A dozen of the world’s largest agricultural commodity trading companies promised in Glasgow to deliver a high ambition roadmap to 1.5°C for the agri-commodity sector by COP27. The Roadmap was published on the 7th by TFA and the WEF, but very discreetly announced at the Forest and Climate Leader Partnership.
No wonder, as preliminary information on its content already indicated that there was a dramatic lack of ambition, and has generated negative reactions from the UK and US governments. More than 80 Brazilian and global NGOs also signed a Manifesto asking for the immediate end of all commodity-related deforestation and conversion.
This matters a lot, as the soy, beef and palm oil sectors alone are responsible for about half of all agricultural land-conversion related GHG emissions, and these few companies together represent a dominant share of all forest and ecosystem-risk commodities´ trade. Recent studies highlight the urgency of eliminating commodity-driven deforestation and conversion, for the agricultural sector to do its fair share of contributions to a 1.5°C pathway.
The “Agriculture Sector Roadmap To 1.5°C” published on Monday falls far short. Soy-related deforestation will be able to continue at least until 2025, and legal savannah conversion forever. Cattle will also be able to encroach on forests and savannahs in the foreseeable future, setting their ambition only to achieve legal compliance.
By announcing a future restriction on deforestation, as well as focusing only on forests, the roadmap not only enshrines business-as-usual, it incentivizes the legally-permissible conversion of the Cerrado savannah. Business-as-usual in the Amazon and Cerrado currently means losing over 2 million hectares of ecosystems annually. Considering that the global forest loss is about 10 million hectares annually, this is a huge amount.
In practical terms, this roadmap cannot fulfill any promise to contribute to the 1.5°C goal. On the contrary, it reinforces our suicidal rush towards a 3°C global warming hell.