FAO at Africa Climate Week and Africa Climate Summit
The Africa Climate Summit is taking place in Nairobi from 4-6 September 2023 in conjunction with UNFCCC Africa Climate Week taking place from 4-8 September, also hosted in Nairobi.
During the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week FAO will demonstrate its leadership in transforming agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient as laid out in FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-2031, the Strategy on Climate Change 2022-2031 and its Action Plan.
Join the events to learn about FAO’s work.
FAO side events
September 5
High-Level event: Sustainable Investment, Consumption and Production in the Green and Blue Economies
Date: 5 September 2023
Time: 11:00–13:00
Location: First Lady’s Pavilion, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The event will discuss how the continent can achieve resilient, secure and nutritious food supply and increased value addition and diversification including adopting green technologies to meet the growing demands in the face of climate change while minimizing and mitigating the impact on the environment, population movements of forced displacement, migration, and society.
Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and United Nations Kenya.
Climate Finance for Adaptation in Agriculture and Food Security in Africa
Date: 5 September 2023
Time: 13:00-14:00
Location: Lenana, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The High-Level event will identify key finance, policy, innovation and knowledge interventions that will enhance climate resilience and adaptation in agrifood systems. The event will showcase how supporting the development of nutrition-sensitive agrifood systems can withstand climate-related challenges while simultaneously fostering economic growth in the region. Additionally, it will showcase nutrition-sensitive agrifood systems, improve the livelihoods of local farmers and food producers, as well as enhancing food and nutrition security.
Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens
September 6
Unlocking sustainable and fair investment in Nature-based Solutions for Climate Action in Africa (peatlands and forests).
Date: 6 September 2023
Time: 14:00–15:30
Location: Taifa Hall, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The side event will explore the vital significance of forests and peatlands in the fight against climate change. The discussion will centre around addressing gaps in scientific knowledge and understanding on opportunities for investing in the protection and restoration of peatlands in Africa. The event will also highlight the importance of collaboration and partnerships in Africa to accelerate efforts for the advancement of Land and Water Climate Breakthroughs. Additionally, the event will examine critical criteria that should be taken into account to achieve a more equitable carbon pricing system. This carbon pricing mechanism should ensure the long-term sustainability of both ecosystems and the essential services they provide to humanity, the environment, and the climate.
Organized by United Nations Environment Programme, Global Peatlands Initiative, UN-REDD; The Climate Champions – Accenture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Wetlands International, African Forest Forum (AFF), CongoPeat Project, and Greifswald Mire Center.
September 7
Adapting agrifood systems and ensuring food security in Africa amidst climate change
Date: 7 September 2023
Time: 13:30-14:30
Location: Amphi Caucus 1, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, room tbc
The event will identify the policy and finance levers needed to ensure the adaptation of agrifood systems in Africa to enhance food security. Speakers from national governments, research, development partners, and farmers’ organizations will identify key finance, policy, innovation and knowledge interventions that will enhance climate resilience and adaptation in agriculture.
Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.
Nature as the Backbone for Climate and Biodiversity Solution
Date: 7 September 2023
Time: 13:30-14:30
Location: Tafia Hall, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, room tbc.
Climate change, biodiversity loss and development in Africa cannot be addressed separately. They must be solved together and with equal urgency. Healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems are fundamental in regulating climate through mitigation and adaptation, giving communities the resilience to withstand impacts of climate change.
This side event seeks to build momentum and promote nature-based solutions as a means for co-implementing the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to address biodiversity loss and climate change. Governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, youth, the private sector and civil society will present different nature-based solutions.
Organized by United Nations Environment Programme, African Wildlife Foundation, and supported by African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Africa Development Bank, African Group of Negotiators for Biodiversity, African Wildlife Foundation, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Worldwide Fund for Nature.
Supporting smallholder climate adaptation from seeds to basin
Date: 7 September 2023
Time: 15:00-16:00
Location: Karre Mountain, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, room tbc
The event brings together different actors to discuss how climate adaptation for farmers requires a systems-based approach to identify climate hazards, prioritise adaptation solutions and evaluate impacts. The panelists will discuss the role of the latest digital and remote sensing innovations in supporting user-oriented agronomic solution bundles and scaling up efforts 'from seeds to basin' to ensure sustainable climate adaptation with mitigation co-benefits.
Organized by the International Water Management Institute, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Ministry of Water Sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya, IHE Delft Institute for Water Irrigation, the World Bank, and the Alliance Bioversity – CIAT.
Building adaptation and resilience across systems: Rallying action for the implementation of the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda from the Africa wide region
Date: 7 September 2023
Time: 16:30–17:30
Location: Karre Mountain, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
This session will explore and take stock of Adaptation and Resilience (A&R) action on the ground across systems in Africa, and explore ways of mobilizing support towards scaling-up implementation of adaptation solutions. The event will bring together key non-party stakeholders showcasing A&R work and initiatives with impacts on the ground illustrating adaptation and resilience action across systems and providers of support. It will also discuss how such actions are contributing to global and/or regional or country signals of change across systems and what key enablers and obstacles exist to further advance A&R.
Organized by High Level Climate Champions, Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, and supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
September 8
From Farm to Fork – what is required to pivot agriculture and food systems towards food secure, climate resilient outcomes
Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 10:00-11:00
Location: Aberdare, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The dialogue will explore essential policy, finance and technical interventions that will deliver sustainable agriculture, and improved food security outcomes in Africa, and contribute to the Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda on agriculture. A study commissioned by IUCN for the Climate Champions in 2021 showed that a regenerative, sustainable agriculture model can add tens of billions to the economy, improve farmer livelihoods, food security and nutrition outcomes, and, when managed well, will reduce pressure on the land, sequester carbon, enhance biodiversity and support conservation.
Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the High Level Climate Champions team for Africa.
Coproduction of climate services for adaptation and resilience in agriculture
Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 12:30-13:30
Location: Amphi Caucus 1, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
Changes in the onset and duration of rainy seasons, as well as the occurrence of more frequent and intense extreme weather events like drought are disrupting the sustainability and resilience of agrifood systems and are adversely affecting the achievement of efforts to end hunger and malnutrition as elaborated in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.
The provision of climate services, ranging from seasonal forecasts to climate change projections, are a pillar enhancing the resilience of farmers to climate hazards and climate change. Climate services are key to anticipatory action in the face of climate hazards in the agriculture sector. Among the key action areas, Article 7 of the Paris Agreement identifies the need to strengthen scientific knowledge on climate, including research, systematic observation of the climate system and early warning systems, in a manner that informs climate services and supports decision-making. However reaching farmers and other relevant decision makers with timely, reliable and actionable climate information and ensuring their uptake and use remains a major challenge. This side event will showcase good practices on participatory approaches that integrate local and indigenous voices, knowledge and experience into seasonal climate advisories, taking examples from Eastern Africa.
Organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, Impact Kenya and Adaptation Consortium Kenya.UNFCCC TEC Dialogue: Developing and strengthening national systems of innovation to drive climate action
Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 12:30-14:30
Location: Kenyatta International Convention Centre, room tbc
The Technology Executive Committee (TEC) that focuses on National Systems of Innovation (NSI) has developed a summary aimed at policymakers and stakeholders, in accordance with guidance from Parties and the latest IPCC findings. The aim is to compile best practices and lessons learned related to the setup and implementation of NSIs. This event will provide an opportunity to present and discuss the findings from the NSI compilation and address regional challenges.
Organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and Technology Executive Committee under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
Taking Integrated Action on Climate and Nutrition: Introducing I-CAN
Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 15:00-16:00
Location: River Limpopo, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The Government of Egypt at COP27, in partnership with WHO, FAO, GAIN, SUN, the UN-Nutrition secretariat and other partners, developed a multistakeholder, multisectoral global flagship initiative that will help foster collaboration to accelerate transformative action to address the critical nexus of climate change and nutrition. The Initiative for Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) aims to build a strong alliance across nutrition and climate communities, strengthen existing efforts and take action to address the gaps, and develop an evidence base of integrated nutrition and climate action.
This event will introduce the I-CAN vision and objectives; illustrate the co-benefits of integrated action for the environment and nutrition; present initial findings on the current state of this integrated action with a specific focus African countries; showcase the ambition of national governments, best practices, and tangible examples of action; and present some of the support available to governments in developing cross-cutting policies.
Organized by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the World Health Organization, Scaling Up Nutrition, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Climate, peace, and food systems: empowering Africa’s resilient solutions.
Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 16:30–17:30
Location: Mount Nimba, Kenyatta International Convention Centre
The event aims to showcase the success stories of African communities that have embraced sustainable practices, climate adaptation strategies, and peacebuilding efforts. By recognizing and promoting these local initiatives, the event seeks to inspire and mobilize stakeholders at all levels to scale up climate finance access for fragile and conflict-affected countries, to support and replicate successful models that integrate peace and resilience into Africa's food systems.
Organized by the Humanitarian -Development-Peace Nexus Coalition, the United Nations Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, Welthungerhilfe, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, CGIAR, the Climate Resilient Food Systems Alliance, and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.