Reducing food loss and waste — and the methane it produces — is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to slow down climate change. Food recovery, which is the specialty of food banks, is a readily available way to help cut methane emissions. But commitments to food recovery as a climate solution have been minimal.
National governments can play a crucial role in the promotion of food recovery by making sure it is officially adopted as a climate change mitigation strategy. With COP30 (the United Nations annual climate conference) on the horizon and food systems likely to take center stage there, now is a good time to examine how countries are incorporating food recovery into their climate plans.
In 2015 at COP21, the Paris Agreement was signed by 195 parties to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. The Paris Agreement requires signees to set their own greenhouse gas reduction goals through a system of nationally determined contributions, or NDCs. The NDCs work on a five-year cycle, and each country is required to submit more ambitious goals in each subsequent cycle. Additionally, a “global stocktake” is conducted every five years to assess collective progress.
As countries’ official climate action plans, NDCs are important tools for setting clear goals, sharing knowledge, mobilizing resources and raising awareness around global climate priorities. Including food loss and waste in these plans can open doors to new funding opportunities and help bring together governments, businesses and communities to take coordinated action.
When countries use their NDCs to strengthen food systems, it not only supports climate goals like reducing emissions and adapting to change but also reduces hunger, benefits people’s health and saves money, protecting jobs and improving livelihoods.
According to WRAP, a global environmental action NGO and GFN partner, 28 countries have committed to reducing food loss and/or waste in their updated NDCs as of late October 2025 — including six countries that committed to both. Half of those countries have newly added food loss and/or waste to their NDCs since WRAP’s last analysis in 2022.
While the new additions are encouraging, 80% of countries still do not consider food loss and waste in their NDCs.
At GFN, we’re working alongside our members to advocate for more governments to not only include food loss and waste reduction in the NDCs but also elevate the recognition of food banks as official providers of climate services.
For example, GFN worked with member food banks and national governments in Chile, Colombia and Paraguay to include food loss and waste in their respective NDCs. Additionally, the Brazilian government, with input from GFN member Sesc Mesa Brasil, announced its Intersectoral Strategy to Reduce Food Loss and Waste, which includes food banking as a key element in reducing waste and improving nutrition for low-income Brazilians. Efforts are also underway in Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico and South Africa to ensure food banks and food recovery are recognized as essential climate solutions.
Additionally, GFN is closing the gaps in tracking and data around the methane emissions prevented via food recovery by food banks, which can help national governments make even more informed decisions around their NDCs.
The FRAME (Recuperación de alimentos para evitar emisiones de metano) methodology is a practical tool for food banks and others to better measure and understand their emissions reductions and other benefits from food recovery efforts. With this robust and credible methodology is in place, food banks and other organizations that recover and redistribute surplus food can prove the efficacy of their actions to mitigate methane. Currently, FRAME is implemented in 11 countries and 16 community food banks across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
GFN also advances policies that strengthen the food system and reduce waste at the international and national level, providing knowledge and tools to policymakers. The Atlas de Políticas Globales de Donación de Alimentos, a partnership between GFN and Harvard’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, is the most comprehensive examination of food loss and waste and donation policies around the world, with 30 country reports and 10 issue briefs on food donation and food loss and waste to date.
Accelerating the reduction and prevention of food loss and food waste presents a unique opportunity to mitigate climate-harming emissions, strengthen food security and economic development, and reduce drivers of deforestation and nature loss. While awareness has increased, instigating action and mobilizing the necessary resources that can reduce food waste through food recovery and redistribution is the focus of GFN and its climate partners at COP.
GFN is also a member of the Global Action Drive (GAD), which brings together several internationally active nongovernmental organizations around a shared agenda to accelerate regional and national action on food loss and waste. Collectively, GAD members are calling on all countries to:
Reducing food loss and waste and scaling food recovery isn’t just about avoiding emissions — it’s about improving lives, strengthening communities and building food systems that work for everyone, everywhere, and we’re hoping to see progress in this regard at COP30.
