From negotiation to implementation: Lessons learned and opportunities for Latin America on the Road to COP31
Bringing decisions from international climate negotiations into concrete actions that truly benefit food producers remains one of the major challenges of the global agenda for COP31.
- Climate Action
- climate change
- food security
From negotiation to implementation: Lessons learned and opportunities for Latin America on the Road to COP31
Bringing decisions from international climate negotiations into concrete actions that truly benefit food producers remains one of the major challenges of the global agenda for COP31.
As climate change increasingly impacts agricultural systems and food security, Latin America and the Caribbean face the challenge of turning commitments discussed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) into adaptation measures that respond to producers’ needs on the ground. With this purpose, government representatives and technical experts from across the region gathered for three days in Palmira, Colombia, at an event organized by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Latin American and Caribbean Platform for Climate Action on Agriculture (PLACA), to discuss the future of agriculture and food security within international climate negotiations.
Beyond the technical presentations and hybrid discussion spaces, which included invited experts from Germany, Andorra, Australia, Spain, Sweden, and Türkiye representing national delegations, international organizations, and UNFCCC bodies, the Second Regional Dialogue for Negotiators on Agriculture and Food Security left a shared sense of urgency, collaboration, and regional opportunity.
“How can we move from commitments to implementation?” and “How can the region advance in a coordinated way around shared priorities?” were perhaps the key questions that shaped the discussions throughout the event.
In a context where agriculture faces growing climate-related impacts — from droughts and floods to production losses and pressure on food systems — the region recognizes the importance of actively participating in climate discussion spaces and building a coordinated and solid regional position with clear priorities that reflect its diversity. At the same time, there is consensus that the challenge does not end with agreements: it also involves translating them into financing, capacities, technology, and concrete actions that benefit producers across territories.