Facing into the next quarter century, humanity faces two existential challenges: how to produce food and nutrition security for a population estimated at 9.5 billion in 2050 compared with the present 8 billion, while restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
In recent years three international conferences have laid the foundations to address these challenges. Ireland has played a significant role at each conference.
In September 2021 United Nations (UN) secretary general António Guterres convened the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) on the premise that achieving sustainable food systems will be essential in delivering the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the world’s development agenda to 2030, while 155 countries committed to transform their food systems, involving collaboration between governments, the private sector and civil society. President Michael D Higgins and then taoiseach Micheál Martin played a prominent role in providing political leadership and policy ideas to the summit.
In December 2021 the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Tokyo succeeded previous N4G summits in London in 2013 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. These summits recognised the central importance of good nutrition in building a country’s human capital and as the basis for future economic and social development. In Tokyo, Ireland committed €800 million to nutrition programming over 2022-2026 which, on a per capita basis, represented the highest contribution of any country present.
At Cop28 in Dubai in December 2023, with the benefit of strong leadership from the UAE Cop presidency, 159 countries signed the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action. This was the first time since the Cop process on climate change started in Germany in 1995 that a significant outcome linking climate and food was delivered. Minister Eamon Ryan has also played a leading role at recent Cop meetings dealing with the creation of a loss and damage fund and a climate finance package.
Each of these conferences will meet again in 2025: N4G in Paris in March, UNFSS+4 in September and Cop30 in Brazil in November. Countries will report on their progress, or lack of it, against their commitments made at earlier meetings.
Ireland has a unique opportunity during 2025 to play a leadership role across the upcoming conferences, given its performance at the recent conferences and its longer-term credibility within the UN on peace and development issues.
In doing so, it should stress the interconnection between the underlying issues these conferences will deal with: food and nutrition security; human capital and health; climate justice and action; the synergies between these issues at national and international level; and the need for longer-term implementation strategies if significant change is to be achieved.
Lessons can be drawn from two examples in recent decades when Ireland succeeded in influencing international policy and in protecting its vital national interest.
In 2008, the report of the Irish Hunger Task Force led to Ireland having a significant influence on international food and nutrition security policy in the 2008-2013 period. Post the Brexit decision in June 2016, a well conceived and executed political and diplomatic campaign succeeded in minimising the potential major damage to Ireland’s political and economic interests.
Both these initiatives succeeded because there was broad political consensus, including support from Opposition parties, backed up by a wider societal consensus. The political consensus meant policy continuity: when the government changed in 2011 and 2017, the policy remained unchanged. Well co-ordinated cross-departmental implementation arrangements were another key factor.
In the case of the Hunger Task Force report the societal consensus meant all major Irish NGOs supported the report’s recommendations and adjusted their own programmes to enable shared learning with Irish Aid. The All-Island Brexit Civic Forum facilitated discussion with the social partners on the evolving Brexit negotiations.
The other key factor in both cases was the investment in strategic partnerships with governments, institutions and individuals who supported the Irish case. Should these lessons be applied to the 2025 conferences, planning should revolve around three principles: political prioritisation, policy coherence and partnerships to advocate for policy change.
An early decision by the incoming government to prioritise an integrated food/health/climate strategy at the 2025 conferences would be a powerful signal of political intent. It would enable relevant Oireachtas committees to forge a broad political consensus on the strategy, which in turn could facilitate a societal consensus.
Developing an integrated strategy will be challenging and will require cross-departmental co-ordination arrangements not currently in place.
Ireland’s international advocacy is most credible when it can be supported by evidence from its domestic policy. “Practise what you preach” is a powerful maxim. In 2018 taoiseach Leo Varadkar truthfully acknowledged to the European Parliament Ireland was “a laggard” in its climate policy. In 2024 this is no longer the case. Ireland’s 2023 Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets for reduction in emissions and improvement in water quality and biodiversity.
Food Vision 2030 has as its central objective a commitment that Ireland will be an international leader in sustainable food systems by 2030.
So Ireland has in place climate and food policies which are fully supported by the government, are internationally credible and about which annual implementation reports are published. Although both policies face implementation challenges, there is a solid basis for framing a credible advocacy policy at each of the 2025 conferences.
Cop30 should present an opportunity to advocate for policies aligned with long-term Irish interests. The Brazilian presidency will prioritise further development of the Emirates Declaration.
In addition, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has established the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, which aims to harness political drive, enable resource mobilisation and align national and international support to policies aimed at combating hunger and property. This should go hand in hand with commitments to long-term policies enabling food to be produced with a lower environmental footprint and more diverse cropping patterns which are resilient to future climate change. Ireland has agreed to join this alliance.
Forging strategic partnerships was key to the success of the Hunger Task Force initiative and the Brexit strategy. For Ireland to maximise its influence on policy change at the 2025 conferences a similar approach will be needed. Fortunately, we can build on existing strong relationships with the European Union, the UN, the United States and the African Union to seek alignment of policy priorities and opportunities to advocate for policy change.
The British government is committed to positively engage in a range of multilateral initiatives, reversing the insularity and negativity of successive Conservative governments since 2016. As part of the reset in Irish/UK relations announced by Taoiseach Simon Harris and prime minister Keir Starmer there is scope for innovative Irish/UK collaboration at the 2025 conferences, akin to the positive relations the governments shared in promoting international food and nutrition security during the 2008-2013 period.
Each of the three conferences in 2025 will require a tailored and differentiated approach, albeit with a common strategic thread which should include a strong focus on gender equality. Any partnership will need to identify shared policy ground, following which specific advocacy priorities for the particular conference should be agreed.
If Ireland delivers on a credible food/health/climate strategy for the 2025 conferences this should open longer-term possibilities for Irish political leadership and diplomacy. During 2025 attention will turn to the framework to succeed the SDGs which were delivered in 2015 under Irish and Kenyan leadership. If Ireland can demonstrate its commitment to an integrated food/health/climate strategy, both in its domestic policy and through its foreign policy, it will bring practical experience of a vital priority for whatever new framework emerges.
The three international conferences in 2025 offer a sliver of positivity in an otherwise grim geopolitical situation, including the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan. This is all the more reason why Ireland should seize the opportunity, along with its chosen partners, of optimising the possibilities arising from these conferences.
Tom Arnold is chair of the Ireland Africa Rural Development Committee
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