A US$7.3 trillion coalition convened by investor network FAIRR has called on G20 finance ministers to align agricultural support with climate and nature goals by 2030. Supported by 32 investors, including Legal & General Investment Management and BNP Paribas, the investor statement calls for the repurposing of agricultural subsidies to align with government, multilateral, and private sector commitments to transition to net zero and protect and restore nature by 2050. Subsidies and other incentives make up around 15% of total agricultural production value globally, and can incentivise the over-production and over-consumption of greenhouse gas-intensive agricultural products. The UN has identified almost US$470 billion of annual subsidies that are price distorting, as well as environmentally and socially harmful, representing 87% of all agricultural subsidies worldwide. Subsidy regimes are estimated to drive US$4-6 trillion of economic costs per year through damage to nature. Jeremy Coller, Founder of theFAIRR Initiative, said: “Globally, governments are setting bold climate and nature goals, but in the same breath are undermining those ambitions with almost US$500 billion in harmful agricultural subsidies for high-emitting commodities such as red meat. It’s time for the G20 to listen to investors’ call to support a sustainable food industry and offer reassurance that governments’ left hand knows what the right hand is doing.”
A group of 32 investors managing $7.3 trillion in assets have urged the G20 group of wealthier countries to align agricultural subsidies with their climate and nature goals by the end of the decade @FAIRRInitiative https://t.co/cw7vkYxR3f
— Changing Markets Foundation (@ChangingMarkets) August 23, 2023
