Agri-food Transition Principles Discussion Paper

The document argues that current agri-food transition finance is often unambitious and lacks alignment with science-based pathways, particularly regarding scope 3 emissions. It introduces five Transition Principles and five Hallmarks to ensure that corporate transition plans are rooted in action rather than pledges, exclude offsets, and align with a 1.5°C trajectory. The paper also reviews various existing frameworks, such as SBTi FLAG and the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, to identify how they address broader goals like biodiversity, water use, and just transition.

• Existing agri-food transition finance instruments, specifically Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) and Use of Proceeds (UoP) bonds, are often viewed as unreliable due to a lack of scope 3 emissions coverage and a gap between corporate pledges and actual actions.
• Scope 3 emissions are critical in the agri-food sector, often accounting for the vast majority of a company's total footprint; for example, they represent 90% for Tesco, 96% for General Mills, and 98.9% for DLG Group.
• Climate Bonds proposes five Transition Principles for credible finance: alignment with a 1.5-degree trajectory, basing goals on science, excluding offsets in favor of internal decarbonization, prioritizing technological viability over economic competitiveness, and requiring concrete action over pledges.
• The proposed 'Hallmarks' framework for companies includes five requirements: Paris-aligned targets, robust plans (including financing and governance), implementation action (CapEx/OpEx), internal monitoring, and external reporting with independent verification.
• The Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) sector is uniquely positioned to reach net zero before 2050 and provide a negative emissions balance through carbon sequestration, provided it avoids deforestation and restores natural habitats.
• Economic activities in agri-food are categorized into four transition levels: 'near zero' (e.g., landscape restoration), 'pathway to net zero' (e.g., crop production), 'interim' (e.g., intensive livestock production), and 'stranded' (e.g., fossil fuel fertiliser manufacture).

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2022). Agri-food Transition Principles Discussion Paper. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/agri-food-transition-principles-fullv2_0-141122.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Agri-food Transition Principles Discussion Paper. 2022. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/agri-food-transition-principles-fullv2_0-141122.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Agri-food Transition Principles Discussion Paper |date=7 December 2022 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/agri-food-transition-principles-fullv2_0-141122.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2022agrifood, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Agri-food Transition Principles Discussion Paper}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/agri-food-transition-principles-fullv2_0-141122.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }