On 11 November 2022 and during the first week of the UNFCCC COP27, the Good Food Finance Network hosted a Press Conference highlighting how good food finance has a crucial role in meeting the Paris Agreement and wider Sustainable Development Goals. With the presence of GFFN Principals and representatives in attendance, the announcements showed how the Good Food Finance Network is bringing its partners together to accelerate this agenda and signal strong support for the engagement of financial institutions to achieve the transformation of food finance for sustainability and equity.
Our GFFN Principals and representatives in attendance included Susan Gardner (Director, Ecosystems Division, UN Environment), Tony Siantonas (Director, Scaling Positive Agriculture, WBCSD), Gunhild Stordalen (Founder and Executive Chair, EAT Foundation), and Jeremy Coller (Founder of FAIRR and CIO of Coller Capital).
Good Food Finance Network driving progress in food finance innovation
The Good Food Finance Network is working to provide the instrumentation for mainstream finance to flow into food systems transformation. At the UNFCCC COP27, three pieces of that work are taking a step forward:
- COP27 Announcement: Co-Investment Platform for Food Systems Transformation under development. GFFN launched the Work Plan for the development of the Co-Investment Platform across multilateral, public, private and philanthropic finance, to urgently crowd in and scale climate-smart investments into food systems.
- Finance leaders publish new generation of ‘high ambition’ targets for the sustainable food transition. Farms and businesses with over US$108 billion of business volume will be asked by investors and financiers to help meet specific and time-bound targets in areas such as zero deforestation, carbon removal and gender equality.
- GFFN Catalyst Group on Data Systems releases discussion draft on data systems integration for scaling up of sustainable food finance. The Draft outlines the priority areas of practical need and problem-solving that are integral for data systems integration. The aim is to link real-world practical capabilities with strategic imperatives to reveal previously hidden value added from investments in healthy sustainable food systems.
Other initiatives being driven by the core partners
Our partners are key in driving progress toward sustainable food systems through other activities related to good food finance:
- Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative Report – Scaling private sector investment in sustainable rice. This report, conducted by GFFN core-partner WBCSD in partnership with the Sustainable Rice Platform and the Just Rural Transition and with technical input from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), highlights how innovative partnerships can overcome these challenges and drive finance towards sustainable rice landscapes for the benefit of people, climate and nature.
- Climate reference scenario approach for food, agriculture and forestry companies. WBCSD is also is spearheading a project with leading businesses to develop a climate reference scenario approach for food, agriculture and forestry companies, leveraging food system transformation, forest solutions, TCFD and energy-related scenario experience.
- WBCSD assumes role of Secretariat for the Forest Investor Club. GFFN core-partner has been selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Change to be the Secretariat for the Forest Investor Club. The network of public and private financial institutions and investors is committed to accelerating investments in forest and nature – with $9 billion of international climate funding going towards forest preservation.
- FAIRR initative investor campaign that called on the FAO to develop a 1.5°C aligned roadmap for agri-food systems, which the FAO committed to do by UNFCCC COP28 next year.
- EAT-Lancet 2.0 Global Consultations. GFFN core-partner EAT is anchoring a new round of consultations to engage the public and other interested stakeholders who affect or are affected by the global food system in discussions about the transition towards healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
Good Food Finance Network 