Agriculture and nature are central to the lives and livelihoods of Africa's people and are extremely important to Africa's pursuits in climate negotiations. However, climate change is impacting people, ecosystems, and economies and is expected to push an additional 122 million people, primarily farmers in Africa, who are ill-equipped in both capacity and financing, into extreme poverty by 2030. Efforts to reform African agriculture have largely failed, as financing does not meet the needs of frontline farmers.

While the financing challenge persists, negotiations on this agenda item have been relatively slow. The progressive commitments under the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, aimed at securing goals related to water, health, and resilient food and agriculture by 2030, offer some hope.

Additionally, ongoing efforts to frame indicators and matrices for assessing progress on the Global Goal on Adaptation are promising. However, this needs to be supported by clear subgoals in the NCQG to secure the much-needed climate finance for the sector. The window for fast-tracking action in agriculture and nature as part of climate response measures must be seized.