The big topic of December has been COP21, the 21st session of the United Nation's annual Climate Change Conference in Paris, and it felt like the stakes were higher than ever. These conversations do not mean, however, that a united solution to the crisis posed by global warming will be brokered, but the point is to set a foundation for important efforts in the future. As is shown by the agreement the countries decided on, the deal is supposed to add structure to current efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and establish diplomatic tools to urge countries to continue to cut emissions over time.

As world leaders met to discuss climate change, the headlines focused on topics such as carbon taxes, clean energy and fossil fuels. One area that seems to be dwarfed by these more obvious contaminators is industrial agriculture, which is surprising, given that food and farming systems are both large emitters of greenhouse gases. Agriculture is susceptible to changing weather patterns and the unpredictability brought on by climate change means entire crops can be lost. Beyond unpredictable rains, climate change means generally warmer temperatures, more heat waves and increased risk of droughts, floods and other huge disasters, which means displaced populations and increased food instability. These are phenomenon that have already been documented in various regions around the world. Not just a culprit and a victim in the climate change play book, the way in which farming is practiced can help to mitigate climate change. Farmers in rural communities are turning to agroecology as a way to not only secure their own food supply but to regenerate the soil.

 

One of the most inspiring aspects of the COP 21 meetings took place outside of the official U.N. meetings. Civil Society groups met and organized their own conversations and negotiations, marches, plenaries and demonstrations. Notably, these civil society groups called attention to those who are the most impacted by climate change: indigenous peoples the world over, women, small farmers, the poor and hungry and those on the edge of poverty. Continued pressure by the public is crucial to underscore the role that food production plays in contributing to climate change and the potential that alternative methods such as agroecology can play in mitigating it. There are plenty of questions about just how effective the diplomatic tools established through the COP 21 negotiations will be and what level of transparency the various U.N. member countries will adhere to. The struggle for climate justice must become stronger than ever to continue to move the dial way beyond the agreements negotiated in Paris at the COP21.  We must continue to stay watchful, demand action from policymakers, and amplify the voices of those most immediately and severely impacted. Climate justice is social justice.