Climate Week NYC 2026
21 September 2026, 15:00-16:30 CEST (9:00 – 10:30 AM EDT), online
Join the webinar and register
How can food systems cut emissions without leaving people behind? Join CMCC and international experts to explore evidence-based pathways for a just transition that advances emissions reduction alongside food security, health, and equity.
Food systems generate around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain far from a trajectory compatible with net zero, lagging behind sectors such as energy in the pace of decarbonization. According to FAO, 2.7 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, and undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and diet-related chronic disease continue to affect populations across the globe. At the same time, climate change is increasingly affecting the livelihoods and health of the agricultural workforce.
A historic agreement was reached at COP30 in 2025 to establish a formal Just Transition Mechanism. Its core objective is to ensure that the global shift toward low-emission, climate-resilient economies happens fairly, equitably, and inclusively, so that climate policies do not unintentionally harm vulnerable populations, workers, or low-income countries.
How can we transform food systems equitably, urgently reducing emissions while protecting the roughly 1.3 billion people who make up the agricultural workforce and ensuring healthy, accessible diets for all?
Organized by CMCC as part of Climate Week NYC 2026, the event “The just transition: Equity, nutrition, and food security in a changing climate” shifts the conversation from how much food we produce to what we grow, what we eat, and how dietary patterns are evolving, while placing a just transition at the center of the discussion. The session brings together speakers whose expertise spans economics, nutrition science, and governance, and whose work ranges from international climate negotiations to national policymaking, fostering dialogue across disciplines and decision-making levels.
Panelists will discuss how a shift toward nutrition-focused approaches, rather than calories alone, reshapes agricultural land use, livestock systems, and the emissions embedded in what reaches the plate, including the role of animal welfare in this transformation. We will explore the perspectives of climate-vulnerable and food-importing countries, and discuss where the win-wins between emissions reduction and nutrition lie, where trade-offs surface, which evidence-based solutions are delivering results, and how to ensure a fair and inclusive transition. Drawing on experience of supporting UNFCCC negotiations, we will consider how the new Just Transition Mechanism can be shaped to reflect their needs and support fair, effective adaptation.
The event will contribute to the food, health, and just-transition agenda on the road to COP31 by focusing on how emissions reduction, food security, and health can be advanced together.
Moderators:
Shouro Dasgupta, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, CMCC
Anna Pirani, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, CMCC
Speakers:
Francesco Bosello, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change CMCC (to be confirmed)
Jessica Fanzo, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Europe
Federica Fricano, MASE Head of Delegation for Italy at the UNFCCC
Elizabeth Robinson, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics
Maisa Rojas, University of Chile / Former Minister of the Environment of Chile
Lina Yassin, International Institute for Environment and Development and UNFCCC adaptation negotiator for LDCs (to be confirmed)