Food waste drives methane crisis, experts tell Zero Waste Forum

Ana Catalina Suarez Pena, senior director of strategy and innovation at the Global FoodBanking Network, warned on Monday that organic waste generated by food loss is driving greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating global warming, noting that food systems have been included in every COP agenda since COP28.

Methane emissions and the hunger paradox

Speaking to Anadolu at the Zero Waste Forum, Suarez highlighted what she called a stark global paradox. "At the same time, 2.5 billion people are facing food insecurity across the globe. There is a paradox — on one hand we are losing and wasting food, on the other, people are facing hunger and food insecurity," she said, noting that food banks serve to interconnect these two urgent conversations.

Suarez noted that around 20 percent of global methane emissions come from organic waste, with approximately 77 percent of that organic waste comprising food waste. She stressed that when a food bank prevents one ton of food from being wasted, it also prevents 2.6 tons of CO2 emissions from being generated. She added that reducing organic waste is the fastest way to meet climate commitments while making food available for people in need.

Zero waste package at COP31

The senior director said ways to prevent food waste will be addressed at COP31 under the zero waste package. "The most important step we need to take is to prevent food loss and waste from the outset, because the best waste is the one you never generate. Our expectation from COP31 is that the waste agenda takes a very important place," she said, explaining that discussions with the COP31 presidency seek to establish incentives and a clear agenda for reduction.

Michael Oko, vice president of communications and marketing at the Global FoodBanking Network, told Anadolu that preventing food waste also prevents the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. He noted that food waste accounts for around 8-10 percent of all emissions, making it a major share of the total, yet only about 4 percent of global climate finance is currently directed toward food systems.

Türkiye champions waste reduction

Oko pointed to growing attention to food waste at international forums, noting that the Global FoodBanking Network has been working in climate conferences for several years and that momentum is now building. "Türkiye is bringing a lot of leadership to this area. We see that food waste should be really at the top of the agenda this year. It's really powerful that Türkiye is making this one of the top priorities," he said.

He added that solutions including food banking can address both food security and climate simultaneously. "We need to not just have the words, we need action and implementation, which is what we're hoping to see at COP this year," he concluded. Climate-related disasters including floods and wildfires have increasingly disrupted harvesting patterns and driven up fertilizer costs since COP28 placed food systems on the agenda.