Ghent's urban food policy was announced on Thursday as one of four winners of the UN Climate Action Award in the category of Planetary Health.
Launched in 2013, the policy, Ghent en Gerde: Creating Structural Change through Local Food Policy, prioritises a shorter food chain, more sustainable food production and consumption, the creation of more added social value for food initiatives, reduced food waste and the reuse of food waste as a raw material.
“The big challenge now is to continue to fulfil our pioneering role,” said Ghent city councillor for the environment, Tine Heyse.
“We can do that thanks to the effective co-operation of the many partners involved in the Ghent food strategy,” added Heyse, reports Flanders Today.
Ghent, where I live, has a reputation for being green and progressive. This has been recognised by the UN with a Global Climate Action Award for a food strategy that promotes local, minimises waste and ensures surplus food reaches the needy.
Bravo, @Stadgent!#Sustainability pic.twitter.com/OlJV602p7w — Khaled Diab (@DiabolicalIdea) September 30, 2019
The awards were “announced amongst the backdrop of nations signalling their renewed determination to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement," said manager of the United Nations Climate Change Global Climate Action Program, Niclas Svenningsen, reports the outlet for United Nations Climate Change news.
The other winners in the Planetary Health category were Impossible Foods: Creating Plant-Based Alternatives to Meat, Alipay Ant Forest: Using Digital Technologies to Scale Up Climate Action and Electricians Without Borders: Providing “Emergency Pockets” of Solar energy in Dominica.
The awards will be presented during the second week of the UN Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile, from 2 to 13 December 2019.
There were 670 applicants for the UN Climate Action Awards in 2019.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times