G20 agriculture and water ministers set agenda for responsible investments in agrifood systems but fail to agree on climate change language

Agriculture and water ministers from the G20 countries met jointly for the first time Sept. 12 to discuss COVID-19 response, food security, responsible agriculture investment, and sustainable water management. The meeting of the two groups, under the Saudi G20 Presidency, reflects the importance of the sustainable water-energy-food nexus. The ministers agreed to strengthen policy cooperation in these areas but held off on issuing a joint communiqué, lacking consensus on language related to the threat of climate change.

Participants recognized the continued challenge posed by the pandemic and reaffirmed their commitments, made in a special April 21 meeting of agriculture ministers, to cooperate closely and take concrete and effective actions to safeguard global food security and nutrition and avoid unjust restrictive (trade) measures that could provoke excessive food price volatility. Whether or not due to such calls made by the G20, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and others, food-export restrictions introduced since March have been limited and short-lived (see IFPRI’s food trade policy tracker for detailed information).

Photo credit: G20