Joint Statement on Global Research Alliance

France and New Zealand working together for a more sustainable agriculture

Bruno Le Maire, French Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Town and Country Planning and New Zealand Agriculture Minister David Carter, welcome the signing by 31 countries of the Charter for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases in Rome on 24 June.

G20 Agriculture Ministers met for the first time in Paris on 22 and 23 June 2011 and adopted an action plan on food price volatility and agriculture.

Following this, Bruno Le Maire and David Carter reaffirmed the Global Research Alliance’s contribution to the plan’s implementation, in the areas of research on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, the promotion of research and innovation, and investment in a more sustainable global agricultural sector.

The Global Research Alliance, launched in December 2009 during the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, is a partnership for research on the mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gases for which New Zealand is hosting the Secretariat. The Alliance Charter creates a platform for scientific exchanges. It will reinforce scientific cooperation between Alliance Members including by pooling resources and facilitating joint research programmes, with the goal of disseminating research results for the benefit of all.

"The global community needs innovative approaches to meet the growing demand for food while reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Carter said during the Ministerial Summit in Rome.