Finance and governance are two critical factors that play a central role in the development of sustainable food systems, including nature-positive resilient agriculture, circular food systems, sustainable lifestyles, and healthy diets. They serve as enabling conditions that provide the necessary frameworks, processes, structures, and resources for institutions to operate.
Sustainable food systems are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and all Rio Conventions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Sustainable food systems are also key to delivering on the Global Methane Pledge and the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns. Despite this, governments, financial institutions, and real economy actors continue to exacerbate the triple planetary crisis by financing unsustainable production and consumption practices and by providing environmental and socially harmful support to the agricultural and fisheries sectors.
The transition to sustainable food systems requires financial resources of up to USD 350 billion per year by 2030 (IFPRI, 2022). Public finance stands to play a crucial role in a sustainable transition through mobilising domestic revenues, creating fiscal space for sustainable finance, regulating public goods, incentivising more sustainable market practices and behaviours, and encouraging long-term benefits for people and nature.
Key actions on aligning economic and trade policies and finance with nature-positive, resilient, and equitable food system economy objectives will support this shift. These include economic analyses that feed into governments’ planning, carrying out market and technology feasibilities to ascertain the relevance, affordability, and scaling up the potential of a particular solution, and the use of trade-related and fiscal policy measures to align incentives and market signals with sustainable food system outcomes. Efficient and effective public finance measures, standards and guidance are critical for leveraging the investment that is needed to create the impetus for change.
UNEP’s role includes:
- Leveraging International Finance Climate Finance: Accessing international climate finance mechanisms, such as the Green Climate Fund, to support projects that promote sustainable food systems and resilience to climate change.
- Development Assistance: Utilizing international development assistance to fund sustainable agriculture initiatives and capacity-building efforts.
- Promoting Public-Private Partnerships Blended Finance: Encouraging blended finance models that combine public funds with private investment to support larger-scale sustainable agriculture projects.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Promoting CSR initiatives where private companies invest in sustainable food systems as part of their corporate responsibility programs.
