At UN climate conference, some activists and scientists want more talk on reforming agriculture

At COP30 Climate Summit, Activists Challenge Agricultural Practices in the Amazon

With a global spotlight on the Brazilian Amazon, where agriculture drives significant deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, activists, scientists, and government leaders at the UN climate talks in Belem are pushing for transformation of the world’s food systems.

Protesters recently gathered outside the industry-sponsored “Agrizone,” calling for a shift toward more sustainable, grassroots food systems. Their demonstration highlights tensions as hundreds of agricultural industry lobbyists attend the talks, known as COP30.

Despite agriculture contributing approximately one-third of global warming emissions worldwide, the sector receives disproportionately little climate funding, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“All the countries are coming together. I don’t think we can impose on them one specific worldview,” said Kaveh Zahedi, director of FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, acknowledging the complex balance required in addressing agricultural practices.

Research generally shows plant-based diets can benefit both human health and the environment. However, many impoverished communities hardest hit by climate change rely on animal protein for survival. Meanwhile, people in higher-income countries have more dietary options but often contribute more significantly to climate change through their food choices.

“We have to be very, very aware and conscious of those nuances, those differences that exist,” Zahedi added.

Inside the conference, the AgriZone creates an alternative reality where visitors experience immersive videos and exhibits featuring live plants and food products. A standout attraction is a research farm built by Embrapa, Brazil’s national agricultural research corporation, showcasing what they describe as low-carbon farming methods for cattle raising and crop production.

Ana Euler, Embrapa’s executive director of innovation, business and technology transfer, emphasized the agricultural industry’s potential role in climate solutions, particularly for developing nations. “We need to be part of the discussions in terms of climate funds,” Euler said. “We researchers, we speak loud, but nobody listens.”

The AgriZone attracts approximately 2,000 visitors daily during the two-week conference, according to Gabriel Faria, an Embrapa spokesman. Notable visitors have included Queen Mary of Denmark, COP President André Corrêa do Lago, and various Brazilian officials.

While the exhibition promotes lower-carbon agricultural possibilities, critics point to the outsized influence of industrial agriculture at the climate talks. Climate news outlet DeSmog reported that more than 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists are attending COP30.

During the conference’s opening days, activists gathered near the AgriZone to advocate for food systems that prioritize better working conditions and sustainability. They also called for industry lobbyists to be barred from the climate talks.

Pang Delgra, an activist with the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development who participated in the protests, criticized the power imbalance at the conference. “Those with the most sway are not the smallholder food producers, not the peasants, and definitely not all these people in the Global South that are experiencing the brunt of the crisis,” Delgra said. “It’s this industrial agriculture and corporate lobbyists that are shifting the narrative inside COPs.”

Indigenous representatives, whose perspectives were meant to be central to this particular COP, also called for greater recognition of their traditional knowledge regarding land stewardship.

“We have to decolonize our thoughts. It’s not just about changing to a different food,” said Sara Omi from the Embera people of Panama and president of the Coordination of Territorial Leaders of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests. “The agro-industrial systems are not the solution. The solution is our own ancestral systems that we maintain as Indigenous peoples.”

The conference continues as delegates work to address the complex intersection of agriculture, climate change, and sustainable development, particularly in vulnerable regions like the Amazon where these issues converge most dramatically.