Synopsis

This paper aims to help countries think through the process of enhancing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to include strengthened actions in the agriculture sector. The paper underscores the need for a tailor-made approach to NDC enhancement that is suited to a country’s unique set of circumstances. This paper also identifies a broad range of actions that can benefit adaptation and mitigation imperatives in the agriculture sector, if the right enabling environment is in place. It offers practical examples for how these actions may be included in an enhanced NDC.

Key Findings

  • Climate change directly and indirectly affects food production in many regions, including lost crops and dwindling employment opportunities. These impacts will likely become more severe by 2030 and beyond, placing global food security and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people at risk.

  • Now is the time to scale up efforts to reshape the agriculture sector to support farmers, avoid the extensification of food production, improve the productivity of farms, build resilience, and reduce emissions. Indeed, the goals of the Paris Agreement cannot be met without transformative changes in the agriculture sector. Incorporating more ambitious, explicit, and directed actions in the agriculture sector in enhanced NDCs can help make this necessary transition.

  • This paper aims to help countries think through the process of enhancing their NDCs by including strengthened actions in the agriculture sector. It underscores the need for tailor-made approaches suited to a country’s unique set of circumstances.

  • It identifies a range of possible actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector, given the right enabling environment in place, and offers examples of how these actions can be included in an enhanced NDC.

Executive Summary

Full executive summary available in the paper.