The global roadmap for achieving SDG 2 within the 1.5 °C limit: Tools and opportunities for implementation

Summary

The global roadmap for achieving SDG 2 (‘zero hunger’) without breaching the 1.5°C global warming threshold is an initiative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. It aims to guide agrifood system transformation strategies that ensure food security and good nutrition, while contributing to climate action. In this paper, we clarify some of the concepts underpinning the roadmap and aim to support its elaboration and roll-out by exploring methodologies and policy processes that can shape implementation. 

We examine the intricate linkages between food systems and climate change – the so-called food-climate nexus – and introduce a methodology for the management of these interconnections in practice. Building on a political economy analysis of agrifood systems, the methodology offers guidance on how to assess trade-offs and build transition pathways to possibly alleviate them, while recognising that different actors in agrifood systems often have diverging interests.

The paper also identifies initiatives and policy processes that could be used to contribute to the roll-out of the SDG 2-1.5°C roadmap. The reform of farm and agroindustrial subsidies, for example, is critical for promoting changes in agriculture, food supply chains and consumption patterns. We zoom in on Africa-Europe cooperation, highlighting how multi-stakeholder dialogue and policy coordination could contribute to forming robust alliances around the food-climate nexus, balancing efficiency and fairness. Finally, we indicate a number of policy processes and events that can keep the food-climate nexus high on the international agenda.