By Abbas Nazil
The COP30 climate summit has come under intense scrutiny for failing to address the climate impact of global food systems, despite agriculture contributing nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and representing an $8 trillion industry.
The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) expressed disappointment that the Belém summit concluded without concrete commitments on transforming food production, noting that agriculture’s role in climate change remains largely unaddressed.
According to IPES-Food, the final COP30 agreement made only a brief reference to “climate-resilient food production” within the framework of the Global Goal on Adaptation.
The text overlooked critical issues such as industrial agriculture, commodity-driven deforestation, fossil-fuel dependence, and systemic food systems challenges, leaving a significant gap in global climate strategy.
IPES-Food warned that this omission endangers climate targets, global food security, and the stability of commodity markets, emphasizing that industrial agriculture consumes 40 percent of petrochemicals and 15 percent of fossil fuels worldwide.
The panel cautioned that diluted language on deforestation could embolden commodity traders in the soy, beef, and palm oil sectors, while the absence of a clear roadmap for reducing agricultural emissions may hinder emerging climate-finance opportunities.
More than 300 agribusiness lobbyists attended COP30, highlighting the sector’s considerable influence over negotiations and the shaping of outcomes, according to IPES-Food.
Raj Patel, an expert on the IPES-Food panel, criticized the summit for effectively erasing food systems from the climate discussion, describing the process as being captured by industrial agriculture interests.
Elisabetta Recine, president of Brazil’s National Food and Nutrition Security Council, also voiced concern that practical solutions presented at the summit were disregarded in the final agreement, leaving innovative approaches to agroecology and sustainable food production sidelined.
Despite 30% of the food served at COP30 being sourced from agroecological and traditional producers, this representation did not translate into policy or commitments in the adopted text, according to IPES-Food.
The organisation stressed that global climate and development goals will remain unattainable unless countries commit to phasing out fossil fuels in food production, tackling deforestation linked to commodity agriculture, and significantly scaling up investments in agroecology and food sovereignty.
Failure to address these issues not only risks exacerbating climate change but also threatens the resilience of food systems, the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, and the ability of nations to meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets.
IPES-Food concluded that urgent action is required to ensure that future climate negotiations integrate agriculture as a central component of mitigation strategies, linking environmental sustainability with social equity and global food security.
Without meaningful reforms, the influence of industrial agriculture on international climate policy may continue to undermine progress, leaving systemic risks unmitigated and climate ambitions unfulfilled.
The critique highlights the ongoing tension between commercial interests in global food production and the necessity of ambitious climate action, emphasizing that food systems must be central to any serious discussion on achieving net-zero emissions and resilient, sustainable development.
COP30’s failure to confront these issues illustrates the need for stronger leadership, accountability, and concrete commitments in future climate summits to ensure agriculture is not sidelined in global efforts to combat climate change.
