GCAS: GEF announces $500m land-focused commitments to mitigate climate change

At the Global Climate Action Summit, which is taking place from September 12-14, 2018, the Global Environment Facility announced a new USD $500 million Food, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program, which is a multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on the intersection of landscape and value chain approaches
Organizations from across sectors embrace land as a climate solution during the Global Climate Action Summit
Today, a cross section of industries and countries came together to announce commitments to improved land stewardship that have the potential to help keep Paris Agreement targets within reach. During an official session of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), 17 announcements were made under the umbrella of the 30×30 Forest, Food and Land Challenge, which calls for action to improve food production and consumption, better conserve forests and habitats and use land more efficiently and sustainably to deliver up to 30% of the climate solutions needed by 2030.
The day’s announcements, which came from farmers, ranchers, foresters, chefs, Indigenous Peoples, business leaders and elected officials, represent a step forward on land stewardship climate commitments and will inspire greater ambition globally.
“Today’s commitments are good news for our planet,” said Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF’s Global Lead for Climate and Energy. “Agriculture, forestry and other land uses contribute more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, planes and ships in the world, yet land-oriented climate change solutions receive only 3% of climate funding. Today we committed to taking the steps needed to close that gap. With the next round of UN climate talks right around the corner, countries must advance more of these conversations to set science-based targets and develop land-based solutions that will help mitigate the worst effects of climate change.”
GEF CEO and Chairperson, Naoko Ishii announced almost half a billion USD for a new GEF Food, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program. Working with governments, the private sector and other partners, this new initiative will create multiple benefits, not least for climate mitigation. The program is designed at an intersection of the landscape and value chain approaches and is built as part of a multi-stakeholder initiative.
How we use land for agriculture, forestry and other purposes has a greater impact on climate change than any other sector of the economy except energy—yet, land-related solutions receive less than 3% of climate funding. The 30X30 challenge calls on businesses, states, city and local governments, and global citizens to take action to improve forest and habitat conservation, food production and consumption, and land use to work together to deliver up to 30% of the climate solutions needed by 2030. About the Global Climate Action Summit
The Global Climate Action Summit is taking place from September 12 to 14, 2018 in San Francisco under the theme ‘Taking Ambition to the Next Level.’ To keep warming well below 2 degrees C, and ideally 1.5 degrees C – temperatures that could lead to catastrophic consequences – worldwide emissions must start trending down by 2020. The Summit will showcase climate action around the world, along with bold new commitments, to give world leaders the confidence they need to go even further by 2020 to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. The Summit’s five headline challenge areas are Healthy Energy Systems; Inclusive Economic Growth; Sustainable Communities; Land and Ocean Stewardship and Transformative Climate Investments. Many partners are supporting the Summit and the mobilization in advance including Climate Group; the Global Covenant of Mayors; Ceres, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group; BSR; We Mean Business; CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project; WWF; and Mission 2020.