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WASHINGTON, May 10, 2023 — Special U.S. Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry issued an urgent call today for climate action by announcing ways to partner and accelerate investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation during the final day of the AIM for Climate Summit, which was held in Washington D.C. May 8-10, 2023.
"Innovation is not only key to continuing to feed the world in a changing climate, but also to creating even more modern, resilient, and prosperous food systems,” said U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate ("AIM for Climate") is leading the way on climate-smart agriculture innovation that delivers on our mitigation, adaptation, and agricultural productivity priorities. I'm proud of that AIM for Climate partners have already exceeded the $10 billion investment commitment goal set last year at COP27 and know that the collaborations taking place at the AIM for Climate Summit will help catalyze even greater impact on the road to COP28 in Dubai and beyond."
During the session, AIM for Climate partners announced actions and investments to propel the initiative towards the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in November. Nobel Laureate and University of Chicago Professor Michael Kremer announced the launch of the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture, which will mobilize greater investments and institutional support to scale agriculture and climate innovations globally by proposing mechanisms for encouraging innovation in climate, food security, and agriculture.
Enterprise Neurosystem, a research community of leading academic institutions and chief scientists of America’s top technology companies, announced AgroSpace as the winner of the AIM for Climate Grand Challenge: Leveraging the Power of AI and Machine-Learning. AgroSpace receives an award of $5 million USD of in-kind resources to develop their project “Revolutionizing Remote Sensing for Food Security”, from members of Enterprise Neurosystem including a year of Kove Software Defined Memory (Kove:SDM) and one-on-one access to the Enterprise Neurosystem team of experts and volunteers who will provide assistance on their AI, Data Science, Software, and Hardware projects.
During the closing plenary, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Minister Almheiri, and Andrew Sollinger, Chief Executive Officer of Foreign Policy, reflected on these announcements and highlighted the tremendous growth of the AIM for Climate initiative and importance of coordination, collaborating, and investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.
“This is a pivotal moment as we empower agriculture to be part of the solution to address the climate crisis. Time is short and coordination, collaboration and significant investment in research, development and innovation will help us to achieve more, faster, and deploy much-needed innovations and market incentives into the hands of farmers,” said Secretary Vilsack. “The United States fully appreciates the partners who are increasing investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation, and the AIM for Climate Summit is an important step towards sharing priorities and actions, as well as aligning priorities and objectives ahead of the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference.”
“These results give us optimism about the future of food in the world and encourage serious and tangible efforts to manage our agricultural and food systems in a way that aligns with our challenges and aspirations for the future,” said United Arab Emirates Minister for Climate Change and Environment Mariam Almheiri. “As the UAE prepares to host the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference, we are keen to maintain momentum by leading discussions on the development of global agricultural systems. 'Transforming Food Systems' will be one of the main themes on the conference's global agenda, within the framework of intensified efforts to update our global food systems and enhance their responsiveness to climate challenges, food security, and nutritional concerns around the world.”
Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn and Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director for the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, led a plenary session focused on solutions rooted in partnerships and the critical role collaboration plays in addressing the biggest food, agriculture, and climate challenges.
“As we innovate around global food security, it is crucial to incorporate the ideas, knowledge and concerns of community members whose livelihoods are derived from agriculture,” said Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn. “Even the most innovative solutions require behavior change, and communities on the front lines of climate change often don’t have the kinds of safety nets necessary to take risks. Sustained change – at scale – will require deep engagement with those who are most impacted.”
Since AIM for Climate’s inception, partners have increased investment to more than $13 billion, launched 51 innovation sprints, and expanded to more than 500 partners worldwide. For more information about AIM for Climate and how to become a partner, please visit aimforclimate.org/#partners.
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