COP26

Brighter Green attended COP26, and participated in an official side event on November 9, called No More Omissions: Addressing the Ambition and Scale of Change Required in Global Food Systems. You can watch this and other side events on the UNFCC’s YouTube channel.

The side event was hosted by Brighter Green Executive Director Mia MacDonald, and focused on the scale of change in food systems needed to have a meaningful impact to meet the Paris Commitment goals. The panelists were:

  • Sabrina Ahmed, Vegan Society
  • Barry Gardiner MP, UK Parliament
  • Juliette Tronchon, ProVeg International
  • Carina Millstone, Feedback
  • Ashley Yong, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
  • Nick Palmer, Compassion in World Farming
  • Lana Weidgenant, Zero Hour

Partners for the event included Brighter Green, Humane Society International, and ISEE. As a part of the conference, we hosted a virtual exhibit with ProVeg International, which you can see here.

Supporting the Work of Climate Activist, Vanessa Nakate

Watch Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate’s speech at COP26, “Humanity will not be saved by promises:”

We urge everyone to pick up a copy of Vanessa Nakate’s book, “A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis.” The book makes the case for building a livable future for all. In both environmental and social justice communities, people from the global south are often not at the table when solutions to climate change are discussed. This important book tackles the issue head on.

Sign on Letter: Recognize the Climate Impact of Animal Agriculture at COP26

Brighter Green joined Humane Society International and over 50 organizations in signing on to an open letter to Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, president of the COP26 climate change conference organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), calling on the UNFCCC to publicly recognize the impact animal agriculture has on the planet at this year’s conference.

Sign on Letter: Healthy and Sustainable Food at UN Conferences

Brighter Green signed on to an open letter, written by Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and youth climate activists, urging leaders of COP26 and other UN Conferences to ensure catering future UN events provide catering in line with the three principles for healthy and sustainable diets.

Sign On Letter: Carbon Pricing Food

Brighter Green signed on to an open letter, hosted by the Carbon Pricing for Food Coalition, urging heads of state of the UN Member States with the highest meat consumption per capita to apply carbon pricing on foods, based on their carbon emissions.

Sign On Letter: Office of Management and Budget

Brighter Green signed on to a letter urging the President’s FY23 budget request include $5.8 billion for international climate finance. This increased funding request over FY22 is a mid-step to meeting the President’s pledge to deliver $11.4 billion a year in international climate finance by FY24. It is important that these funding levels also be requested as part of a strong, overall funding request for international poverty-fighting and conservation efforts.

Compassion in World Farming Petition

Brighter Green signed on to a petition urging government leaders to create food systems change that would reduce the number of intensive animal agriculture operations substantially.

Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture Process

This fall, Brighter Green worked with ProVeg International, 50by40, and other partners to write a submission to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) process – the formal process for discussions on agriculture and climate change within the UNFCCC – to inform its final workshop, as well as the COP26 negotiations overall. The submission calls for a shift away from intensive livestock production in order to reduce global GHGs.

COP26 News Roundup

Our Continued Work

Brighter Green continues to work with global partners to advance policies that prioritize the climate, biodiversity, and wild and domesticated animals. Now more than ever, we must address our food system, and specifically unsustainable forms of livestock production, in order to reach the Paris Climate Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.