Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP28, will be the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from November 30 until December 12 at the Expo City, Dubai.

I would like to highlight that as part of the COP28 preparations, the COP Presidency has set out within their Action Agenda a focus on putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action. The COP Presidency has signalled that the link between climate policy and food will be a key priority for COP28 which fits within a broader political context of seeing the role of food systems as a catalyst for achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

This is the first time in COP's history that the COP presidency has prioritised the link between climate and food. It will be key for Ireland to support this linkage and to highlight the food systems focus of our Food Vision 2030 strategy, the importance of a low carbon livestock system as a component of the food system and the need to support the sustainability of farm families around the world.

A key political objective of COP will be to agree a first ever Leaders Declaration on Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Action. The COP28 Presidency has put forward the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action for collective action to achieve the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The promotion of the climate and food agenda internationally can bring economic benefits and further strengthen the links between the agri-food and the environmental sectors. A key element of the declaration is a voluntary commitment to incorporate food systems and agriculture into National Climate Action Plans by 2025 and this is central to our Food Vision 2030 strategy.

I am scheduled to travel to COP 28 to coincide with the food, agriculture, nature and land use thematic days of the 9th and 10th of December. I, together with my officials, are working on developing an itinerary that will allow me to participate in and engage at events and meetings where I will be seeking to share the good work that is ongoing in Ireland with other parties through our implementation of Ireland’s Food Vision 2030 Strategy, 2023 Climate Action Plan and our increased investment in Agri Climate focused research.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Irish delegation attending COP 28 safe travel and every good fortune in their engagements.