LUPPA coordinates proposals from Brazilian cities on food systems and climate for COP30

The Position Paper, developed by 38 municipalities during the LUPPA LAB, highlights healthy and sustainable food systems as a response to the climate crisis  Representatives from 38 Brazilian cities met between May 19 and 23 [...]

WRITTEN BY COMIDA DO AMANHÃ

on 12/06/2025

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The Position Paper, developed by 38 municipalities during the LUPPA LAB, highlights healthy and sustainable food systems as a response to the climate crisis 

Representatives from 38 Brazilian cities met between May 19 and 23 in Barcarena (PA) to participate in LUPPA LAB, an in-person meeting from the LUPPA program – Lab on Urban Food Policies –, considered the world’s largest laboratory of food public policies. During the event, contributions were collected from municipal managers and members of civil society to build a joint position for the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), scheduled for November, in Belém (PA). The initiative reinforces the strategic role of municipalities in transforming food systems as a response to the climate crisis.

LUPPA LAB is the in-person stage of LUPPA, a program that coordinates a network of cities committed to the promotion of intersectoral, sustainable and participatory food policies. Carried out by the Comida do Amanhã Institute and ICLEI – Governos Locais pela Sustentabilidade, the program promotes training, exchanges and cooperation between public managers to strengthen the urban food agenda in Brazil.

Along the five days of LUPPA LAB, municipal representatives took part in workshops, group activities and thematic panels that covered topics from the intersectoral governance of food policies to financing challenges, public procurement of family farming, promotion of the food culture of indigenous peoples and quilombolas, and the use of social currencies as a tool to combat food insecurity. Holding the event in the same region where COP30 will take place gives the representatives’ Statement an even greater political and symbolic relevance, especially in the face of global challenges related to climate change and the construction of sustainable food systems.

“This year, we decided to build this process directly with the cities present here, experiencing the territory, feeling the pulse of the forest and all the atmosphere surrounding this moment. The expectation is that food systems will gain more and more space in climate discussions, especially in Brazil. It is not possible to talk about climate without considering food. We need healthier, fairer, more sustainable and socio-biodiverse food systems. It is on biodiversity that our very existence depends”, highlights the director of the Comida do Amanhã Institute, Francine Xavier. Since COP28, LUPPA has been developing joint positions on food systems.

This year’s LUPPA Statement will also be included in a chapter of ICLEI’s Letter of Mayors, a global document that expresses the priorities of governments in international climate negotiations.

 

Municipalities as key actors of change 

The Statement to be taken to COP30 brings together proposals based on the contributions of the cities participating in LUPPA LAB, collected during the event through structured listening. Among the main guidelines are the promotion of urban and periurban agroecology as a strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change; the promotion of food security and sovereignty, with increased financing for climate adaptation actions; and fair financing for family farmers, facilitating the population’s access to healthy and sustainable diets. Another key point is the preservation of standing forests, recognizing that biodiversity, culture, and natural resources are fundamental elements to ensure food security, climate justice, and the well-being for local populations.

“We need to consider the maintenance of food systems as a mechanism of intention of life itself. Without viable food systems, we cannot sustain the human species,” said Hugo Salomão França, senior fellow at ICLEI, who represents subnational governments at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). According to França, the results of LUPPA LAB should be part of a global mobilization coordinated by ICLEI, with a special focus on the Brazilian government, which is presiding over COP30, as well as on international forums. The objective is to ensure that the interests of municipalities are taken into account in the global climate debate.

 

Global relevance 

LUPPA is currently made up of 60 municipalities in 18 Brazilian states, directly reaching over 14 million inhabitants. Since 2021, 597 public agents have participated in the program’s activities. The initiative has been recognized in international publications such as the SOFI 2023 report (FAO, UNICEF, IFAD and WFP), in the document From Plate to Planet (IPES-Food) and, in 2024, as an example of an innovative network in the report from the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition Security (HLPE-FSN).

“At LUPPA, we seek a participatory methodology, with the exchange of experiences between cities and a platform that strengthens the construction of public food policies based on territories with the participation of civil society. We know that many challenges recur, but each reality requires specific adaptations. At the same time, one city can inspire another: even if it does not adopt the same policy, it can embrace the solution and adapt it to its own context”, concludes Francine Xavier.

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