Embedded Files
UN
UN
The UN has introduced several measures to encourage climate-friendly farming or 'climate smart'. The primary global initiative is Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), a framework established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It focuses on three pillars: sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, building resilience to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Agroforestry and Nature-Based Solutions: Through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the FAO, the UN promotes integrating trees into farming and restoring degraded land to capture carbon and improve water retention. First-ever Road Map for Agriculture for COP
The Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture (SCALA) programme integrates climate resilience directly into national agricultural and development plans.
USA
USA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officially terminated the $3B Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities. This initiative had funded 135 projects across all 50 states to subsidise farmers adopting soil health, carbon sequestration, and methane-reduction practices. The administration stated the program did not align with its priorities and diverted too much money to administrative costs.
The EPA Endangerment Finding has been revoked, which means dismantling the fundamental scientific and legal justification used by the United States government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In February 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially rescinded this landmark 2009 determination. This action effectively strips the federal government of its primary mandate to restrict climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.
Palantir $300m deal with USDA to 'safeguard food supply'. 2026
EU
EU
Eco-schemes: Under the current CAP framework, at least 25% of direct payments are allocated to eco-schemes. These reward farmers for voluntary practices like organic farming, agroecology, and carbon farming.
Enhanced Conditionality: Farmers receiving CAP payments must comply with strict environmental baselines. This includes maintaining minimum soil cover, rotating crops, protecting peatlands (which act as carbon sinks), and dedicating at least 3% to 4% of arable land to non-productive features that boost biodiversity. Agriculture needs to be included in the EU Taxonomy.
Farm to Fork Strategy: A core part of the European Green Deal, it targets a 50% reduction in synthetic pesticide use, a 20% reduction in fertilizer use, and an expansion of organic farming to 25% of all agricultural land by 2030. From Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies aims to achieve nothing less than a complete overhaul of the EU's food system to reach the bloc's 2050 target of climate neutrality.
Carbon Farming Initiative: The EU promotes new business models that financially reward farmers for removing and storing CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Nature Credits Market to Fund More Sustainable Agriculture PracticesJapan
Japan
Japan introduced the MIDORI Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems. The plan enforces concrete measures like expanding organic farming to 25% of all farmland, cutting chemical fertiliser use by 30%, and slashing the environmental impact of chemical pesticides by 50%.
A sector-wide initiative designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in agriculture by 2050.
Australia
Australia
The AASF translates commodity-specific goals into common principles aligned with global frameworks and standards, providing international markets and trade partners with confidence in Australia’s agricultural sustainability credentials
China
China
China has introduced wide-ranging "climate-friendly" measures under its Agriculture Green Development (AGD) strategy and Five-Year Plans to lower emissions and adapt to climate change. Key initiatives include methane reduction in rice paddies through controlled irrigation, heavily cutting synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, boosting soil carbon storage, and expanding renewable energy use like biomass and agricultural photovoltaics.
Shedding light on modern China’s relationship with food and sustainability
India
India
India is actively making its agriculture more sustainable by promoting organic and natural farming, incentivising solar irrigation to reduce fossil-fuel reliance, subsidizing micro-irrigation to save water, and encouraging crop diversification (like promoting millets) to lower greenhouse gas emissions
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