Developing a pathway for food systems transformation

The briefing highlights that while food systems contribute over 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, there is no cohesive global pathway with clear targets and timelines to reach net zero. Current efforts, such as the FAO roadmap, are deemed insufficient because they omit the need to reduce animal-sourced product consumption and lack key biodiversity targets. The author notes that while over 55 relevant targets exist across frameworks like the Paris Agreement and SDGs, they are disconnected, often non-binding, and lack financial targets. The document calls for a coordinated framework similar to the IEA's energy roadmap to integrate climate, health, and nature goals and minimize trade-offs.

• Food systems are responsible for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the world lacks a comprehensive pathway of targets and timelines to reach net zero while simultaneously meeting health, nutrition, and nature goals.
• Existing frameworks are insufficient; specifically, the FAO roadmap for achieving SDG 2 within the 1.5°C limit fails to be holistic because it ignores the reduction of animal-sourced product production and consumption, promotes agricultural intensification, and lacks biodiversity targets.
• There are at least 55 targets relevant to sustainable food systems derived from academic literature and global frameworks like the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs, but these are characterized by overlaps, gaps, and a lack of legal enforceability.
• There is a critical lack of globally agreed-upon financial targets to fund the transition, with an estimated annual requirement of USD 1.1 trillion to align agrifood systems with climate goals and a funding gap of up to USD 350 billion per year by 2030.
• Despite the lack of a comprehensive pathway, the SDGs have driven positive national outcomes, such as Nepal doubling agricultural land productivity and Brazil reducing severe food insecurity by 85% between 2022 and 2023.
• The Paris Agreement has catalyzed the creation of climate laws globally, with all 193 signatories having at least one law addressing the low-carbon transition; for example, the UK's 2019 revision of the Climate Change Act helped reduce emissions to 54% below 1990 levels by 2024.

APA

Team, Z. (2025). Developing a pathway for food systems transformation. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/developing-a-pathway-for-food-systems-transformation/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Developing a pathway for food systems transformation. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2025. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/developing-a-pathway-for-food-systems-transformation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Developing a pathway for food systems transformation |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=14 July 2025 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/developing-a-pathway-for-food-systems-transformation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2025developing, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Developing a pathway for food systems transformation}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/developing-a-pathway-for-food-systems-transformation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }