Search Climate Insights Directory
142 results
7 Tips to Make Your Food Last While You #StayAtHome
The guide offers seven strategies to minimize food waste, including optimizing refrigerator temperatures (40°F/4°C or below), distinguishing between 'use by' and 'best if used by' labels, and repurposing aging produce or scraps. It notes that reducing food waste provides a climate benefit and encourages focusing on shelf-stable and frozen foods to avoid overbuying perishables.
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Document type: Guide
The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region
The report investigates the feasibility of shifting specialty crop production from California to the mid-Mississippi Delta region due to climate-driven uncertainties in California. While the Delta offers fertile soil, abundant water, and economic development opportunities, it faces hurdles including high humidity, pest pressure, a lack of specialty crop infrastructure, and labor shortages. The document outlines a plan for Phase II, focusing on seed varietal testing, innovative financing, and the design of a pilot program to diversify the region's commodity-heavy agricultural base.
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Document type: Report
Climate Change and the American Diet
A 2020 survey of 1,043 U.S. adults found that while most Americans are willing to eat more plant-based foods and less red meat, significant barriers exist, including cost, taste, and lack of access—particularly for lower-income households. The report highlights a gap in awareness, as many respondents do not fully connect meat and dairy production to global warming. It also notes that individuals categorized as 'Alarmed' or 'Concerned' regarding climate change are the most likely to adopt pro-climate dietary behaviors and hold food companies accountable for their environmental impact.
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Document type: Report
Informe Drawdown
The report identifies 76 climate solutions categorized into reducing emission sources, reinforcing carbon sinks, and improving social equity. It argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing solutions are scaled rapidly, noting that the net operational savings of these solutions outweigh implementation costs by four to five times. Key high-impact solutions include reducing food waste, improving health and education, and transitioning to renewable energy like wind and solar. The document emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and require 'accelerators' such as policy changes and capital shifts to achieve the necessary scale and speed.
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Document type: Report
Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution
The document examines the role of FoodForward SA as a trusted intermediary in South Africa's food supply chain, using a circular economy lens to divert surplus food from landfills to those in need. It highlights the economic and environmental drivers for food rescue in Cape Town, such as high landfill fees and provincial organic waste diversion targets. In 2020/21, FoodForward SA redistributed approximately 7,215 tonnes of food nationally, with specific impacts in Cape Town including the saving of 8,592 tonnes of GHG emissions and the creation of R45 million in retail value from rescued food.
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Document type: Case study
Covid-19 local food security response: Mobilising partnerships to build community resilience during an acute shock
The document details how the Philippi Economic Development Initiative (PEDI), in partnership with UCook's Food Fund and Ladles of Love, addressed food insecurity in Cape Town during the Covid-19 pandemic. Key outcomes included the distribution of over 3,667 food parcels, the purchase of 7.3 tonnes of produce from small-scale farmers, and the provision of R190,000 in income to 29 farms. The study highlights the effectiveness of community-led distribution models and the role of urban farming in mitigating acute shocks. Additionally, it describes the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership's (EDP) role in coordinating food relief through a government-NGO forum and the Community Kitchens programme, which provided digital vouchers to 100 informal kitchens across Cape Town.
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Document type: Case study
Green technology for mushroom cultivation
The document highlights Mushroom Guru (Pty) Ltd as a practical example of urban agriculture in Cape Town, using indoor vertical farming and aeroponics to cultivate medicinal and gourmet mushrooms. It argues that green technology enables intensive, resource-efficient production that reduces water use and utilizes agricultural waste, contributing to a circular economy. The study also emphasizes the role of training and cooperative platforms, like Fungkifriend, in securing market access for small-scale growers and creating economic opportunities within the urban food value chain.
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Document type: Case study
Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals
The report argues that transitioning away from fossil fuels through carbon pricing, energy efficiency, active transportation, and plant-based diets can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health outcomes. It highlights that in Canada, air pollution from fossil fuels causes 14,400 premature deaths annually, and that shifting to low-carbon energy and urban design can significantly reduce chronic diseases and healthcare costs.
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Document type: Report
Citizen science and food waste
The project aimed to address knowledge gaps regarding consumer food waste by leveraging citizen science to gain insights into behaviors and decision-making. Key activities included a literature review, the identification of network members, and a workshop in Geneva on 6 June. The resulting network connects researchers, experts, and practitioners to foster collaborative research proposals.
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Document type: Executive summary
Understanding why people waste food
The document reports on a pilot study using 'cultural probes' and workshops with 13 UK households to understand the 'food journey' from shopping to disposal. It identifies a gap between perceived and actual food waste, noting that while many households claim to waste little, millions of tonnes are discarded annually. Key motivators for reducing waste include saving money and environmental concerns, while barriers include a lack of local composting facilities and retailer packaging. The study highlights that women often bear more responsibility for the early stages of the food journey, suggesting that waste-reduction campaigns focusing on shopping may disproportionately place the burden of change on women.
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Document type: Policy brief
FOOD WASTE WARRIORS
The Food Waste Warriors project analyzed plate waste in 46 US schools, finding that students waste an average of 39.2 pounds of food and 28.7 cartons of milk per year. The study highlights the significant environmental and financial costs of this waste, estimating a national impact of 530,000 tons of food waste and 45 million gallons of milk waste annually. Results indicate that simple interventions and awareness can reduce waste, with elementary schools seeing a 14.5% reduction. The report recommends policy reforms to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) portion sizes and the adoption of bulk milk dispensers to mitigate these losses.
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Document type: Report
Agri-food Systems: Facts and Futures
The report details how South Africa's food system contributes to biodiversity loss and climate change while failing to address widespread hunger and malnutrition. It highlights a dualistic agrarian structure and market concentration that marginalizes smallholder farmers. To feed a growing population by 2050, the document advocates for five transformative areas: inclusive regenerative farming, optimal water use, responsible sourcing, reducing food waste, and a dietary shift toward more plants and less meat.
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Document type: Report
Food Security and Climate Change Collaborative Research Action (CRA)
The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is facilitating the participation of Latin American and Caribbean funding agencies in a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) on Food Security and Climate Change. This joint initiative, involving the Belmont Forum, the European Commission, and the EU Joint Programme Initiative (JPI) FACCE, aims to develop climate-resilient food value chains and assess the impacts of climate change on food systems across Europe, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The program seeks to provide scientific knowledge to support Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), with the European Commission providing matching funds for eligible participating agencies.
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Document type: Briefing
N O T I F I C A C I Ó N
The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is promoting a joint call by the Belmont Forum and the European Commission for a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) focused on the interactions between climate change and food systems. The initiative seeks to develop sustainable and resilient food value chains and assess climate impacts on markets, specifically targeting regional food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. The CRA aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 13 (Climate Action), offering funding opportunities, including potential matching funds from the European Commission via the ERANET Cofund mechanism, to support interdisciplinary research on agricultural food, waste residues, and socio-economic vulnerabilities in the Global South.
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Document type: Briefing
Konsumtionsbaserade utsläpp i Umeå kommun
The report analyzes the consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions of Umeå residents, finding an average footprint of 9.77 tonnes CO2e per person for survey participants (aged 20-84), which scales to 7.6 tonnes CO2e per person for the total population. Travel, particularly aviation and car use, is identified as the primary emission source, followed by food. The report identifies 'hotspots' including meat consumption, aviation, and housing energy, and recommends administrative, economic, and informative policy tools to reduce these impacts.
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Document type: Report
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
The report identifies critical research gaps in sustainable consumption and production (SCP), focusing on three themes: cross-cutting systemic issues, natural resource management, and food waste and loss. It argues that political efforts must shift from increasing efficiency to decreasing overall consumption and calls for a more integrated, whole-supply-chain approach to research and policy.
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Document type: Report
AN APPETITE FOR COLLABORATION
The report examines South Africa's public health crisis driven by a transition toward low-nutrient, high-calorific diets, which contributes to a 'triple burden' of under-nutrition, over-nutrition, and micro-nutrient deficiencies. It argues that while government regulation is critical, the concentrated power of the industrial food sector presents an opportunity for collaborative action. Based on a global review and 46 interviews, the document proposes four 'opportunity spaces' for collaboration: creating healthy retail environments, establishing a manufacturer innovation group, engaging smallholder farmers and fresh produce markets, and implementing collaborative social marketing. Key barriers identified include intense industry competition, mistrust between business and NGOs, and conflicting business imperatives.
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Document type: Report
Summary Report No Food Left Behind: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets
The report details research and stakeholder discussions regarding the under-utilization of specialty crops in the US. It highlights significant in-field losses—such as 50% for fresh tomatoes and 36% on average for crops in North Carolina—driven by strict cosmetic standards and economic barriers. The document outlines four envisioned future states: implementing full-cost accounting for food, increasing ubiquitous access to healthy produce, integrating regional food systems with industrial agriculture, and removing food safety barriers to donation. It concludes with a practical example of 'concurrent harvesting' used by Imperfect Produce to create markets for 'seconds'.
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Document type: Report
What’s on the table? Mitigating agricultural emissions while achieving food security
The analysis indicates that farming practice changes alone are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Achieving deep emission cuts aligned with the Paris Agreement's net-zero goal requires a holistic approach that integrates supply-side efficiency and innovation with demand-side changes, specifically altering diets and reducing food waste to address non-CO2 emissions while ensuring global food security.
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Document type: Executive summary
Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks
The report argues that redirecting surplus food—edible food that is not 'true waste'—can alleviate hunger for 13 million South Africans while providing cost savings and tax benefits to food firms. It highlights that 95% of food waste in South Africa occurs before the consumption stage, with agricultural production (26%), processing/packaging (25%), post-harvest handling (24%), and distribution/retail (20%) being the primary sources. The document details the environmental impact, noting that Food Forward's donation of 4,400 tonnes of food in 2017/8 avoided 17,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. It identifies barriers such as liability concerns and date labelling, while proposing solutions like 'Good Samaritan' legislation and the use of technology platforms like FoodShare to coordinate logistics.
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Document type: Report