With the Paris Agreement in 2015, 196 UN member states agreed to reform their development agendas towards the aim of limiting global warming to 1,5 to 2°C, while ensuring food production through adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts. Framed by the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), each nation committed to measures in order to reduce its national greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change impacts.

Agroecology is increasingly recognized as a holistic approach that supports both climate mitigation and adaptation goals under the three Rio conventions. Several countries specifically consider agroecology in their NDCs. The 2026 policy brief Food Forward NDCs finds agroecology to be explicitly mentioned in 23% of NDCs (27 countries). Also, in other processes related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agroecology is strongly supported. For example, COP30 in Belém saw the launch of TERRA – a global platform designed to scale resilient and restorative agroecology and agroforestry.

Agroecology opens the window of opportunity to promote CCA issues within the agricultural community and beyond.

Being a human-centred approach, agroecology acknowledges that the food security crisis is intertwined with the climate crisis. Finding solutions to one can only be accomplished by considering the other. This requires a system approach, which includes different components of our complex global system of nature and human interaction and which considers different spatial and disciplinary scales. The approach of agroecology is based on the awareness that food systems are characterised through a high level of complexity and therefore strives to create an enabling environment for the adoption of best practices by tackling the spheres of policy and research.

Agroecology offers the opportunity to mainstream climate issues into the sector of food and agriculture on the level of practice, research and policy. In recent times, agriculture played a rather small role in the context of CCA at policy level. Agroecology can close this gap and offer a window of opportunity here. Many successful solutions are already being implemented. Check out these successful examples to learn more.

The 13 principles of agroecology (see What is the theory behind Agroecology?) provide different entry points for CCA on different scales.

The principles of recycling, input reduction, soil health, biodiversity and economic diversification offer entry points from an agroecosystem point of view. By applying these principles, rural communities can reduce income risks related to climate-induced crop failure. Diversification of agroecosystems, e.g. through the integration of livestock and trees, and the application of agricultural management practices like multi-cropping, nutrient cycling and conservation tillage increase drought resilience through improved water-retention and micro-climates. Beyond adaptation, increased soil carbon sequestration and reduced use of fossil fuels contribute to climate change mitigation.

Principles on community or societal level like co-creation of knowledge, social values and diets, fairness, connectivity, land and natural resource governance as well as participation serve as entry points for CCA in rural and urban communities. Participation and connections among stakeholders can create a type of land and natural resource governance that is adequate to local conditions and flexible to a changing environment. Integrating different types of knowledge leads to locally adapted and relevant technological and social innovations, which strengthen livelihoods in their adaptiveness and resilience to climate change.

Further significant co-benefits of agroecology for CCA arise from the effected system integration. Through integrating agroecology on landscape and food system scale, more resilient landscapes and livelihoods can be realized.

In summary, by following the 13 principles of agroecology, CCA can be integrated on four different scales: the field scale, the farm and livelihood-scale, the landscape or community scale, and the food system scale (see figure below). To realize wider benefits, increased public and private investment, adapted policies to subsidize agroecological production, same as closer collaboration between policy makers and researchers is crucial.

Figure 2: Framework for Understanding Agroecological Adaptation to Climate Change across Scales and how it is influenced by public and private sector governance (Source: Sinclair et al. 2019).

As agroecology is closely linked to ecosystem-based-adaptation (EbA), EbA can serve as a connection between the agriculture and climate communities. On the one hand, one could see Agroecology as a part of the wider concept of EbA but with a focus on the agricultural and food sector or cultivated landscapes. On the other hand, one could say that Agroecology applies EbA within the first three levels of transformation (see What is the theory behind Agroecology?) but goes beyond “the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy” by considering the political and societal sphere as well.

Women farmers often play important roles in managing seeds, biodiversity, food production and natural resources, but they often have less access to land, water, credit, technology, training and agricultural services. Agroecological approaches can help address these inequalities.

Organic inputs and local seeds are more affordable for smallholder women farmers than industrial inputs and also rely more on traditional knowledge, which is usually held by women. The cultivation of diverse, nutritious crops for household consumption can support women’s often central role in providing food for their families. Diversified production, local markets and collective forms of organization can create new income opportunities and give women greater control over production and resources, strengthening their economic independence and agency. Agroecological knowledge-sharing networks create opportunities for women farmers to connect, exchange experiences and knowledge, and strengthen mutual support within their communities.

However, agroecology does not automatically lead to gender equality but should rather be seen as a window of opportunity. Gender-transformative approaches are needed to address unequal access to resources, decision-making power and social norms and ensure that women are not only included in agroecological transitions, but can also gain greater autonomy, leadership and influence.