UAE vows to take action to tackle global food crisis, summit hears

Minister of Climate Change and Environment says country is committed to improving food security

Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security, has reiterated the UAE's stance on global food security. Pawan Singh / The National

The UAE is fully committed to tackling the global food crisis, according to Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security.

Ms Al Mheiri reiterated the country’s stance when speaking on the issue at the Uniting for Global Food Security conference in Berlin.

“The UAE pays the utmost attention to enhancing food security and tackling relevant challenges worldwide,” Ms Al Mheiri said.

“As a donor, a UN Security Council member, and the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (Cop 28) president, the country is committed to collective action to address the global food crisis and prevent further hunger.”

Ministers from the G7 countries, key donor nations, vulnerable and countries most affected by the crisis took part in the event, along with UN representatives and philanthropists.

Ms Al Mheiri also outlined areas that could make an immediate long-term difference.

These included channelling investment into more resilient food and water systems to create drought resistant crops and to enhance irrigation systems.

The joint UAE-US Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) project was given as an example of how nations could help to address the crisis.

The scheme aims to drive investment into sustainable programmes to help food producers cope with climate change and reduce the almost 33 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions caused by food production.

“I am happy to note here that AIM for Climate is now supported by a coalition of over 200 government and non-government partners, and that it intends to increase collective investment in sustainable and innovative food systems to $8 billion by Cop 27,” said Ms Al Mheiri — who offered another example of how the UAE was playing its part in tackling the crisis.

“To facilitate and expedite the transport of aid to those who need it most, we have established the International Humanitarian City, the largest humanitarian logistics hub in the world that is home to 54 humanitarian organisations and nine UN agencies.”

AIM for Climate was unveiled by the UAE and the US at President Joe Biden’s climate summit in April 2021. It now has 40 member nations and seeks to double its investment pot to $8 billion before Cop 27 climate talks in Egypt in November.

The money will drive research into boosting output to feed the world’s 800 million hungry people while cutting the industry’s planet-heating emissions.

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