All About Forests and Farms at the Climate Talks

By Susan Tonassi, December 18, 2015

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What do John Agyekum Kufuor, the Former President of Ghana, Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone and Abdon Nababan, the Secretary General, Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) have in common? A keen interest in the role that farms and forests play in causing and preventing the changing climate.

In the midst of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, these leaders and hundreds more gathered for the Global Landscapes Forum, a major side event focused on land use. More than 3,500 attendees—including more than 100 reporters from around the world—gathered for speeches, announcements, rap performances and lively discussions.

Highlights of the event included the following:

• An opening plenary session featuring Laurent Fabius, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development; Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, the Edmond de Rothschild Group’s Executive Committee Chair; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and the Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance; Emmanuel Faber CEO of Danone; and Peter Holmgren, the Center for International Forestry Research’s Director General.

• The unveiling by ten African countries of a pan-African, country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030. Ministers from most participating countries attended the Global Landscapes Forum to make the announcement. Associated Press and dozens of other outlets covered the launch.

• A series of announcements by governments, NGOs, multilateral organizations, corporations, local authorities and others about new national and regional initiatives and reports that make a case for the important role that land use—forests and agriculture—plays in the climate change context.

The Global Landscapes Forum website features videos, a pressroom with press releases and background information and much more from the event.