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For a generation, dialogue on climate change between the world’s rich nations and developing countries have basically continued as such:

Rich countries: You really need to follow our example and do more about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially when considering the population of some nations in your group, including China, India, Brazil and Indonesia.

Poorer countries: Fine, but if you want to deny us the path to economic development that you all took, then help us pay for the climate change initiatives you want.

An initiative led by the World Bank is a step in that direction. The Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF), announced yesterday during the COP21 talks in Paris, will attempt to find new ways to create new greenhouse gas reduction programs in developing countries. Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland are the first countries to fund what the World Bank aims to be a $500 million effort to reduce the risks of climate change. According to the World Bank, half of that amount has been pledged so far.

The World Bank says the TCAF will launch initiatives in areas including clean energy, sustainable transport, waste management, energy efficiency and low-carbon or smart cities that can help emerging economies reduce their carbon emissions. The TCAF could also compensate countries that remove fossil fuel subsidies or undergo reforms such as streamlining regulations covering clean-energy technologies.

The TCAF will be part and parcel of what the World Bank claims is a total of $2 billion committed to programs that will spur investment and loans that will help shift the world toward a more low-carbon economy. Led by its president, Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank is counting on the TCAF to bolster its argument that both the public and private sectors agree on a carbon-pricing mechanism that would cut emissions while inspiring more investment in clean technologies. As part of this effort, the World Bank also launched the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, a multi-stakeholder group that seeks more effective carbon policies, at the Paris climate talks.

The World Bank’s recent actions mirror those of other international organizations that are taking a bolder stance on climate change. The International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, recently called for a carbon tax, and the International Energy Agency has called for more short-term action in order to nudge the world’s countries to develop plans to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius this century.

Meanwhile Pope Francis, who has already inspired (or infuriated) many with his 192 page encyclical on climate change, has kept beating the drum, urging negotiators to find a solution at COP21 in order to save a world “at the limits of suicide.”

With some of the stodgiest organizations on Earth, including the World Bank, seeking action, all eyes are on Paris for what will be either a landmark agreement or a blown opportunity.

Image credit: Flickr/anokarina

By Todd Spaletto, President, The North Face

Twice annually, the $646 billion outdoor industry gathers at Outdoor Retailer, in Salt Lake City, where attendees get a firsthand glimpse of all the trends, colors, fabrics and styles that will hit the slopes, trails and streets in the year to come. Trend-spotting is one of the show’s rites of passage. Of all the trends I saw there last time, one in particular gives me hope: the growing call for action on climate change.

The outdoor industry has been a leader within the wider business community in terms of sustainability and lowering our carbon emissions. At The North Face headquarters in California, 100 percent of our electricity is provided by renewable sources. We continually seek ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and we understand there is still much to be done. We applaud the efforts of other outdoor brands to slash their carbon footprints. It’s the right thing to do for our bottom lines, for the 6.1 million people that are collectively employed in the United States by outdoor brands, and for our children and grandchildren.

Here’s the thing: Sustainability itself will not solve the climate challenge. We need Washington to step up too, and recently they did: The Obama administration made the Clean Power Plan (CPP) official.  It’s the most historic act by any U.S. president to tackle carbon emissions by combining smart energy-efficiency initiatives with carbon-reduction targets and clean-energy generation. The goal is to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels. But just as powerful, it’s a signal to the world as we head into the U.N. Climate Conference in Paris that the U.S. is very serious about the future of our planet.

Our athletes have scaled every major mountain in the world and we take pride in self-reliance. We go where few dare. Climate change, however, cannot be overcome through solo effort.

The White House estimates the CPP will create 275,000 U.S. jobs -- good, new-economy jobs: hammering up solar panels, making our homes and buildings more efficient, erecting wind turbines, designing the software and hardware that run a smarter energy grid. As a company president, it is very clear to me that the CPP will jumpstart American innovation and entrepreneurialism. (It will also likely lower your energy bills, according to a new study by the Georgia Institute of Technology.) But the CPP is just the start. Now it is time for Congress to step up.

History shows that big environmental victories — protecting the Grand Canyon, establishing the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, efforts to reduce acid rain and ozone depletion -- only come with bold government action. Before these laws were enacted, our rivers were toxic and our air was choked with soot. These acts didn’t include drastic losses in jobs or hinder economic growth as some had predicted.

Sadly, there is currently no coordinated congressional action on climate. In fact the Senate voted to dismantle the CPP just last week, despite a majority of the American public supporting it (Yale, 2015). The fossil fuel industry continues to block sensible legislation. To overcome this hurdle, the outdoor industry — along with all other business sectors and concerned citizens — must bring the fight to Washington. We must demand action for the sake of our children, for the sake of our mountains and our planet, and for the sake of our businesses.

For example, as a member of the advocacy coalition Ceres Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), The North Face joined leading businesses including Apple, Disney, Ikea, Starbucks, Pepsico and more in signing the BICEP Climate Declaration. The declaration’s premise is simple: Tackling climate change is one of America’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st Century. We’ve also joined Protect Our Winters to ensure that our professional athletes and consumers are engaged and taking meaningful action to pass energy and climate legislation that will protect the outdoors for generations by enabling a rapid transition to a low-carbon 21st century economy that creates jobs, stimulates economic growth and stabilizes our planet’s climate.

This week in Paris, our parent company VF Corp announced a commitment to source 100 percent renewable energy in owned and operated facilities by 2025. And while we still have work to do to reduce our global carbon footprint, we’re moving in the right direction and we’re proud of this bold step forward in tackling climate change and protecting a healthy environment that we depend on.

Outdoor exploration is in our DNA at The North Face. Our athletes have scaled every major mountain in the world, and we take pride in self-reliance. We go where few dare. Climate change, however, cannot be overcome through solo effort. Today, our athletes and customers use our equipment in wild lands and national parks created by our government in recognition of their profound value to the American people. Now, those very lands are suffering droughts and fires, beetle-kill, and flooding. We the people set that land aside; now we must act once again, this time to protect that land from the ravaging effects of a warming world.

The world’s eyes will be on Paris the rest of this week, and we’re hoping that our leaders will unite and find common ground to tackle this greatest environmental issue of our time. Climate change touches every one of us and demands that we all be part of the solution.

To learn more about the Clean Power Plan, click here. To take action to support it, click here.

Image courtesy The North Face (photo: Tim Kemple)

Todd Spaletto, President, The North Face: Todd Spaletto lives and breathes The North Face ethos of outdoor exploration – he is an avid runner, climber and outdoor enthusiast. He enjoys training and challenging himself on the trail outside the brand’s Alameda headquarters as well as in the mountains. As president of The North Face since 2011, Todd’s vision for the company has enabled the brand to inspire consumers to engage in exploration in its many forms. The North Face aims to inspire, motivate, challenge, and drive consumers to “Never Stop Exploring” in whatever way they find most fulfilling. The North Face, a $2.3B brand, offers its customers unrivaled performance with premium products, enabling them to push their personal limits. Todd aims to share these unique advantages broadly through product innovation, Research, Design and Development (RD&D), athlete expeditions and authentic storytelling.

National park areas are not immune to the impacts of climate change. Some may be affected by sea-level rise, others by shoreline erosion, warming temperatures, changing rain patterns and groundwater inundation.

Many park areas are not standing idly by and waiting for those impacts to damage or destroy national treasures. Instead, they are taking action, as a report released in September reveals. Featuring 24 coastal adaptation efforts in 15 states, the report reveals how national parks are planning and preparing for climate change impacts. While some are conducting baseline data, others are engaging in historic preservation, archaeological surveys, habitat restoration and infrastructure design.

Protecting archaeological sites

Some of the most precious sites within national parks are archaeological ones. Preserving them is important to protect the nation’s history. And national parks are taking action to document damage and preserve archaeological sites, as a look at two parks featured in the report shows.

The Goals Canaveral National Seashore in Florida has several of the largest, most intact and most significant prehistoric shell mounds in North America. Four of them (Turtle Mound, Ross Hammock, Castle Windy and Seminole Rest) are threatened by erosion caused by sea-level rise and increased storm activities. These four mounds are key prehistoric and proto-historic monuments and settlements. Turtle Mount is one of the tallest shell mounds in North America at 37 feet high. It is made up of mainly oyster and clam shell that form two main peaks. There has been very little archaeological documentation of Turtle Mound, Castle Windy and Ross Hammock.

Unfortunately climate change effects are causing what the report describes as “severe, measurable and detrimental impacts” to the mounds, including erosion. Impacts from both sea-level rise and increased storm activity are likely to continue to accelerate the impacts, leading to “eventual total loss of site integrity.” However, the NPS is addressing the threats to the mounds. Some actions include:

• A project designed by NPS Southeast Archaeological Center to document the source of the threats, offset stressors, and interpret the change.


• The center is spatially mapping and documenting the current cultural landscape and recovering important archaeological, environmental, and paleoecological data before significant parts of the mounds are lost.


• On-the-ground conservation and stabilization methods and techniques are being employed to strengthen, protect, and stabilize eroding mounds with soft armoring and living shoreline techniques. Through this approach, cordgrass and mangroves are planted in the inter-tidal zone, bags of oyster shells are put seaward of the cordgrass, and oyster restoration mats are placed seaward of the bags.

Located in the southwest Texas, the Amistad National Recreation Area protects archaeological sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands. Sites within Amistad are affected by lake-level fluctuations related to climate change impacts. Those impacts include precipitation, storms and changes in agricultural water use. There are a variety of archaeological sites, and they are exposed to weather. They include open sites, rock-shelters and pictograph panels created by nomadic hunter-gatherers dating to the Archaic period.

One of the problems plaguing Amistad’s archaeological sites is that land previously inundated with water is exposed to erosion by wave action along the shoreline. Erosion has impacted several burial sites and caused damaged. The sites on recently exposed lakebed are very visible and vulnerable to looting by park visitors. Backcountry boating and camping activities such as clearing ground for tents can cause damage. Two of Amistad’s most significant rock art sites, Panther Cave and Rattlesnake Canyon, are threatened by flash-flood waters due to silt that decreases the capacity of the lake.

Knowing the extent of the damage is key. Park personnel are spending time assessing conditions and documenting problems on exposed sites. For example, Amistad has recently completed a photo documentation project at Panther Creek using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), a remote sensing method. The park also collaborates with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Shumla to create outdoor experiential learning experiences for area schools. Through the program, children are introduced to the area's cultural and natural resources, but more importantly, instill responsibility and stewardship for nature and archaeological sites.

Image credit: Flickr/Clay Junell

Renowned jewellery retailer Tiffany is looking to drive meaningful change and lead in sustainable luxury. Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer, tells Laura Klepacki how it’s going about it

In April when Frédéric Cumenal took over as ceo of Tiffany & Co, one of the world’s premier diamond jewellery and luxury retailers, he set an immediate imperative to accelerate Tiffany’s progress on key social and environmental issues. 

Tiffany had already created its Laurelton Diamonds division in 2002 to oversee its global supply chain and give it more control over sourcing and processing of the diamonds its sells. For several years it has remained steadfast in its resolve not to procure diamonds from Zimbabwe because of human rights violations despite that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a global organization convened to address the issue of ‘blood’ or ‘conflict’ diamonds, deemed those exports acceptable again in June 2011. And on an environmental front, Tiffany has not used coral in its jewellery pieces for more than 10 years because the harvesting negatively impacts the marine ecosystem.

But to ensure responsible sourcing permeates its culture, just a few days into his tenure, Cumenal named Anisa Kamadoli Costa, formerly the company’s vice president, global sustainability and corporate responsibility, as its first chief sustainability officer. (She also retained her role as chairman and president of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation.) During her previous 12 years with the company Costa had been credited with nurturing a collaborative and stakeholder-driven approach to sustainability intended to forge best practices for the mining industry and jewelers.

In the first few months in the newly created post, Costa said she has been meeting with Cumenal and other senior leaders to set priorities, with support of responsible mining practices quickly placed uppermost on the agenda. “It is a fantastic new role. We want to drive meaningful change and lead in sustainable luxury. It is so critical to work with our team internally and that means in New York and globally,” said Costa. “But also just to be out there first hand and work on what is happening (across the industry.)”

Regarding its stance on Zimbabwe diamonds, Costa said, “What we would love is for the Kimberley Process to have its mandate expanded to a stronger standard on human rights.” Tiffany has also been calling on the Responsible Jewellery Council, which evaluates the diamond, gold and platinum sectors, to raise its minimum certification standards.

As a $4.2 billion company with 12,000 employees and 295 stores across 25 countries, Tiffany feels compelled to use the power of its brand to encourage ethical behavior. “We believe we must speak out and use our voice to raise awareness and impact society and our planet,” said Costa. “The long-term view is we want to integrate sustainability into all aspects of the business. It is rapidly evolving.”

Costa is particularly excited about a developing standard from the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) that will bring all mining sectors under one umbrella. “When up and running IRMA will be the largest mining standard to-date and the first to certify all mined materials – not just gold or aluminum,” she pointed out. IRMA talks engage five diverse stakeholder groups including indigenous miners. Tiffany is also a member of IRMA, which expects to launch standards in 2016.

“The conversations have been very open and eye opening. They are deep and raw conversations and difficult for different parties to hear,” said Costa. “When we have the `buy in’ from each of these sectors that is what helps us raise the bar.”

In choosing its partners, added Costa, “I want to know that the mining company we purchase from is the most informed mine possible.” Tiffany has created its own vendor requirements under its Conflict Minerals Policy, Vendor Code of Conduct and a Social Accountability Program.

Through direct supply agreements and maintaining in-house diamond cutting and crafting operations, Tiffany has gained more transparency and quality control. “We have traceability and we want to make sure we have best-in-class,” said Costa.

The Tiffany Foundation also furthers the corporate mission. “We really view our philanthropy as a key pillar of our sustainability efforts,” said Costa. A point of pride has been its funding of the Diamond Development Initiative which focuses on improvements for artisanal diamond miners. “DDI is trying to unify them (miners) and make sure their voices are heard.”

Ultimately, the prestigious image of Tiffany must remain intact and Tiffany provides sustainability training to its sales associates so to assure customers its products have been ethically created.

“It is really critical we execute our sustainability work without in the least compromising luxury,” said Costa. The quality of the diamonds and other gems sourced must still meet company specifications.

And while the iconic Tiffany blue bag now contains 50% recycled content, its quality has been retained, according to Costa. “The average customer would not even notice that we made that change.” 

2015 was the year Hillary Clinton declared she was running for president in the US; it was also the year that the US fell to 28th place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap list (falling out of the top 20 for the first time). And in the UK - currently ranked at 18th in the same list – the level of equality debate led to the setting up of a new political party, the Women’s Equality Party, campaigning for gender equality to the benefit of all.

It’s constantly a state of swings and roundabouts. The UK and the FTSE 100 have seen progress in eliminating all-male boards, according to Lord Davies final report on the number of women on boards, yet as Laura Carstensen, EHRC Commissioner, noted: “It’s telling that women are still predominantly recruited to non-executive director roles rather than as executive directors at Britain’s biggest companies. Moreover, unlocking talent and economic potential by increasing female board membership shouldn’t just be limited to FTSE100 companies.”

Of course, diversity at the top shouldn’t just focus on meeting the numbers but also making the numbers count. Shainaz Firfiray, assistant professor of HR & Organisation at Warwick Business School points out that it is important for corporations to create the right environment so as to reap the benefits of gender-diverse boards.

“When companies are coerced into appointing women on boards, there is a risk that female directors will continue to face gender-related obstacles. Very often women who are appointed to boards to meet quota requirements have claimed that they are stigmatised and it is common for their ideas to be ignored or swept aside.

“Occasionally, male directors promote a hostile board environment by failing to consider the suggestions of female directors or treat them with respectful collegiality. If gender-diverse boards are not properly managed, they may not only create distrust and dissatisfaction but fail to benefit from uncommon or minority voices, resulting in lower levels of innovation and competitiveness.

Firfiray maintains that it may not be enough for companies to simply appoint women to board positions in response to external pressures. Rather they should ensure that the appointment of female directors is also having a meaningful impact on the business.
“Research evidence suggests that women bring a novel set of perspectives to the boardroom and have a unique style of engagement which focuses on seeking the opinions of others and attempting to reach a consensus. This can facilitate better boardroom dialogue and decision-making.

“While significant progress has been made over the last few years to help women advance to senior ranks within business, the marginalisation of women in the business world is still a problem that needs to be addressed. Prior research has shown that women who succeed in typically male tasks such as leadership positions are more disliked and derogated, implying that women confront obstacles in work settings that are not encountered by men to the same degree.”

She’s right. Broadening the composition of corporate boards can serve business interests as it helps in expanding perspectives at the top and recognising the needs of diverse stakeholders. However, as Firfiray notes, while most corporations realise the value of including directors with different types of educational or professional expertise, they often still neglect the importance of gender diversity.

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BNP Paribas, the French multinational bank with a presence in 75 countries, is to take a further significant step in financing the transition to a low carbon economy by “more than doubling” its financing resources to the renewable energy sector, increasing its allocation to €15bn in 2020 - up 117% from €6.9bn in 2014.

The news came within days of the upcoming UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on 30 November and broad scientific and political consensus that the current CO2 emissions trajectory must be curbed before 2020, if global warming is to be restricted to a 2°C increase over pre-industrial levels.

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas, commenting said: “Our decision to more than double our financing in the renewable energy sector and to reinforce our carbon risk management procedures is both an environmental and economic necessity.”

He added: “It has been calculated that if we want to limit the increase in average global temperatures to 2ºC, only one third of existing fossil fuel reserves can be burnt. The electricity mix currently financed by the BNP Paribas Group, with 23% renewables - that is hydroelectric power, photovoltaic and wind power - and 23% coal-fired power, is already more advanced than the global average mix.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which predicts that renewable energy will represent the largest single source of electricity growth over the next five years, has put this global average mix at 21% renewables and 40% coal.
Deciding to strengthen its carbon risk management policies, the bank will also support clients “making a safe transition” to more sustainable energy and continue to promote the merits of Green Bonds to institutional investors. This is a market that BNP Paribas aims to be among the “top three players” worldwide for euro-denominated issues by 2018.

A climate component is to be included in the bank’s methodology for rating companies and the projects it finances. As such it will “progressively integrate” the use of an internal carbon price in its financing decisions going forward “to reflect changes brought about by the transition towards sustainable energy and to take into account the associated risks.”

Strengthening its carbon risk management policies further, the bank has decided that it will no longer finance coal mining activities, whether directly financing of projects or by financing mining companies specialising in coal extraction. That is, unless entities have put in place an “energy diversification strategy”.

BNP Paribas will establish a “differentiated strategy” in terms of financing coal-fired power plants. For the ‘high-income’ countries there will “no further financing” of such plants by bank, while in other countries they will “consider the possibility” of financing such projects - but only if certain criteria are met.

These criteria include: (1) The host country must have made a commitment to limit greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions as part of the COP21 framework; (2) A proper community consultation process (including access to a grievance mechanism) for local people potentially impacted by projects and where necessary compensation is provided; and, (3) Power plants designed to reduce GHG emissions.

Moreover, the bank will only provide financing to power generation companies that have a “formal diversification strategy” to reduce the share of coal in their power generation mix that is “at least as ambitious as that of their host country.”
Separately, on 23 November the European Investment Bank (EIB), BNP Paribas and Vigeo launched Tera Neva, a new sustainable investment solution designed to align investors’ financial objectives with their energy transition goals. The initiative is supported by twelve institutional investors that have invested in Tera Neva via a €500m equity index-linked bond issued by the EIB that matures in May 2029.
 

In the UK registered funds sector Kempen (Lux) Sustainable European Small-Cap Fund I, a £120.38m fund, top ranked over the past one year to 31 October 2015 with a cumulative return of +19.16% versus +50.93%/16th and +51.83%/35th over the past three and five years, respectively.

Second top in this sector on a past one-year view was the £243.18m Standard Life Investments (SLI) UK Ethical Ret Acc fund, which posted +18.84% and compared with +49.65%/20th and +80.97%/8th posted over the past three and five years, respectively.
The larger £2,239.54m Pictet-Water HR USD fund ranked third from top over the past 12-month time horizon, but produced +53.19%/10th and +77.89%/11th over the last three and five years, respectively.

At least 75% of Kempen (Lux) Sustainable European Small-Cap Fund I GBP’s net assets are invested in PEA-eligible assets, which are securities issued in the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland. The sub-fund’s assets are invested using derivatives in a diversified portfolio of investments in equity and equity equivalent securities of smaller companies.

These are entities defined as having a maximum market capitalization of €5bn at the time of initial purchase, or the highest market capitalization of any company included in the MSCI Europe Small Cap Index whose constituents are adjusted by reducing the UK components by 50%.

By region the Eurozone accounts for 50.60% of the fund, the UK (27.50%) and Europe ex-Euro (21.90%). Consumer Cyclicals accounted for a third (33.34%) of the overall fund in terms of sector asset allocation, Industrials (27.25%), Technology (9.32%), Healthcare (7.77%) and Financial Services (7.43%).

Furthermore, companies invested in will have an official listing on a major European stock exchange or other regulated market of any EU Member State and exhibit a positive ethical, social and environmental stance in pursuing their long-term strategy. The fund’s top three stocks Huhtamäki Oyj (5.22%), Dunelm Group (5.17%) and Dignity Plc (4.96%) - all consumer cyclicals.

Among European funds, the €155.49m DNB Sweden Micro Cap fund scooped top spoils over the past year with a cumulative return of +37.68% and was second top over the last three years with +125.86% and +152.83%/5th over the last five.

It was followed by the €17.63m ID France Smidcaps C fund in second place over the past 12-month period with +34.40%. Over the past three and five years this fund produced a performance of +108.23%/3rd and +108.21%/38th, respectively. 

Nine businesses, including Aviva, Sky, Fuji Xerox and DPD, have joined the UN’s Christiana Figueres to speak out about the benefits of offsetting carbon emissions, at this week’s climate negotiations in Paris.

In a new video , the companies explain why offset strategies are good business sense, the challenges and opportunities their approach has created, and why they believe it has made a difference. Companies throughout the world, including Microsoft, Jaguar Land Rover and Marks and Spencer have adopted carbon-offset approaches to enable them to go beyond the reduction targets they could achieve through internal change.

“We believe that now, more than ever, offsetting has a crucial role to play both for business success and for global greenhouse gas reduction targets,” explains Sophy Greenhalgh, Programme Director of the International Carbon Reduction Offset Alliance (ICROA) which produced the video. “We hope that by hearing about the business benefits of offsetting, others will be inspired to follow their leadership.”

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for action now to ensure a secure, stable climate for the future. She also identifies offsetting as a vital part of the solution set to meet global emission reduction goals in the video.

“Offsetting is a valid way to reduce global carbon emissions quickly and cost effectively,” says Figueres.

Recent research from Carbon Disclosure Project Data shows that businesses which offset also take the lead in reducing carbon emissions as a whole with the typical offset buyer cutting almost 17% of their scope 1 direct emissions (compared to non offset buyers who reduced emissions by less than 5% in the same year).

 

Picture credit: © William Fehr | Dreamstime.com

Governments and food and agriculture organizations joined on Tuesday at the Lima-Paris Action Agenda Focus on Agriculture at COP21 with a unified goal: to respond to the urgent climate challenges facing agriculture. The public and private partners launched a suite of cooperative initiatives that will protect the long-term livelihoods of millions of farmers, help ensure food security for billions of people and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to curb climate change.

"It is essential that we speak about agriculture when it comes to climate change, because it is about our food security," Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, general director of France's Ministry of Agriculture, said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Launched on Dec. 13 of last year, the Lima-Paris Action Agenda is a joint undertaking of the Peruvian and French COP presidencies, the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the UNFCCC Secretariat. It aims to strengthen climate action throughout 2015, in Paris this month and beyond. The agenda includes 12 key themes, ranging from short-term climate pollutants to energy access and efficiency. But its focus on agriculture at COP21 represents a major milestone -- namely that it's the first focus-day on agriculture in any COP meeting.

"The UNFCC is not about only limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but also about increasing food production," said Dr. Martin Frick, director of the climate, energy and tenure division for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "and we are delighted to see that food security is coming back in the negotiations."

The issue of food security was prevalent during the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York in September. The fourth of 17 Sustainable Development Goals calls for the eradication of hunger by 2040 -- a lofty ambition considering the fact that 800 million people experience chronic hunger around the world today.

Shockingly, the vast majority of those starving are the very individuals who grow our food, Frick told a group of journalists on Tuesday. Smallholder farmers manage over 80 percent of the world’s estimated 500 million small farms and provide over 80 percent of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world. Smallholders also make up 80 percent of those who regularly go hungry, Frick said.

"We know that smallholders around the world are extremely vulnerable to climate change," added Margarita Astralaga, director of environment and climate development for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "They also have an important role to play in feeding the world."

To bridge this gap between a growing global population in need of food and desperate, hungry smallholders -- who are experiencing crop loss and yield reductions at unprecedented rates due to climate change -- partners launched six new initiatives on Tuesday under the Lima-Paris Action Agenda. Together, these partnerships will deploy money and know-how across both developed and developing nations to help hard-pressed farmers become key actors in the global drive to achieve a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. Here's the breakdown:

1. The 4/1,000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate

Officially launched on Tuesday by 100 partners, including developed and developing states, international organizations, private foundations, international funds, NGOs and farmers' organizations, the 4/1,000 Initiative aims to protect and increase carbon stocks in soils.

Soils are natural vehicles of carbon sequestration and can store huge quantities of carbon. By improving organic matter stocks in soil, partners hope to sequester more carbon and leverage soil management to move the needle on climate change. Coincidentally, more organic matter also leads to healthier soil, and therefore better crop yields.

Specifically, the initiative aims to develop agronomic research to improve organic matter stocks in soil by 4 parts per 1,000, per year. If this is achieved, it would offset the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the entire planet (!!).

2. Life Beef Carbon

Farmers from four European countries are taking the lead to reduce the carbon footprint of the livestock sector.

Initially launched in October 2015, the Life Beef Carbon initiative, inspired by France’s Dairy Carbon Program, aims to promote innovative livestock farming systems and associated practices to ensure the technical, economic, environmental and social sustainability of beef farms.

Specifically, the initiative aims to reduce the carbon footprint of beef by 15 percent over the next 10 years in France, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

3. Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Program (ASAP)

Through this initiative, IFAD and its partners committed to invest climate finance in poor smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Smallholder farmers are among the best possible clients for climate finance, IFAD argues: Such investments can simultaneously increase agricultural productivity, restore and maintain a resilient natural resource base, and reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture.

As part of the announcement made on Tuesday, 12 countries joined the current list of 44 country partners, increasing the total amount of committed ASAP funds up to US$285 million. By 2034, this additional funding will avoid or sequester 80 million tons of GHG emissions (CO2 equivalent) and will strengthen the resilience of 8 million smallholders.

The IFAD also committed to ensure all of its investments are are climate smart by December of 2018, Margarita Astralaga of the IFAD said during Tuesday's press briefing.

4. 15 West-African Countries Transitioning to Agro-ecology

The Promotion of Agro-ecology Transition in West Africa is a regional initiative led by the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). It concerns 15 countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal. The main financial partners include the European Union, the World Bank and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) of the African Union.

This impact-full initiative delivers both adaptation and emission mitigation benefit. It will allow the adoption of agro-ecological practices by 25 million households by 2025.

5. The Blue Growth Initiative (BGI)

This multi-partner initiative, led by the FAO, seeks to support climate resilience, food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable management of living aquatic resources in coastal communities, especially in small island developing states.

The actions aim at a 10 percent reduction in carbon emissions from fishery value chains in 10 target countries within five years (and 25 percent within 10 years). The multi-stakeholder collaboration also seeks to reduce overfishing by 20 percent in the target countries within five years (50 percent within 10 years).

The incorporation of fisheries into the broader agriculture conversation is a vital one, as Martin Frick of the FAO explained on Tuesday. Seventeen percent of the animal protein consumed globally comes from fish, and 12 percent of all global livelihoods are sustained by fisheries, he explained.

6. The Save Food Initiative

First launched in 2011 and now under expansion, the Save Food Initiative is a unique partnership led by the FAO, with over 500 companies and organizations from industry and civil society active in food loss and waste reduction.

It aims to drive innovations, promote dialogue and spark debates to generate solutions across the entire value chain, from field to fork. This initiative has recently developed a first-of-its-kind technical platform, that will be launched in the coming days, to measure and reduce food loss and waste.

When talking about food security issues, it's impossible not to mention food waste: While 800 million people go hungry, an estimated 30 percent of all food produced is lost or wasted around the world. As you may imagine, this shocking amount of waste comes with hefty environmental impacts -- namely 4.4 gigatons of CO2 equivalent, amounting to 8 percent of all anthropogenic emissions, Craig Hanson, global director of food, forest and water programs for the World Resource Institute, said on Tuesday.

"Food waste is the most overlooked contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and something we can all do something about," Hanson said. We couldn't agree more.

The bottom line

While these collaborative initiatives are as varied as they are innovative, the representatives on-hand to discuss the matter on Tuesday all agreed on one thing: Sustainable agriculture has the potential to lift millions out of poverty, while reducing the impacts of climate change.

Although farmers large and small are already feeling the impacts of climate change (one only needs to look at the threat El Niño poses to food security in South America to prove the point), the experts concluded there is indeed hope. If we can invest in the right kind of agriculture, we can massively reduce the carbon emissions in our world. Agriculture done right can contribute to mitigating climate change and help us on the path to a 2-degree world, while addressing the needs of some of the most at-risk among us.

Image credit: Mary Mazzoni

Editor's Note: This post was originally published on GlobalWarmingisReal.com

In a moving address at the opening session to the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21), President Barack Obama called on world leaders and delegates assembled in the plenary hall at Le Bourget for resolve in the coming two weeks of negotiations, keeping in mind the long-term implications of the results.

"Our generation may not even live to see the full realization of what we do here,” Obama said at the close of his speech. "But the knowledge that the next generation will be better off for what we do here – can we imagine a more worthy reward than that?"

Summoning the unprecedented momentum going into the start of COP21, Obama joins nearly 150 other heads-of-state at COP21 who are intent on seeing the ambition translate into a global climate pact.

By afternoon, the "Blue Zone” at COP21 was buzzing with activity reporting this historic gathering of leaders in common resolve. A 2:30 press conference held by the U.S. Climate Action Network allowed leaders from several U.S.-based NGOs to offer their reactions to Obama’s speech earlier in the day.

Here is a sampling:

350.org

May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, said the speech shows that the president is “clearly serious about climate change,” unlike the Obama of six years ago.

She said that momentum and political will within the U.S. continues to build, citing three key points feeding this momentum:

1. The People's Climate March in September 2014


2. Hundreds of cities across the U.S. adopting their own climate action agendas


3. Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline

Obama’s speech reflects a “historic movement in the climate change issue," Boeve concluded.

Fresh Energy

J. Drake Hamilton of Minnesota-based NGO Fresh Energy said the U.S. finally has “street cred” at the negotiations.

Part of America's newly-found street cred is the Clean Power Plan recently mandated by the U.S. EPA. Hamilton referred to Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest power utility. First saying the plan would devastate the company, Xcel has turned course and is now "completely on board.”

The economics of clean energy is clearly the better route, "[demonstrating] the need to continue ratcheting up ambition."

NAACP

Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Jacqui Patterson, expressed gratitude for Obama’s commitment to climate change, but cautioned that “the devil is in the details,” saying that “processes and definitions” are key to an effective climate agreement in Paris.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Alden Meyer, director of policy and strategy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that “Obama gets it.” An agreement at COP21 is “virtually certain,” Meyer continued, adding that how effective the agreement will be is certainly still in play.

He applauded Obama’s acknowledgement of U.S. responsibility for creating the problem, as well as embracing solutions to fix it.

Seizing the opportunity

With climate change comes “dire consequences” and “great opportunity,” Obama said in his speech.

The focus in the first official day at COP21 is on the opportunity.

Read the full text of Obama’s speech here.

Image courtesy of FranceBlueu.com