The Soil Health Resolution of Soil Champions at COP27: A call to action for soil health
CA4SH is leveraging a global call to action at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the form of the Soil Health Resolution of Soil Champions.
The foundations of the Resolution originate from the 2021 Call to Action issued by the United Nations Food Systems Summit Private Sector Guiding Group (PSGG) to scale global soil health by engaging a coalition of multi-stakeholders on soil health and restoration.
With COP27 coming up in November, the Coalition is using the Resolution to build on these initial efforts and act fast to galvanize support and leadership from government bodies to support scaling soil health globally.
The soil health agenda at COP27 is deeply embedded in our roots as a Coalition.
Originally called the PSGG Coalition for Soil Health, members support the commitments laid out in the original Call to Action to promote approaches that are:
science and evidence-based
quantifiable and verifiable
farmer-centred, providing income opportunities
contributing to sustainable and productive agriculture with a nature-positive impact on soil functions, including but not limited to increasing soil organic carbon, and
embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals
As we’ve developed and grown, CA4SH is continuing to build engagement from the public and private sectors, highlight existing initiatives and alliances, and accumulate knowledge and experiences from across the world into a hub of collective action to save soil.
“The Private Sector Guiding Group (PSGG) Coalition for Soil Health recognizes the central role of soils as an asset to the aims of food security and nutrition, economic development, climate change, nature and resilient livelihoods, pursuing the objective to provide a Return on Investment (ROI) up and down the value chain.”
Soils have never been officially recognized at the UNFCCC COP, despite being the third-largest carbon sink and the very foundation of our food systems. CA4SH Global partners are advocating to change this by seeking governmental backing of the Soil Health Resolution of Soil Champions at COP27 (also available in Spanish and French!).
The Resolution details the commitment to scaling soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change based on nature-based solutions that have mutual benefits for global food security and biodiversity.
The Resolution also includes actions and commitments for governments to adopt soil carbon sequestration practices to aid in the formal negotiations that will take place at the COP. The desired outcome of the negotiations will result in scaling nature-based solutions in agriculture through as outlined in the Resolution’s Annex. Some examples include developing a reward system for soil carbon storage for farmers and corporations and developing a publicly-available soil information system on all relevant soil health variables.
By signing the Resolution, governments can transform COP27 into the COP of Soil Health and Food. CA4SH has issued a draft email to help soil health champions disseminate the Resolution to government officials. See the email and all other materials related to the Resolution on our COP27 event page.
CA4SH will also be co-leading the first-ever Food Systems Pavilion at the COP27, leading Day 5; Boosting soil health through nature-positive production. Learn more about the event here!
Big things are happening for global soil health at COP27. Be a part of it by sharing the Resolution and urging governments to advocate for soil in all future climate negotiations.
See you there!
