Reducing food loss and waste offers one of the most immediate, cost-effective and impactful opportunities to reduce waste, methane and other greenhouse gas emissions – while strengthening food security, addressing hunger, and supporting resilient communities.
The member organizations of the Global Action Drive urge global leaders to turn their strong signals of intent into meaningful action. We, therefore, call for COP31 to deliver four priority actions:
- Formally recognize the urgency and opportunity of advancing food loss and waste reductions as a cross-cutting climate solution, aligned with the priority focus on Zero Waste and Food Security at COP31, and beyond.
- Turn existing global and national commitments on food loss and waste into concrete policies, implementation road maps and reduction targets backed by political will, on the basis of available science, good policy practices, and solid monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
- Include food loss and waste reduction in all relevant COP31 negotiated outcomes and promote “the COP31 Declaration on Reducing Food Loss and Waste for Climate Action, Food Security and Resilient Food Systems” that launched at COP31 and is open for endorsement by countries on the road to COP32.
- Unlock needed financial flows to accelerate food waste reductions, improve food security, cut methane emissions, and build resilient communities. These financial resources should prioritize existing solutions frameworks and must reach national and sub-national actors that are delivering progress on the ground.