Action on Food Hub to champion food systems at COP30 in Brazil

Action on Food Hub discussion at COP 29. Credit: Action on Food Hub

The Action on Food Hub will return for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November, following an announcement made on the opening day of the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB62), with a renewed determination to place food systems at the centre of international climate action.

Building on momentum from COP29 in Baku, where the Hub united 93 organisations across the food sector, the initiative will again provide a collaborative platform for policymakers, industry leaders, farmers and civil society. Its mission is to support the development of just, healthy, and resilient food systems through transparency, inclusion and evidence-based dialogue.

At COP29, the Hub hosted a first-of-its-kind joint effort between the Food Systems Pavilion (convened by EIT Food) and Food4Climate Pavilion (convened by ProVeg International), creating an inclusive space for underrepresented voices. Farmers and Indigenous communities were given direct opportunities to engage in climate negotiations, contributing critical perspectives on the intersection of agriculture, livelihoods and environmental policy.

Diane Sibanda from the Botswana Farmers Association said:

Smallholder farmers produce most of our communities’ food – putting them at the forefront of climate breakdown and its impacts on their livelihoods, incomes and environment.

Looking to COP30, we need to ensure their voices are heard and their experience valued in shaping the policies that directly affect them.”

Amplifying the Food Systems Call to Action

The Hub also played a central role in amplifying the Food Systems Call to Action, a coordinated demand for global governments to invest in and prioritise food systems transformation. More than 300 actors from across the food chain endorsed the call, which outlined four key goals: to increase and redirect climate finance, to implement existing food system goals, to include local communities in decision-making, and to elevate food systems at major global summits.

In Belém, the Action on Food Hub will once again offer a dedicated space for collaboration across plenary sessions, roundtables and a policy zone. By fostering civil society engagement, it aims to reflect local realities and hold governments accountable.

Harko Koster, Global Lead for Climate and Food Systems at Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), commented:

As climate risks intensify and COP30 will highlight the need for tangible systemic change, connecting governance, finance and implementation is more essential than ever – shifting food systems decision-making closer to where change is already underway, often in fragile or under-resourced regions.”

Decisive moment

Confirmed partners for COP30 include the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH), Tetra Pak, Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The Action on Food Hub is now inviting expressions of interest from potential partners, sponsors and event organisers who want to join the effort in Brazil. With COP30 marking ten years since the Paris Agreement, organisers say this will be a decisive moment for elevating food systems in climate policy.

Dr Lucy Wallace, Director of Global Relationships at EIT Food, said:

COP30 will be a make or break point for global climate action and we will only see meaningful outcomes if food systems are at the heart of climate negotiations.

We cannot achieve this by operating in silos; we must embrace the diversity of our movement and join forces to advocate strongly and urgently for the food systems of tomorrow.”

You can submit expressions of interest here: Action on Food Hub