Climate change negotiators are gathered in Bonn, Germany this week to re-launch the latest round of United Nations Framework for Climate Change treaty talks. Their goal is to advance negotiations on a document for discussion during the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 16) in Cancun in early December.

Agriculture has only recently emerged as one of the major issues that official negotiators—as well representatives of NGOs, private companies, governments, and civil society groups—will tackle during the 12-day-long set of meetings (May 31-June 11) in Bonn.

“Compared to a year ago,” said Gerald Nelson, IFPRI’s senior climate change researcher, “agriculture is now an integral part of climate change negotiations, with agricultural adaption needs widely recognized. But we need to get to the next stage. “

Nelson will be in Bonn to participate in the official side event, Demonstrating Agricultural Mitigation: Examples from the field, a joint panel discussion that highlights the—often overlooked—role that agricultural innovation already plays in the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG).

“Since agriculture, broadly defined, contributes as much as one third of GHG emissions,” Nelson said, “we must find a carbon-negative pathway for agriculture, while at the same time increasing food production sustainably to keep up with population and income growth. This event is part of the process of finding that pathway.”

Nelson, Wendy Mann (FAO), Pierre Gerber (FAO), Johannes Woelke (the World Bank), Christine Negra (The Heinz Center), and Sarala Gopalan (the National Institute of Agriculture, India) will present case studies and insights from the field.

“We will report on some of the early efforts to exploit the technical potential of agricultural to reduce its own emissions and to capture CO2 emissions from other sectors,” Nelson said. “The challenge, as the speakers will address, is how to do this in a way that rewards small farmers while also being amenable to low-cost monitoring, reporting, and verification.”

The event, which takes place on June 4 at 7:45 p.m. in the Solar Room – Ministry of Environment (MoE), Robert-Schuman-Platz 3, is jointly organized by IFPRI, the Global Donor Platform, CCAFS, CGIAR, FIPA & IFAP, FAO, and IFAD.

Event schedule:
7:45 p.m. Opening remarks, Gerald C. Nelson, IFPRI
7:50 p.m. The potential of carbon crediting for restoring degraded grazing systems – considerations for project preparation, Qinghai, China, Pierre Gerber & Leslie Lipper, FAO
8 p.m. A winning scenario: Living in a changing climate, video presentation
8:10 p.m. Mitigation through agricultural development in Kenya, Johannes Woelke, The World Bank
8:20 p.m. Building the Base: Scientific Investments to Support Agricultural Mitigation, Christine Negra, The Heinz Center
8:30 p.m. Farmers’ perspective, Sarala Gopalan, National Institute of Agriculture, India
8:40 p.m. Question and answer, Moderated by Gerald C. Nelson, IFPRI
9:05 p.m. Concluding remarks, Wendy Mann, FAO