Context

• India is among 27 countries to sign up to a sustainable agriculture action agenda at the conclusion of the first week of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, laying out new commitments to make farming more sustainable and less polluting.

About COP26 action agenda on Sustainable Farming

• The ‘Sustainable Agriculture Policy Action Agenda for the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture and Global Action Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture’ was among the highlight action pledges to be clinched by the participating countries at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The countries laid out new commitments to change their agricultural policies to become more sustainable and less polluting, and to invest in the science needed for sustainable agriculture and for protecting food supplies against climate change.

  

• The announcement follows Ocean Action Day on Friday of over 10 new countries signing up to the “30by30” target to protect 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.
• These include India, Bahrain, Jamaica, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, Samoa, Tonga, Gambia and Georgia, with the target now supported by over 100 countries.

Climate Change Action Plan

• The World Bank will commit to spending USD 25 billion in climate finance annually to 2025 through its Climate Change Action Plan, including a focus on agriculture and food systems.
• The Climate Change Action Plan 2021–2025 aims to advance the climate change aspects of the WBG’s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) approach, which pursues poverty eradication and shared prosperity with a sustainability lens.
• In the Action Plan, world bank will support countries and private sector clients to maximize the impact of climate finance, aiming for measurable improvements in adaptation and resilience and measurable reductions in GHG emissions.
• The Action Plan also considers the vital importance of natural capital, biodiversity, and ecosystems services and will increase support for nature-based solutions, given their importance for both mitigation and adaptation.