many of whom are vulnerable, conflict-affected or in post-conflict situations.” (AA)
