When: 10 December 2023 from 9:30 – 10:45 hrs UTC+4
Where: Hybrid event at the WHO and Wellcome Trust Health Pavilion, COP28, Dubai
Organizers: World Health Organization, UN-Nutrition, WHO Europe, YOUNGO, Brazil, Switzerland and the One Planet Network
The Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) launched at COP27 in Egypt catalyzes, mobilizes, connects, and advocates to address the critical climate change and nutrition nexus. I-CAN lays out strong scientific, programmatic, and policy links between climate and nutrition.
There are numerous policy options to incentivize dietary shifts and support innovative, sustainable practices at every stage of our food systems to support both nutrition and environmental goals. Policymakers and other food systems actors should work collaboratively to develop a coherent and bold mix of policies adapted to local contexts. WHO EURO, in collaboration with experts, has developed a Diet Impact Assessment (DIA) modelling tool that will enable Member States to analyze user-specific scenarios of dietary change to estimate the health, environmental, and cost burden of each scenario in terms of diet costs, avoidable deaths, changes in resource use and compatibility with global environmental targets, including those related to food-related greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and fertilizer application. This tool was developed following countries’ requests at an expert meeting on healthy diets and sustainable food systems in the WHO EURO region It brings together environmental and health parameters; practically demonstrating the integration of environment and health systems.
The One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme, which is being co-led by Switzerland, has been promoting the sustainable food systems approach since its launch in 2015, with a focus on multistakeholder participation and strengthening the interlinkages between food systems and related key policy areas including climate change and biodiversity.
This event will showcase and discuss the implementation of practical solutions including the DIA tool, to improve diets for both human and planetary health. Country representatives, youth and representatives of non-State Actors will share their experiences to address climate change and malnutrition in a joint manner.
Moderator
Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization
Speakers
- Omnia El Omrani, Youth Envoy for the President of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Gunhild Stordalen, Founder and Executive Chair, EAT
- Kremlin Wickramasinghe, Regional Advisor (Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity), WHO Regional Office for Europe
- Marco Springmann, Professor in Climate Change, Food Systems and Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine & Senior Researcher on Environment and Health, University of Oxford
- Gisele Bortolini, National Coordinator, National Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security, Ministry of Social Development, Brazil
- Alwin Kopse, Federal Office for Agriculture, Co-lead of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme and National Convenor of Switzerland
- Priyanka Patil, YOUNGO Agriculture Working Group and Mitigation Working Group, India