With COP 27 closely approaching it was necessary for the YME team to gain clarity on our priorities while attending COP 27. The Agroecology meeting in Addis Ababa helped to emphasis the importance of understanding the diversity of climate solutions being proposed around the world and to remember that although the methodology that we implant to ensure healthy and quality access to food for all may be different the core principles remain the same. Key barriers to climate solutions aired during the conference included the
high debt risk perception of young people, women, and local community members. In order for sustainable financing to be accessible people who generally fall into the high debt risk category need to be de-risked. This conference also helped to provide perspective on the different stages of healing that many African countries are in as we are collectively immersing from our shared colonial history. The Caribbean and many African countries share a deep historical wound that has challenged what sustainable development has looked like.
An important point that was highlighted during the conference was the important and dominant role of women in the Agriculture sector and the importance of local and indigenous knowledge systems in supporting agricultural sciences and our large scale approaches to climate solutions.