With world leaders and negotiators gathering in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UNFCCC, the focus is shifting from climate ambition to real implementation. Now more than ever, at COP30 it will be critical to show that climate action is neither abstract not remote: It directly and unavoidably touches the lives of people everywhere, their families, their livelihoods, their communities and their natural environments. And the food on their plates
Two years ago, in Dubai (COP28), over 160 countries committed to incorporate food systems into their nationally determined contribution plans (NDCs), and to do so in time for Belém. This was significant not just because agriculture and healthy diets account for more than 30 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but because food systems are the place where climate, nature, livelihoods, food security and nutrition intersect.
Cambodia, along with other founding members Brazil, Norway, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, went a step further, joining a new Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF). In doing so, we committed to reorient our national policies, practices and investment priorities, delivering universal access to affordable, nutritious and sustainable diets, with major progress this decade.
By submitting its updated NDC 3.0 in August of this year, I am proud that Cambodia was one of the first countries to honor this commitment. I am even prouder that, rather than this being a tick box exercise, we have through this process placed ambitious action on food systems at the very heart of our national climate strategy.
The headline mitigation target is for a 55 percent GHG reduction by 2035, a serious and forward-leaning signal of ambition from a developing nation. But from a food systems perspective, the Cambodian NDC 3.0 is so much more than that. By explicitly recognizing that agricultural practices, nutrition outcomes, healthy diets, supply chains, and food security are deeply connected to both climate risks and mitigation potential, it enshrines the principle of integrating action across these agendas in ways that are real and meaningful.
Several features stand out:
First is the principle of policy cohesion and integration, critical to any national effort to transform food systems, and a central tenet of ACF membership. Doing this well is difficult. It requires constant effort, and a significant investment in getting the institutional architecture right—a thankless task that neither grabs headlines nor attracts funding. However, it is arguably the single most important step a country can take if it is serious about transforming its food systems. In Cambodia, the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) plays a pivotal role in ensuring this alignment, bringing together key ministries including Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Health, Commerce, and Economy and Finance and others to ensure that policies reinforce one another and deliver shared outcomes. CARD’s leadership in aligning NDC 3.0 with Cambodia’s Pentagonal Strategy and the Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (2024-2028) has been particularly significant, ensuring that our climate actions directly advance national goals for food security, nutrition, healthy diets and sustainable livelihoods.
Second, we have placed nutrition and healthy diets at the center. Evidence shows that shifting diets towards more fruits, vegetables and sustainable proteins and—away from an over-dependence on rice and processed foods—isn’t just good for health and affordability. It could also cut food-related GHG emissions by over 50 percent. Cambodia is among the first countries to model what a healthier, more sustainable national diet could look like. Working with national research institutions and development partners, we have analysed dietary patterns and food systems emissions to identify realistic, affordable pathways towards more nutritious and lower-emission diets. This work builds on Cambodia’s Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2025-2030 and the Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2024-2028, combining nutritional data with climate modeling to guide policy choices—from school feeding and public procurement to agricultural diversification.
Third, we are embedding climate-smart agricultural techniques—everything from low-emission rice to improved water management—into both mitigation and adaptation measures. This is a crucial strand of our attempts to protect smallholder farmers, who are on the frontlines of climate change, from the worst of its impacts.
Finally, inclusive governance. In updating our NDC, we consulted widely and extensively, not just across ministries, but also with local provinces, youth groups, farmer associations, civil society, and development partners. This helped ensure that high-level political commitments genuinely reflected real needs “on the ground,” and, crucially, that they are practical, realistic, and implementable. It also aligns Cambodia’s national efforts with the broader spirit of COP30’s “global mutirão”, which emphasizes collective responsibility, intergenerational collaboration, and coordinated action. By linking national policymaking with this global framework of shared effort, Cambodia demonstrates that inclusive, locally grounded governance can contribute directly to the international movement for climate-resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
And now the real work of implementation begins.
In Cambodia, we have made enormous progress, but we are clear-eyed about how much further we, along with the rest of the world, must go.
Post-harvest systems are one area where we want to do more. Too much food is still lost after harvest or wasted along supply chains. Investment in storage, transportation, processing and cold chain facilities represents a significant opportunity—not just for climate, but also for nutritional and economic gains.
The transformation of food environments (the places in which people make food choices, be it markets, shops, schools, workplaces or urban areas—and the policies, information, and incentives that shape those choices) is another. It is not enough to change production alone. Policies must also influence demand, making healthy and sustainable options accessible, affordable, and appealing. In Cambodia, we are taking practical steps in this regard – for example, updating public procurement standards to support nutritious foods in schools and government institutions, and piloting nutrition labelling and public awareness campaigns that promote healthier choices. Only through combined measures such as these will healthy and sustainable diets become the easy, everyday choice for all Cambodians.
Last but not least is finance. Implementing the 163 measures (many of which relate to food systems) in Cambodia’s NDC 3.0 will require approximately $32 billion over the next decade. If we are to achieve what we have set out, from sustainably increasing production, strengthening our supply chains and reducing the amount of food being lost and wasted, to improving the diets of our citizens and enhancing the resilience of our smallholder farmers, we will need investment.
At COP 30, we intend to show genuine leadership. By embedding food systems so centrally into our NDC 3.0, we want to model how developing countries can align climate, nutrition, health, agriculture, and social inclusion. We believe this integrated approach is essential to staying on the 1.5°C pathway; to protecting people most vulnerable to climate impacts; and to building sustainable economies.
We invite other nations and partners to walk this path with us. Together, let’s ensure that our food systems nourish our people and protect our planet for the prosperity.
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Photo courtesy of Sokheak, Wikimedia Commons
