On November 22, the first "Dual Carbon Agriculture Summit Forum" was successfully held in Wuhan, China (China Carbon Deng Building). The AgFood Future Foundation was invited to participate.
The forum brought together domestic and foreign policymakers, industry experts and leaders, focusing on topics such as agricultural carbon emission technology innovation, practical operations, carbon asset development and trading mechanism construction, and jointly explored how the agricultural and food sectors can respond to climate change challenges and climate governance problems, and promote green, low-carbon and sustainable development. More than 100 experts and scholars from relevant competent departments, universities and research institutes, central enterprises and state-owned enterprises, carbon market support institutions, banks and international environmental protection organizations participated in the forum.
At present, the world is facing multiple challenges such as global warming, extreme weather, land degradation, and resource shortages. Data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) during COP29 showed that methane emissions caused by human activities account for about one-third of the current global warming gas emissions. In the agricultural and food sector, about 32% of methane emissions come from grazing livestock and manure. As the global population continues to grow and meat consumption increases significantly, this impact is bound to intensify . If we do not pay attention to the emission problems of the food system, especially animal husbandry, global resources and environment, food security, economic development and even human health and survival will face varying degrees of threats.
The successful holding of this conference not only provides a platform for communication among all sectors, but also deeply reflects the society's emphasis on and pursuit of sustainable development of agricultural food. The Center for a Sustainable Future will also actively participate and continue to cooperate with stakeholders in various fields to jointly explore a win-win development path for the economy and ecology.
Forum Highlights
At the meeting, Wang Hongling, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Li Zhitao, director of the Rural Department of the Soil and Agricultural Rural Ecological Environment Supervision Technical Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Xie Hongxing, secretary of the Party Committee of Hubei University, and Zhang Shimin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and general manager of Hubei Hongtai Group, delivered speeches.
The meeting believed that at the time when COP29, a global climate event, is being held, this summit forum focuses on dual-carbon agriculture, which is in response to the call of global climate governance and explores a path of green transformation of agriculture suitable for China's national conditions. It is of great significance to accelerate the research and development and application of green and low-carbon agricultural technologies and promote the improvement and development of the agricultural carbon market.
Professor Wang Hongling, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Chief Expert of the China Agriculture and Typical Industry Carbon Emission Reduction and Carbon Trading Research Center of Hubei University, emphasized that the holding of this summit forum is not only a positive response to the country's "dual carbon" strategic goals, but also an active exploration of the path of green and sustainable development in the agricultural field. At the same time, on behalf of the organizer, she said that in the future, the research center will continue to rely on China Carbon Registration and work with like-minded colleagues from all walks of life to make Hubei Wuhan Carbon Market a national and world-renowned carbon market business card, helping Wuhan become a global carbon trading registration center, a national carbon market core hub center, and a national carbon financial center.
Li Peiyi, Executive Director of the Center for a Sustainable Future, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech, deeply discussing the core role of protein innovation in promoting the sustainable development of global agricultural food. She pointed out that protein innovation is not only related to global food security, feed safety and climate action, but also a key component of China's food safety strategy . Through innovative technologies such as plant-based, precision fermentation, and cell-cultured meat, the transformation and upgrading of the food system can be promoted, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. At the same time, the global investment trend in the field of protein innovation and China's consumption and self-sufficiency of all types of protein such as meat, eggs, and milk in recent years were analyzed, showing the huge potential and growth rate in this field. It was also stated that by implementing systematic changes and multi-party collaboration, fundamental problems can be solved and the transformation and sustainable development of the agricultural food industry can be promoted.