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COP28: Why farmers need to be front and center in climate talks
COP28: Why famers need to be front and center in climate talks | Sustainability Leaders Council

COP28: Why farmers need to be front and center in climate talks

Agriculture is the foundation of human civilization, the economic activity that makes every other endeavor possible. But historically, says International Fertilizer Association Director General Alzbeta Klein, the subject hasn't received attention in climate talks.

"It took us 23 climate conferences to start thinking about agriculture," she said during a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory. "The problem is that we don't know how to feed ourselves without a huge impact on the environment."

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The perils of depending on food imports: UN Foundation chief
The Perils of Depending on Food Imports | Global Stage | GZERO Media

The perils of depending on food imports: UN Foundation chief

We all know there's a global food crisis due to the impact of shortages of Russian and Ukrainian grain, fertilizers, and fuel. But UN Foundation chief Elizabeth Cousens thinks high prices are hurting some countries even more.

Take for instance Yemen, which imports 90% of its food and is thus highly vulnerable to any external shocks.

While addressing famine is the top priority, Cousens says in a Global Stage livestream conversation that the long-term plan should be "laying the foundation for a much more resilient, equitable food system."

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António Guterres: the world won’t have enough food in 2023 without Russian fertilizer
We Won’t Have Enough Food Next Year if We Don’t Get Russian Fertilizer Out | GZERO World

António Guterres: the world won’t have enough food in 2023 without Russian fertilizer

The UN- and Turkey-brokered deal with Russia to unblock Ukrainian grain exports stuck at Black Sea ports was a big success for the United Nations — and for Secretary-General António Guterres.

Look, he recalls he told Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky: this is a dramatic situation caused by the war because it is threatening the living conditions of most of the world.

The UN chief tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World that we need to find a way for Ukraine to ship its grain; and the UN hopes to negotiate with the US, the EU, and others to get some exemptions from Western sanctions against Russia so Moscow is able to export the food and fertilizer that the world needs right now.

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Innovation: cause for optimism amid the global food crisis
Reasons For Optimism Amid The Global Food Crisis | GZERO Media

Innovation: cause for optimism amid the global food crisis

How long will food prices keep rising? Will food itself become scarce? There's a lot of doom and gloom these days about the global food crisis, made even worse by Russia's war in Ukraine.

But there are some reasons to be hopeful, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said during a livestream conversation about the global food crisis hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with the organization he leads.

The Gates Foundation, he explained, has long been investing in innovations that can massively increase productivity by smallholder farmers across the developing world. Think drought-tolerant seeds or flood-resistant rice.

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A tractor applies nitrogen-based fertilizer to a wheat field in Germany.

REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Fertil(izer) ground for a global crisis

We've written about how the war between sunflower superpowers and major grain exporters Russia and Ukraine is already fueling a global food price crisis.

But there's a related catastrophe in the works for not only farmers but everyone around the world: a war-linked shortage of fertilizer from Russia and its top ally Belarus.

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