Plant Based Treaty comments on COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action and says countries must deliver plant-based food strategies before COP30

Media Contacts:

Global:

• Anita Krajnc, global campaign coordinator: [email protected], +1 416-825-6080
• Nicola Harris, communications director: [email protected], +44 7597514343

Available for interview at COP28:

• Enric Noguera: [email protected], +34 608 77 90 05
• Nilgün Engin: [email protected], +90 532 437 51 33

Media Files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OK9QGZvLuEcDM0h4zabCiAS7TDbgKNew?

December 1, 2023, UAE — Today, 134 countries representing 5.7 billion people have signed the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action declaration on transforming the food system, the first ever COP resolution to address food emissions and call for a food system transformation.

Anita Krajnc, global campaign coordinator, says:

“The Plant Based Treaty welcomes the Emirates Declaration’s focus on food emissions as a means to put dietary change front and centre at climate talks. Global per capita meat, dairy and egg consumption has been accelerating since the 1950s contributing to the breach of five planetary boundaries, specifically climate change, land-use change, biodiversity, phosphorus and nitrogen, and water use. We now want to see bold and urgent national and city action plans for shifting towards plant-based food before COP30.”

Nicola Harris, communications director, says: 

“Animal agriculture occupies 83% of agricultural land yet provides just 18% of calories and emits enormous levels of greenhouse gases, particularly methane. There is no 1.5C without an action plan for a plant-based food transition. 22 cities including Los Angeles and Edinburgh have called for a Plant Based Treaty to be negotiated as a companion to the Paris Agreement and it’s time to roll out the rescue plan.” 

Next week, Plant Based Treaty will launch a new report, Safe and Just: The Plant Based Treaty’s Vegan Doughnut Economics Approach to the Food System. The report will address animal agriculture’s impact on climate change and other planetary boundaries. Through the introduction of Plant Based Treaty’s vegan donut economics framework, the report provides a scientific mandate for bold and urgent climate action by city leaders, state governments and COP28.

Background

The Plant Based Treaty has been nominated for the 2024 Earth Shot Prize and is inspired by treaties that have addressed the threats of ozone layer depletion and nuclear weapons. 

The initiative has been endorsed by 22 cities, including Edinburgh, Los Angeles and Didim, Turkey and has attracted support from 120,000 individual endorsers, 5 Nobel laureates, IPCC scientists, and more than 3000 groups and businesses, including the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, and chapters of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

The Plant Based Treaty has secured high-profile endorsements from celebrities, including Chris Packham and Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, who issued a written statement calling for politicians to support the Plant-Based Treaty. They said: “We believe in justice for animals, the environment and people. That’s why we support the Plant Based Treaty and urge individuals and governments to sign it.”

www.plantbasedtreaty.org