Climate change presents a serious threat to nutrition and food security.
Earlier this year, the World Food Programme made bleak predictions underlining the connection between the two issues. With climate change increasing the risk and intensity of climate disasters such as floods and drought, unless huge efforts are made to increase climate resilience, the risk of hunger and malnutrition could increase by 20% by 2050.
It is also a two-way relationship. An estimated 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases are produced from global food systems, of which half comes from food production and the other from transportation, packaging, processing and land use for agriculture.
With world leaders preparing to descend on Paris for climate talks at COP 21, there is clearly an opportunity to make progress on both issues. What are the practical solutions to tackling climate change, while improving nutrition and food security? And what are the challenges involved?
Join an expert panel on Thursday 26 November, 1-3pm GMT, to discuss these questions and more.
The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or @GuardianGDP on Twitter to recommend someone for our expert panel. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive.
Panel
Peggy Pascal, food security advocacy officer, Action Against Hunger, Paris, France. @PascalPeggy
Peggy heads up food security advocacy for Action Against Hunger in Paris and has been leading the ACF International Network’s climate and nutrition work in the context of COP21.
Dominic Schofield, director, GAIN Canada, Ottawa, Canada. @dschofieldGAIN
Dominic is director of GAIN Canada and senior technical advisor policy and programmes. He has over twenty years in the field of international development with assignments in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia.
Anna Lartey, director of nutrition, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Prior to joining the FAO Anna was a professor of nutrition at the University of Ghana. She worked as a researcher in Sub-Saharan Africa for 27 years and her research focused on maternal child nutrition.
Seán Kennedy, senior technical specialist on public health and nutrition, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Rome, Italy. @IFADnews
Seán works primarily on promoting nutrition-sensitive interventions in IFAD’s investments, and mainstreaming nutrition across the organisation.
Masroora Haque, communications manager, International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Dhaka, Bangladesh, @masroora
Masroora works on climate change, adaptation and policy for the International Centre for Climate Change and Development.
Nick Hughes, food sustainability advisor, WWF-UK, London, UK.
Nick works on sustainable diets for WWF-UK and leads their partnership with foodservice provider Sodexo.
Richard Choularton, chief, Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes, World Food Programme (WFP), Stowe, USA. @rchoularton
Richard leads WFP work on climate change and is an expert on climate change impact on food security and humanitarian crises.
Nabeeha M. Kazi, president and CEO of Humanitas Global and chair of the Community for Zero Hunger, Washington, DC. @nabeehakazi
Nabeeha directs integrated development initiatives to expand health, nutrition, child development, and climate change impact and empower communities.
