COP27 Global Innovation Hub Session 8: Assessing Avoided emissions and 1.5C Global Sustainability compatibility from nutrition/health solutions
Mission Innovation’s NCI and the UNFCCC co-hosted the session on climate innovation focused on health and nutrition to deliver core human needs to 11 billion people, with a panel that represented governments of leading countries, start-ups, investors, and food retailers. The event saw discussion on investing and scaling for health and nutrition on all levels of society to promote both sustainability and profitability.
Panelists:
H.E. Luis Alberto Villegas, Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Colombia; Dennis Pamlin, Executive Director, Mission Innovation's Net-Zero Compatibility Initiative and Senior Advisor, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden; Leslie Kapin, Director of Impact and Sustainability, Astanor Ventures; Ramkumar Nair, CEO & founder, Mycorena; Mattis Bergquist, Chief Sustainability, Coop; Pourya Salehi, Head of Urban Research Team, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
The keynote from Luis Alberto Villegas Prado, Vice Minister of Agriculture in Colombia, with a focus on human life and the need for the global south to move up the value chain was powerful. He stated a willingness from Colombia to lead in the area of a human-needs/life driven climate innovation agenda.
Leslie Kapin of Astanor Ventures provided an overview of how a leading investor approaches the global need for nutrition and health in a way that delivers both sustainability and profit. She highlighted both the need for patient investment in order to avoid a “carbon tunnelling vision”.
Pourya Salehi explained how cities with an expanded climate innovation agenda could become both markets for and providers of climate solutions. Using a filter with human needs and solutions that support a future where 11 billion can live flourishing lives it allows for a new kind of driver for innovation and partnerships.
There are already start-ups, innovators, and investors ready to scale up sustainable health and nutrition solutions, such as alternative protein on a global market with sufficient support and investment. Ramkumar Nair provided a great overview of a company, Mycorena, that is ready to scale in order to provide the world with sustainable protein. Not only does the fungi-based protein deliver significant CO₂e reductions compared with other sources of protein, but also in terms of land use it can provide significant contributions to biodiversity. They are one of a growing group of start-ups ready for exponential uptake of sustainable solution in the area of nutrition and health.