Some of Embrapa's researchers are participating in the Brazilian effort to advance discussions on the Paris Agreement during the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is taking place in Marrakech, Morocco, until November 18th. They are part of the Brazilian delegation composed of representatives of several governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA, from the acronym in Portuguese), led by minister Blairo Maggi, as well as members of the Brazilian Congress. Since 2012, countries have been discussing different visions regarding agriculture at the SBSTA, the convention's Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, especially with regard to the need for adaptation to climate change to ensure food security. On Friday, discussions on the Agenda for Agriculture, one of the most important items for MAPA, were closed and will continue in May 2017, in Bonn, in Germany. The theme was extensively debated by the G77 + China, a group that represents developing countries. The G77 + China and the European Union proposed drafts, but a consensus was not reached. For the Brazilian representatives, the result was considered satisfactory, as a mitigation-focused decision defended by some groups of participating countries was avoided. In the end, it was agreed that the theme keeps being debated until the next meeting, which will happen in May 2017, in Bonn, Germany. Defense of the Brazilian position Minister Blairo Maggi integrates the government's mission for the Ministerial Segment. Blairo Maggi will have the floor on Thursday (17). On the occasion, he will advocate that Brazilian agricultural products should be given preference in the global market, since they comply with strict environmental legislation, a distinguished position compared to other food producing countries. The minister will also stress that Brazil has 61% of its native forests preserved and that it makes use of clean renewable energies, in addition to being responsible for 14% of the planet's freshwater and adopting conservationist practices in grain crops such as soybean and wheat, for instance. Blairo Maggi has defended that ministers of the area increasingly participate in international discussions, including on the environment, "putting farmers' reality forward in major decisions". This week, Embrapa's researchers are participating in parallel events and advising Minister Blairo Maggi and Minister Sarney Filho in the discussions. History The world debate on climate change reached a landmark in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in 1995, also known as ECO92, when the international treaty known as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was elaborated. The fundamental principles that would establish the guidelines to be followed by different countries around the world to mitigate the effects of climate change were thence laid down and started to be annually debated and negotiated in international forum meetings called Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP). Brazil has been involved in the meetings of the Parties from the beginning. From the many different aspects discussed every year, agriculture is doubtlessly one of the most important segments to mitigate the effects of climate change. In governmental terms, this segment is officially addressed at COP by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), which relies on support from Embrapa, in the form of research and technological solutions for the sector. In the context of the commitments made at the COPs and with Embrapa's technical support, Mapa has been implementing significant national policies so that the country can reach the targets defined by the Convention. An example of that is the ABC Plan (in the scope of COP15) and, more recently, the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, approved in May 2016. Based on the Paris Agreement, which was signed at COP21, the Brazilian contribution commitments, called Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), have been institutionalized. Brazil's NDC includes, among other contributions, actions on mitigation, adaptation and implementation to achieve the goals the country established. The researcher from Embrapa's Secretariat for International Affairs (SRI), Gustavo Mozzer, who has previously integrated several of Mapa's missions at COP meetings, explains that the Paris Agreement considers the urgency of the environmental debate and the importance of investment in strutucturing agendas, prioritizing the adaptation to the negative effects of climate change. In the Agreement, according to Mozzer, the contributions for the agricultural sector particularly aim at conciliating the need to scale up agricultural production with reducing the sector's carbon emission intensity. The National Adaptation Plan is going to complement ongoing activities within the scope of the National Plan on Climate Change, which has shown effective results through the ABC Plan, such as the dissemination of economically attractive and environmentally sustainable technologies. Technologies that resulted from Embrapa's research and that promote gains in production systems in terms of resilience to extreme weather events and reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. The first commitment that gave the foundations to establish actions for the mitigation of the effects of climate change was defined at COP3, in 1997, in Japan, in the form of the Kyoto Protocol. In the treaty, with over 170 signatory countries, they proposed a schedule in which such countries would have the obligation to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5.2% in comparison with the 1990 baseline levels, in the period from 2008 to 2012. Since COP 15, held in 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Embrapa's participation has been growing, through its support to Mapa in the development of actions in agriculture to be used in Brazil. The discussions gave rise to the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAS), Brazilian commitments voluntarily pledged by the country during the COP 15. The NAMAs preceded the commitments further agreed upon in the NDC. For Mozzer, at that moment the country was a pioneer in dealing with the importance of climate change adaptation actions for the agricultural sector in international negotiations. "During the elaboration of the ABC Plan, between 2009 and 2010, there was a chapter dedicated to adaptation, hence the Brazilian Plan is the only sector plan that comprises the subject", he reports. Embrapa's participation in COP debates and parallel forums has allowed the corporation to contribute to the national and international discussion on how agriculture will respond to the climate change challenge. At COP 22, which started on last November 7, continuous discussion has attempted to define actions that aim at "measuring impacts, promoting public policy, and the advancement of knowledge to foresee and mitigate risks. Learn more The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international summit, formed by representatives of over 190 countries, which discuss the bases for negotiations for the establishment of a new global climate agreement, the Paris Agreement. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty with commitments for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It was effectively implemented in 1997, when emission reduction targets were established for the developed countries that ratified the Agreement. It will be replaced by the Paris Agreement. Follow Embrapa at #COP22 Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros