London Climate Action Week 2025 – What’s Next for Transforming Sustainable Food Systems
By: Belinda Ng, Youth Leader, Act4Food
“London Climate Action Week 2025 brought together stakeholders across the food system to explore the challenges and opportunities for accelerating the transition to sustainable food systems. A recurring theme was resilience - as climate risks intensify and economic and political uncertainties continue to reverberate around the world, businesses are under pressure to deliver on sustainability while remaining commercially viable.
Notably, health and nutrition emerged as powerful entry points for environmental and social progress, especially at a time when ESG faces growing criticism. Adaptation in food and agriculture was highlighted as critical, with the expansion of insurance access seen as a vital solution. Yet, better tools for quantifying climate risk are still needed to guide investment. At Future Food Movement’s fireside chat, Dr. Clive Black emphasised the disconnect between capital markets and the realities of food systems, reflecting a second recurrent theme from LCAW about the need for stronger public-private collaboration to drive systemic change.
Speakers throughout the week stressed that sustainability must go hand-in-hand with business resilience and profitability. Building on from what Dr. Black shared about how reconciling environmental goals with commercial success will require new mindsets in farming, investment, ways of doing business and governance, I would argue that a major enabler will be empowering youth with skills and access to food system careers, particularly in aging sectors like agriculture. There needs to be new programmes and policies in place that ensure access to job opportunities are inclusive to young people from diverse backgrounds. Upskilling and/or re-skilling young people with diverse technical and soft skills in line with evolving developments such as artificial intelligence will be crucial.
One of the most powerful takeaways was the importance of community-based food systems. Feeding cities sustainably means more than logistics - it means building short, resilient supply chains and a shared food culture rooted in emotional connection and wellbeing. Community food systems were described as ecosystems and should be supported through cooperative models, not charity.
Speakers urged funders to value both the tangible and intangible impacts of food initiatives - such as belonging, storytelling, and trust- acknowledging their long-term transformative power.
As one speaker said, “We need to reconnect with food’s true value - through growing together and re-establishing ties between soil, soul, and society.”
The path forward is not just technical or financial - it is deeply human. Building sustainable food systems means nurturing connection, equity, and shared purpose at every level.