U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry called for partnering and accelerating investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation during the final day of the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM) for Climate Summit.
“Innovation is not only key to continuing to feed the world in a changing climate, but also to creating even more modern, resilient, and prosperous food systems,” Kerry said, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture May 10.
Kerry said AIM for Climate leads the way on climate-smart agriculture innovation that delivers on mitigation, adaptation, and agricultural productivity priorities, according to the release.
“I’m proud that AIM for Climate partners have already exceeded the $10 billion investment commitment goal set last year at COP27 and know that the collaborations taking place at the AIM for Climate Summit will help catalyze even greater impact on the road to COP28 in Dubai and beyond,” Kerry said at the conference, according to the news release
At the summit, held May 8-10 in Washing, D.C., AIM for Climate partners announced investments and actions to push the initiative toward COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference, scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November, the news release reports.
Nobel Laureate and University of Chicago Professor Michael Kremer launched the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture initiative, which encourages innovation in climate, food security, and agriculture. The Commission will mobilize greater investments and institutional support to scale up agriculture and climate innovations globally, according to the release.
AgroSpace was named the winner of the AIM for Climate Grand Challenge: Leveraging the Power of AI and Machine Learning and will receive a $5 million worth of in-kind resources develop its project, “Revolutionizing Remote Sensing for Food Security.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, speaking at the closing plenary, highlighted the growth of the AIM for Climate initiative and the importance of continuing to pursue its climate-smart goals, the release states.
“This is a pivotal moment as we empower agriculture to be part of the solution to address the climate crisis," Vilsack said in his remarks. "Time is short and coordination, collaboration and significant investment in research, development and innovation will help us to achieve more, faster, and deploy much-needed innovations and market incentives into the hands of farmers.”
“The United States fully appreciates the partners who are increasing investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation," Vilsack said, "and the AIM for Climate Summit is an important step towards sharing priorities and actions, as well as aligning priorities and objectives ahead of the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference.”
