How can communications support food systems transformation in a triple-COP year?
“And of course it’s a triple-COP year!”
If you work in or adjacent to environmental policy, you have no doubt heard this refrain on multiple occasions in the past few months. It refers to the fact that the three major UN environmental Conferences of the Parties (COPs) are all taking place within the space of a few months in the second half of 2026.
We are fresh on the heels of UNCCD COP17, focused on desertification, land degradation and drought, which took place in Mongolia at the end of last month. October will see the great and the good of the nature sector descend on Armenia for CBD COP17, or ‘biodiversity COP’, before November ushers in UNFCCC COP31 – the ‘climate COP’, and perhaps the most well-known of the three conferences outside environmental circles.
The opportunity of a triple-COP year for food systems
Holding all three COPs within a short period creates momentum for governments, businesses, funders and civil society to push for integrated policies and financing, rather than treating the issues of land, nature and climate separately. For those focused on food systems, this succession of COPs offers a significant opportunity to demonstrate the value of food systems transformation across all three Rio Conventions (as the UNCCD, CBD and UNFCCC are collectively known), and to influence the policy and funding decisions that the conventions precipitate.
Arguably, nothing unites land use, nature and climate more intrinsically than our food systems. They are the primary driver of biodiversity loss, and responsible for a third of anthropogenic Greenhouse gas emissions, while 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture. Transforming our food system holds the key to achieving commitments made across all three Rio Conventions, but siloed approaches to date are hampering progress.
Food systems narratives can catalyse synergies and drive investment
The question we as food systems communicators should be asking is: how can we position food systems transformation as the primary framework through which these synergies can be achieved?
The examples are numerous and compelling. Take agroforestry, a regenerative farming practice that involves integrating trees into agricultural landscapes. The presence of trees on farmland improves soil quality via erosion control, moisture retention and the addition of organic matter. Trees create habitats for birds, mammals and insects, while also sequestering carbon dioxide and boosting climate resilience by moderating temperature and providing protection from extreme weather events. The benefits don’t end there. Trees can provide fruit, nuts, timber, fodder or fuelwood, reducing farmers’ reliance on a single crop and spreading financial risk through a diversified income. Social enterprise One Acre Fund notes that every $1 invested in their tree-planting programme generated $10.40 of asset value for participating farm families.
The financial impact is key because money talks. There is an acute awareness amongst those involved in COP convenings that the time for commitments and goals has come and gone. Now, implementation is the order of the day. But implementation requires finance (both public and private), and finance requires a return on investment. Investors will be looking for places to put their money where they can be sure of positive returns, not just environmentally, but economically too.
A successful ‘triple-COP’ narrative for food systems needs to demonstrate that transformative solutions that simultaneously address desertification, biodiversity loss and climate change are sound investments, with the economic benefits of enhanced resilience rippling far beyond the initial outlay. Take this opinion article that we placed in TIME ahead of Finance Day at UNCCD COP17. It makes the economic case for the restoration of rangelands, which are highly significant ecosystems for food and fibre production, as well as biodiversity protection. By highlighting the multiple co-benefits of restoration, including improved livelihoods and reduced agricultural methane emissions, the piece illustrates that synergistic approaches can unlock significant return on investment while addressing multiple impact areas.
Finding the right messengers
A strong narrative is only as powerful as the people telling it. If we want the case for food systems transformation to land, we need a broader and more diverse range of messengers – particularly farmers and frontline leaders who can speak from direct experience about what transformation looks like in practice. Through our work with the Action on Food Hub and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Greenhouse has helped to equip and coordinate new voices to engage with the media at Rio Convention COPs, bringing greater credibility and real-world experience to the wider food systems transformation narrative.
The power of a shared narrative
It’s critical for all those working in or adjacent to food systems issues to break out of siloes and start telling a joined-up story about the positive impacts of transformation across land restoration, biodiversity and climate. Every day, droughts, wildfires and coral bleaching remind us that nature does not divide its crises into siloes, and neither should we. Now is the time to unite around an interconnected response.
If you are an organisation working in the food space and are looking to ensure your messaging acknowledges the deep synergies across climate, land health and biodiversity, we’d love to help. You can get in touch via info@greenhouse.agency.
