COP26 in Glasgow showed that sustainable agriculture is key to meeting the ambitious goals we have set in both Denmark and the UK to combat climate change. This event is an opportunity for the agriculture and food sectors and stakeholders to consider how to build on the COP26 outcomes and realise the sectors’ potential for feeding a growing global population in a sustainable way.

Moderator: Jan Laustsen, Director, International Relations, Danish Agriculture and Food Council

09.00 GMT / 10.00 CET Opening remarks by Marc Holland, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Copenhagen and Flemming Nør-Pedersen, Acting CEO of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council

09.15-10.00 GMT / 10.15-11.00 CET Panel 1 – Agriculture and food’s role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions

• Tejs Binderup, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
• Vera Eory, Researcher, Scotland’s Rural College
• Kristian Eriknauer, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability, Arla Foods
• Marie-Louise Boisen Lendal, Director, Tænketanken FREJ

Agriculture and food is central to our lives. It is both what nourishes us and a feature that has defined the landscapes of both Denmark and the UK for hundreds of years. Today, the sector affects our lives in another fundamental way: its role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. What challenges and opportunities do the UK and Denmark face to lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and food sector, and what can we learn from each other?

10.00-10.15 GMT / 11.00-11.15 CET Keynote speech – David Moran, COP26 Regional Ambassador for Europe, Central Asia, Turkey and Iran

10.15-11.00 GMT / 11.15-12.00 CET Panel 2 – The future of the agriculture and food sector

• Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive, Food, Farming, and Countryside Commission
• David Farquhar, CEO, Intelligent Growth Solutions
• Anne-Louise Thon-Jensen, Managing Partner, VÅR Ventures
• Esben Tranholm Nielsen, Chief Policy Advisor on Climate and Energy at the Danish Agriculture and Food Council

We cannot stop eating to stop climate change and environmental degradation, so we must find ways of farming and eating that do not threaten our ability to live on this planet. The agriculture and food sector faces multiple demands, sometimes seemingly in competition with each other. Not only are we facing the challenge of a changing climate, but also soil health and the loss of pollinators to name a few. How do we ensure that they are all taken into account while we capitalise on the opportunities of the green transition on the path to the agriculture and food sector of the future?

11.00 GMT / 12.00 CET – Closing remarks, Jan Laustsen, Director, International Relations, Danish Agriculture and Food Council