Live
Audio Only
As many as 600 million more people in communities around the globe risk facing a decrease in food security and an increase in hunger as climate change worsens, according to the United Nations.
“Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather, rising temperatures and sea levels, as well as floods and droughts have a significant impact on the right to food,” said Hilal Elver, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, on Tuesday. “All these climate incidents will negatively impact on crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and on people’s livelihoods.”
Newsletter
Climate change poses ‘major threat’ to food security, warns @UN expert https://t.co/nbGnisXt8W @UNFCCC #COP21 pic.twitter.com/xZ3kUNreVV
— UN News Centre (@UN_News_Centre)
November 3, 2015
According to Elver, food security faces “severe and distinct threats” due to climate change, which could push an additional 600 million people into a situation of malnutrition by 2080.
RELATED: Climate Action: Why Justice in Paris is Unlikely
Elver stressed the importance of world leaders reaching an agreement based on human rights at the upcoming climate summit in Paris in order to mitigate the threats of climate change while ensuring climate justice and food security.
“Those who have contributed the least to global warming are the ones set to suffer the most from its harmful effects,” said Elver. “Urgent action is needed to respond to the challenges posed by climate change, but mitigation and adaptation policies should respect the right to food as well as other fundamental human rights.”
#ClimateChange has serious implications for agriculture & food security https://t.co/kH7MflANdP pic.twitter.com/hLS9KihMJ9
— UNEPAsiaPacific (@UNEPAsiaPacific)
November 4, 2015
The special rapporteur also called for support for traditional and alternative agricultural systems as the only solution to tackle global food insecurity.
RELATED: 'Climate-Smart' Agriculture Is a Corporate Deception
“There is a need for a major shift from industrial agriculture to transformative systems such as agro-ecology that support the local food movement, protect smallholder farmers, respect human rights, food democracy and cultural traditions, and at the same time maintain environmental sustainability and facilitate a healthy diet,” she said.
We can increase our food production to feed 9bln ppl by 2050 with sustainable #agriculture https://t.co/COcRWtvkQE pic.twitter.com/UPUNCYq5eC
— FAOKnowledge (@FAOKnowledge)
November 1, 2015
The statements echo findings of the special rapporteur report on the right to food released in August that stressed the need of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to address the vulnerabilities global food systems will face with climate change.
RELATED: Latin America's Future Tied to Sustainable, Subsistence Farming
The report called for social protection and farmland protection measures, alternative energy projects, the recognition of “climate refugees,” and a review of agricultural and trade policies, among other items, to promote the right to food and ensure global food security despite climate change threats.
