In this episode of Bite the Talk, Oliver Camp of GAIN about the critical, interconnected challenges and opportunities between climate change and nutrition. He discusses how the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) is working to find "win-win" solutions, urging for better integration of nutrition into climate policies and finance ahead of COP30.
In Episode 27 of "Bite the Talk," host Mark Gachagua is joined by Oliver Camp, the Environment and Food Systems Advocacy Advisor at GAIN. The episode provides a deep dive into the critical intersection of climate change and nutrition, exploring how these two agendas are being integrated across policies, finance, and national strategies.
The "Helicopter View": Ollie begins by outlining the crucial connections between climate and nutrition. He explains that climate change impacts nutrition in numerous ways, such as reducing crop yields and their nutritional content, causing livestock losses, increasing food spoilage due to higher temperatures, and physically disrupting access to food through climate shocks. Conversely, food production itself contributes to climate change through emissions from agriculture, land clearing, and livestock .
GAIN and the I-CAN Initiative: A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN), which GAIN helps lead. Ollie explains that I-CAN works to identify "win-win" solutions by assessing how well climate and nutrition are integrated in policies (like NDCs and NAPs), finance (like the GCF and ODA), and private sector behavior . The goal is to encourage greater integration, making climate policies more nutrition-sensitive and nutrition policies more climate-sensitive.
Country Progress and "Win-Wins": While cautious about picking favorites, Ollie notes that many countries are making progress, citing examples like Cambodia and small island states (e.g., Barbados, UAE) for their comprehensive approaches . He emphasizes that aligning these agendas offers significant "win-win" opportunities, such as cutting food loss and waste, which benefits both the environment and food availability .
The Finance Gap: A major challenge identified is the gap in climate finance. Ollie highlights that only a small percentage of climate finance is directed toward food systems and nutrition , despite food systems accounting for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. He argues for the need to translate high-level strategies into robust, "investable proposals" that speak the language of climate funders and leverage private finance.
Looking Ahead to COP30: The conversation shifts to the upcoming COP30 in Belém, Brazil. Ollie sees opportunities to raise nutrition's visibility through new NDCs, the Brazilian-led "Belém Declaration on Hunger", and the COP Presidency's Action Agenda, which includes a specific objective on nutrition and diets. His key advice for governments is to look for "multiple outcomes" (co-benefits like health, jobs, and nutrition) and to create detailed, investable proposals based on their climate commitments.
Lighter Moments: The episode concludes with a lighter segment where Mark asks Ollie about his favorite childhood snack. Mark shares his love for roasted maize with chili and lemon , while Ollie admits to being a "proper British boy" who eats porridge daily but has a weakness for roasted, salted cashew nuts.
Parting Shot: Ollie's final message is one of optimism, reiterating that the "win-win opportunities... are too good to miss" and that now is the time for commitment, creativity, and connection to drive action .