Strategic financing is essential to an effective climate change strategy

5 December 2023, Dubai, UAE — The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) co-hosted a side event at COP28 entitled “ At the crossroads between productivity and mitigation: financing the transition of agriculture ” bringing together experts from government, research, the private sector and finance institutions to discuss the cross-sectoral, interconnected and boundary-pushing solutions that are shaping climate finance today to help the agriculture sector balance mitigation and productivity objectives.

More specifically, they aimed to establish the link between finance and innovation in an agricultural context and share best practices in leveraging or implementing innovative financial mechanisms to transform agriculture successfully.

Rice, the world’s most consumed staple, is responsible for 10% of global methane emissions . It is the second biggest methane source in agriculture after livestock. In Southeast Asia where the majority of rice is grown, rice cultivation accounts for 25-33% of the region’s methane emissions. And in rice-producing countries, the percentage of contribution is almost comparable to the transport sector’s. Therefore, concerted efforts on a global scale are needed to reduce its negative impact and create effective adaptation mechanisms for economies and societies.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Pham Ngoc Mau, Deputy Director General of the Department for International Cooperation, Government of Vietnam, presented the country’s progress towards achieving the ambitious goal of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). He emphasized that by 2050, the country plans to have net zero GHG emissions in the agriculture sector. On the way to achieve this goal, they aim to cover one million hectares of targeted cultivated area with high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta by 2030.

Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander, IRRI’s Country Representative in Thailand and Senior Scientist for Climate Change highlighted two…