Governments and businesses are joining farmers and local communities to secure new agreements to protect nature and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture and land use practices.

Coming out of a COP26 discussion 26 nations have outlined new commitments to change their agricultural policies to become more sustainable and less polluting. They have also committed to investing in the science needed for sustainable agriculture and for protecting food supplies against climate change, laid out in two action agendas.

The commitments being made show that nature and land use are being recognised as essential to meeting the Paris Agreement goals, and will contribute to addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

The World Bank will commit to spending US$25 billion in climate finance annually to 2025 through its Climate Action Plan, including a focus on agriculture and food systems.

In a show of similar commitment from the private sector, almost 100 high-profile companies from a range of sectors committed to becoming ‘nature positive’. Commitments include supermarkets pledging to cut their environmental impact across climate and nature-loss and fashion brands guaranteeing the traceability of their materials.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said, “If we are to limit global warming and keep the goal of 1.5C alive, then the world needs to use land sustainably and put protection and restoration of nature at the heart of all we do.”

Additionally, over 10 new countries signed the ’30by30′ target to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. These are: Bahrain, Jamaica, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, Samoa, Tonga, Gambia and Georgia. The target is now supported by over 100 countries.

The UK announced a £6-million investment in the World Bank’s PROBLUE as part of its Blue Planet Fund, supporting the development of the blue economy to act as a key driver of growth in small island developing states (SIDS) and coastal least developed countries.

The Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, a multi-sector collaboration designed to drive investment in coastal natural capital by pioneering groundbreaking finance products that incentivise blended finance and private investment, hosted a roundtable that saw commitments towards the partnership’s target to secure at least US$20 million.

The UK also announced funding of £500 million to support the implementation of the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Roadmap that was launched during the World Leaders’ Summit earlier this week, in which 28 countries are working together to protect forests while promoting development and trade. A further £65 million will support a ‘Just Rural Transition’ to help developing countries shift policies and practices toward more sustainable agriculture and food production.

Commitments made by countries will help to implement the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use which is now endorsed by 134 countries covering 91% of the world’s forests. The declaration aims to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.