COP28 takes place on November 30 - December 12, 2023 in Dubai, UAE. This summit represents the first climate COP at which food has been made a priority - December 10 will be Food, Agriculture and Water day. 

At GPC, we are committed to ensuring pulses are at the table during high-level discussions on sustainability, nutrition and food security to advance the importance of creating future food systems that place pulses in a key role. We know that increasing the consumption and production of pulses worldwide can be integral in reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of agri-food, the third biggest polluter in the world. 

Representing GPC, President Vijay Iyengar, Executive Vice President Atheeqe Ansari and board members Sudhakar Tomar and Harish Tahiliani will be in attendance at COP28. As well as holding discussions with stakeholders and decision-makers throughout the summit, they will be speaking on panel discussions, including a debate organized by GPC in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the SDG2 Advocacy Hub’s Beans is How Coalition.     

The debate: Supply vs demand - which will drive pulse consumption? 

Producing and consuming more pulses is a simple way to mitigate the impact of climate change NOW. However, to increase overall consumption, a myriad of factors need to be taken into account and addressed, from production, to supply chains, to consumption. To drive climate-friendly diets rich in pulses, is it more important to work on increasing supply (at farm and governmental level) or demand (at HORECA/individual consumer/eater level)? 

This is the topic up for debate at GPC’s event on December 8, 11am-12pm at the BCG Pavillion at COP28. Featuring an introduction by President Iyengar and panelists including Vice President Atheeqe Ansari, Jean Claude Rubyogo (PABRA), Dorothy Shaver (Unilever) and Conor Spacey (FoodSpace), the lively debate will be moderated by Paul Newnham (SDG2) and aims to bring together key stakeholders to influence the discussion and create opportunities for pulses in climate.

Where else we’ll be involved at COP

As well as hosting our own discussion, GPC will feature on a number of other panels at COP28. President Iyengar will share his insights at the “Accelerating climate adaption through championing Beans in Africa” event organized by Beans is How, which hopes to influence key strategic Africa food systems champions for scaling up bean production and consumption, raise visibility and impact progress on climate-resilient diets and the role of beans, and build a network of regional stakeholders.

President Iyengar will also speak at an event on Alternative Proteins with the Government of Saskatchewan and Pulse Canada on December 10, the Food, Agriculture and Water Day. 

Meanwhile, Sudhakar Tomar will be a panelist for the discussion on “Transforming Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in the Global South” organized by the Boston Consulting Group, underlining the importance of pulses in powering food security and nutrition, also on December 10.