COP 28: Innovation Commission at the AIM for Climate Closing Session

On December 10th, the Innovation Commission participated in the closing session of the COP28 Thematic Program on Food, Agriculture, and Water. The “AIM for Climate: Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems Innovation” event was an opportunity to engage in discussions across different panels.

Michael Kremer, Chair of the Innovation Commission, highlighted the commission’s role in COP28. He underscored the selection of seven innovation areas to scale up and the help in designing AIM mechanisms for scalability. Kremer also cited examples from these areas to emphasize the role of information (like improved weather forecasts and digital agriculture services) and credit in enhancing resilience among smallholder farmers.

Kremer invited governments, practitioners, innovators, researchers, and funders to support and invest in scaling up the high-return areas. Kremer mentioned, for instance, the commitment from the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) to fund research efforts in training for rainwater harvesting—one of the commission’s innovation areas.

The focus of the event was on recommending strategies to scale up impactful and cost-effective innovations, showcasing the progress achieved through the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIMC) innovation sprints, and assessing progress on food systems innovations from COP26 and the road ahead to the COP30 in Belém, Brazil. Critical discussions revolved around funding, impact evidence, and institutional organization to scale up climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in agriculture and food systems. The event emphasized supporting smallholder farmers adapting to climate change and building resilient food systems.

The event featured additional interventions from HE Mariam Al Mheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture, and Diane Holdorf, executive VP of World Business Council for Sustainable Development, who discussed the role of global leadership in accelerating investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation. They highlighted the progress made by AIMC innovation sprints and emphasized the importance of political will and public/private partnerships in scaling up innovations for smallholder farmers.

Further discussions included insights from Andrew Mitchell, UK Minister of Development and Africa, Carina Pimenta, National Secretary for Bioeconomy at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, and Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. They addressed the challenges and strategies for scaling innovations from COP26 to COP30, focusing on specific issues such as research and investment in agri-food systems for the UK and Bioeconomy and rainforest restoration for Brazil.

Click here to watch the video of the event

On the same day, Paul Winters, Executive Director of the Innovation Commission, shared his perspectives during the “Farmers and Traditional Producers at the Heart of Food Systems Transformation” session at Al Waha Theatre.