Comments attributable to NFF President David Jochinke
I had the privilege this past week of representing Australian farmers at the COP28 summit in Dubai for the first time as NFF President.
My time there highlighted to me how critical it is that farmers are represented in these global discussions where decisions being made about our livelihoods.
We’re proud of the leadership Australia demonstrated at this year’s COP – both at an industry and government level.
We saw advocacy by Minister Bowen contribute to a more ambitious plan to tackle climate change in a meaningful and equitable way.
We also saw a global alliance of farming groups led by Australia call for genuine action, including through investment in research to deliver lower emissions agriculture without sacrificing productivity.
It’s critical that we step up and be part of these discussions and help steer the agenda.
The risks if we don’t are real – both in terms of the impact of climate change, and the impact of policies which might limit food and fibre production in the pursuit of net zero.
This was evidenced at COP28 by a report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The FAO’s report was a shallow desktop study that defaulted to lazy recommendations about shifting food sources. These ideas ignore the facts and science supporting sustainable rangeland grazing systems in places like Australia, which play a critical role in feeding the world in a climate friendly way.
It is critical that Australia continues to demonstrate its climate leadership on the world stage. This includes advancing evidence-based pathways to net zero that take into account Australia’s unique and world-leading farming systems.
I’m proud that the NFF in partnership with the Australian Government and farming organisations around the world is starting to have an impact in the global climate debate.
We can rise to the dual challenges of climate change and global food security, and farmers having a seat at the table is critical to ensuring we do this in a responsible way.
