Integrated National and International Policies and Plans

The interconnectivity of development issues, the underlying shocks and stresses, and the widening landscape of international, regional and national frameworks requires foresight-driven and innovative approaches to resilience, particularly one that centers around regenerative food production. Solving the current and increasing levels of food insecurity require holistic and paradigm shifting approaches towards climate-resilient development. These need to be strategic in that they integrate with top-level policymaking and planning, and need to be forward looking in that they integrate foresight methodologies in ensuring fitness for purpose in a future world, taking full account of upcoming technological transformations that can be harnessed to that effect. Furthermore, universal access to clean, modern cooking solutions, and for productive uses of energy is critical for resilient food systems. Currently, three billion people lack access to modern cooking solutions, exposing them to climate, health and other risks.

The NAP-SDG iFrame is a comprehensive, tried and tested methodology to increase coherence between NAPs, SDGs, Sendai and other frameworks. Its previous and current application in several countries offers proof that the NAP-SDG iFrame amplifies the impact of adaptation planning. A key part of the success of the NAP-SDG iFrame is that it leverages past learnings and experience of the adaptation community. As agriculture and food systems are the highest priority of countries in their NDCs and NAPs, the political will exists to harness the coordination provided by this solution to strengthen, align or integrate specific issues including by systems (e.g. water, food, health), management level (e.g. regional, national, subnational) and hazards (e.g. floods, droughts, sea level rise, temperature shifts).

All effective adaptation plans must be informed by detailed, country-level data on current risks, vulnerabilities and the food security status of populations. The Food System Stability Board builds upon the success of the G20’s financial stability board to provide this needed data. This solution has had a positive initial reaction, including at a Science to Policy Dialogue of the WBCSD, suggesting the political will needed for a successful solution.

The future success of the Resilience Frontiers initiative is suggested by the diversity and prominence of its existing multisectoral partners. These partners include the private sector, technical experts, indigenous community leaders, youth and change makers who provide input and guidance for the direction, as evidenced through the engagement of thought leaders and visionaries. The initiative brings together pioneering innovations, companies, organizations and existing projects (bright lights) that carry the potential to accelerate people and the planet towards a transformed world that is resilient and can sustain desirable futures for all beyond 2030.

The solution of a Green, Inclusive Recovery will embed food system resilience in the WHO Manifesto on a Healthy Recovery from COVID-19. This solution thereby leverages the momentum towards the WHO Manifesto towards food system resilience. 

Finally, universal access to clean and modern cooking is an outcome 

of the joint Ministerial Conference UNFSS and High Level Group of Energy  

that took place in UAE, January 2021. This solution builds upon existing 

technologies and past successful work of the WFP.

The development and application of the NAP-SDG iFrame is led by the UNFCCC Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) as part of its ongoing work programme in supporting the 46 least developed countries in the formulation and implementation of their NAPs. The work is carried out with the support of the UNFCCC secretariat and the engagement of a wide range of organizations and experts, including United Nations organizations, regional centres and networks, scientific community, and country experts, among others.

Resilience Frontiers comprises a collective intelligence process (2019–2021) followed by an implementation phase from 2021–2030, and with solutions expanding beyond 2030. It proffers eight cross cutting pathways that point people and planet towards resilient and desirable futures for all, while inspiring a paradigm shift by showcasing its growing ecosystem of bright light innovations, companies, organizations and projects impacting these pathways. There is also a wide range of planning instruments focusing on different issues (e.g. hazards, sectors, geographic regions) that bring about complementary efforts to achieve climate resilient development. Many of the bright lights under the Resilience Frontiers are already being implemented or tested. Details are available at http://www.resiliencefrontiers.org/bright-lights. 

The Green, Inclusive Recovery will be supported by an action coalition, which could potentially include the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, the Global Climate and Health and Alliance and the WHO. Importantly, this solution will build upon an innovative funding source: The WHO manifesto’s priority actions on divesting from fossil fuels, calls to stop using taxpayers money to fund pollution. In this context, fossil fuel subsidies can be redirected towards implementing priority actions of a green recovery. Funds can also be obtained from the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 recovery packages.

Universal access to clean and modern cooking will adopt market based

approaches that make solutions available to all, combined with smart subsidies to ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable. Tested and certified modern energy cooking solutions will be made available to end-users, by making markets work for the poor. 

Efforts to scale up clean energy access can build on the WHO manifesto on Healthy Recovery From COVID 19 and the WFPs programme on 

“Increasing Access to Modern Cooking for Vulnerable Population, 

Energising School Feeding and Empowering Smallholder Farmer initiatives”.

Integrating National and International Policies and Plans offers an opportunity to strengthen local, national and regional management of your country’s priorities and strategies. Aligning these Policies and Plans with resilience will ensure that these plans are future proof and less vulnerable to future stresses and shocks such as COVID-19. Further, integration of National and International Policies can enhance synergies and minimise tradeoffs between different priorities and commitments of Member States, such as between climate mitigation, resilience and equitable livelihoods.

A full menu of actions is contained in the annex below.

Ongoing efforts are reflected in the section above. 

On complementarity: Regarding the NAP-SDG iFrame the solution cluster will help to further expand the application of the framework, and thereby scale up integrated approaches in building the resilience of food systems. Regarding the resilience frontiers, the cluster will provide a platform for further mainstreaming regenerative food production approaches.

Annex

UNFCCC. 2021. Nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. Synthesis report by the secretariat. Addendum. Additional information on adaptation component of nationally determined contributions. Bonn: UNFCCC. Available at https://unfccc.int/documents/268572.

INDIVIDUAL SOLUTIONS PRIOROTIZED IN WAVE 1 & WAVE 2

Integrative framework for NAPs and the SDGs (NAP-SDG iFrame) systems approach to coordinating the different entry points (e.g., hazards, sectors, actors, development goals and scale) of the adaptation planning, and to manage coherence between the NAPs, SDGs, the Sendai Framework on DRR and other frameworks (UNFCCC & MS).

Linkages between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction by UNFCCC and UNDRR. To support national teams to maximize synergy and coherence between activities on disaster risk reduction (DRR) under Sendai and adaptation activities in the NAP under the UNFCCC, within broader national development planning.

Enhancing climate-related food systems resilience (Dominican Republic)

NDC-Food Systems Platform. Reviews of how food systems transformation is addressed in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans. Most NDCs focus on energy, transport, and industry, with little focus on food systems in the context of mitigation and adaptation. Next NDC plans are due in 2025. (Future of Food)

Building links with COP26, UNFCCC, IPCC and climate talks. Promote agroecology and regenerative agriculture to build resilience of food systems and enhance adaptive capacities to cope with climate extremes as well as the mitigation potential of agroecological food systems. Diversity, redundancy and connectedness. (Future of Food).

The Resilience Frontiers Multiagency initiative coordinated by UNFCCC seeks to identify impactful & innovative actions that sow seeds of transformative change that is needed to achieve long-term global resilience beyond 2030. It is currently at the start of its roadmapping phase which will apply a foresight methodology to identify a range of transformative actions. It proffers 8 cross cutting pathways that point people & planet towards resilient & desirable futures for all, including regenerative food production, while inspiring a paradigm shift by showcasing its growing ecosystem of bright light innovations, companies, organizations & projects impacting these pathways (UNFCCC).

Investing in climate-resilient development pathways for a healthy, green, inclusive recovery. The Covid19 financial packages offer an opportunity to invest in climate-resilient development pathways that promote a healthy, green, inclusive recovery. A coalition will be formed to promote investments on a healthy, green and inclusive recovery, in line with the WHO Manifesto on a Healthy Recovery from COVID-19. Priority resilience actions include among other things, a healthy energy transition, and a transition into healthy diets from sustainable food systems. WHO manifesto’s priority actions include divesting from fossil fuels and re-direct fossil fuel subsidies towards implementing priority actions of a green recovery.

Clean Energy for Food Systems’ Resilience. This includes universal access to clean (modern) cooking and productive uses of energy (food production, food processing, food preservation). Clean energy solutions are critical for human, household and community resilience in offut-the-grid remote areas, fragile settings and to support humanitarian assistance efforts. Benefitting the 3 billion in the world who do not have access to modern energy cooking solutions in rural, urban and displacement settings, at the households, institutional and commercial levels. The adoption of modern cooking solutions would impact on the 4 M annual premature deaths, the deforestation rate, the nutritional value of food, women’s time, and conflicts between communities around scarce biomass resources. (WFP, FAO, IFAD).