{"id":1550,"date":"2026-06-05T16:39:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"\/?post_type=insight&#038;p=1550"},"modified":"2026-08-19T11:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:33:49","slug":"reducing-food-loss-and-waste","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/insights\/reducing-food-loss-and-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing Food Loss and Waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1550\" class=\"elementor elementor-1550\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bb31385 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"bb31385\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-37ef509\" data-id=\"37ef509\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-07c3115 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"07c3115\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-abacdf0\" data-id=\"abacdf0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-304d585 elementor-widget elementor-widget-igdp_insight_detail_hero\" data-id=\"304d585\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"igdp_insight_detail_hero.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row-report1\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cur cur1\">\n\t\t<a href=\"\/\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<i>\/<\/i>\n\t\t<a href=\"\/index.php\/insights\/\">Insights<\/a>\n\t\t<i>\/<\/i>\n\t\t<span>Reducing Food Loss and Waste<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"m-report1 wow fadeInUp\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">Reducing Food Loss and Waste<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subtit\">A Climate Opportunity Not to Be Missed<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"line\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"background-image: url(\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/MyBasicTheme\/images\/igdp\/product\/icon3.svg);\">Chinese<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"background-image: url(\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/MyBasicTheme\/images\/igdp\/product\/icon4.svg);\">June 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"background-image: url(\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/MyBasicTheme\/images\/igdp\/product\/icon5.svg);\">Working Paper<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"background-image: url(\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/MyBasicTheme\/images\/igdp\/product\/icon6.svg);\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span\">Beyond Carbon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span\">Climate-Food<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span\">GAAP<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span2\">Summary:<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span3\">This working paper quantitatively examines the scale and climate impact of food loss and waste (FLW) in China. It analyzes the uneven distribution of FLW across supply chain stages and food types, highlighting that while vegetables account for the largest share of losses, livestock products carry disproportionately high emissions intensity. The paper reviews China&#039;s evolving policy landscape, including the Anti-Food Waste Law and cold chain development initiatives, while identifying critical gaps in data infrastructure, sustainable cold chain coverage, and consumer behavior interventions. It explores the dual role of cold chain logistics\u2014reducing post-harvest losses while contributing significant energy-related and refrigerant emissions\u2014and assesses the potential of business innovations, public engagement, and food waste valorization to mitigate FLW. The paper calls for integrating FLW reduction into climate governance frameworks, proposing four priority pathways: establishing systematic FLW data systems, advancing sustainable cold chain solutions, strengthening circular utilization of food waste, and promoting green consumption patterns to unlock a cost-effective, high-potential climate mitigation opportunity.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span2\">Suggested citation:<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span3\">Chen Meian, Zhu Tongxin, Ma Yue. Reducing Food Loss and Waste: A Climate Opportunity Not to Be Missed. 2026. Working Paper. Beijing: Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress (iGDP).<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span2\">License:<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"span3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" class=\"link\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"igdp-report-download-buttons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-06-iGDP-Working-Paper-ZH-Reducing-Food-Loss-and-Waste.pdf\" class=\"g-btnr1\"><span style=\"background-image: url(\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/MyBasicTheme\/images\/igdp\/product\/icon7.svg);\">download zh<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-12.58.09-PM.jpg\" alt=\"Reducing Food Loss and Waste\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dac27ea e-con e-atomic-element e-flexbox-base e-f49bc71 \" data-id=\"dac27ea\" data-element_type=\"e-flexbox\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-interaction-id=\"dac27ea\">\n    \t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2308f50 elementor-widget elementor-widget-igdp_insight_detail_related\" data-id=\"2308f50\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"igdp_insight_detail_related.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row-report4\" id=\"page09\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"g-titr1 wow fadeInUp\">Related<\/div>\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"ul-report4 wow fadeInUp\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.carbonbrief.org\/qa-what-is-in-chinas-new-five-year-plan-for-climate-change\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">Q&#038;A: What is in China\u2019s new five-year plan for climate change?<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">China has released a five-year plan dedicated to addressing climate change.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Interview<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">AUG 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT-768x512.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/3EY49RT.jpg 1550w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-07-29\/china-signals-nation-is-ready-to-lead-global-climate-action?utm_source=website&#038;utm_medium=share&#038;utm_campaign=copy\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">China Signals Nation Is Ready to Lead Global Climate Action<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Interview<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">JUL 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351-768x519.webp\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351-768x519.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351-300x203.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351-1024x692.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351-1536x1038.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2000x1351.webp 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/res.cenews.com.cn\/hjw\/news.html?aid=1800064\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">A Reduction Capacity of 30 Million Tonnes of CO\u2082 Equivalent to Be Developed: Non-CO\u2082 Greenhouse Gas Control Accelerates Nationwide | Decoding Climate Plans\u2460<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in collaboration with the National Development and Reform Commission and 18 other departments, jointly issued the \u201cNational 15th Five-Year Plan for Climate Change Response,\u201d establishing for the first time a comprehensive, all-encompassing system of climate change response targets at the five-year planning level.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Interview<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">JUL 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-10.09.10-PM-e1787129378935-768x510.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-10.09.10-PM-e1787129378935-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-10.09.10-PM-e1787129378935-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-10.09.10-PM-e1787129378935-1024x679.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-10.09.10-PM-e1787129378935.jpg 1037w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cenews.com.cn\/h5hjb\/news\/news.html?id=1758469\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">The \u201cHidden Carbon Footprint\u201d Behind Our Plates: Food Supply Chain Emission Reduction Is Imperative<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">At the meeting, expert representatives from sectors such as cold-chain logistics, carbon management, and the food industry discussed the key challenges in reducing emissions along the supply chain and explored pathways for transformation that deliver both environmental benefits and economic value.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Interview<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">DEC 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"499\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a-768x499.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a-768x499.png 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a-300x195.png 300w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a-1024x665.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a-1536x998.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/1112\u755c\u79bd\u4f4e\u78b3\u517b\u6b96\u7684\u521b\u65b0\u8def\u5f84\u4e0e\u6311\u6218\u7ebf\u4e0a\u8ba8\u8bba\u4f1a.png 1672w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/insights\/agri-food-and-super-pollutants-reduction-in-china-accelerating-a-green-and-low-carbon-transition-to-unlock-co-benefits\/\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">Agri-Food Super Pollutants Reduction in China<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">This policy brief analyzes reduction opportunities for &quot;super pollutants&quot; (methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, black carbon, and ground-level ozone) from China&#039;s agri-food system. It focuses on three key areas: nitrogen fertilizer use and nitrous oxide emissions, food loss and waste and associated methane emissions, and rural energy use and black carbon emissions from cooking and agricultural machinery. It synthesizes scientific literature, official statistics, and policy documents to quantify emissions, identify mitigation potential, and catalog the climate, health, economic, and social co-benefits of action. It finds that super pollutant mitigation offers &quot;triple-win&quot; outcomes\u2014climate, health, and socioeconomic\u2014and identifies three emerging opportunities: supportive national and provincial policies, expanding green finance and carbon market mechanisms, and the growing role of new agricultural business entities in driving technology adoption at scale.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Policy Brief<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">NOV 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1133\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM-768x1133.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM-768x1133.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM-694x1024.jpg 694w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM-1041x1536.jpg 1041w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-4.18.50-PM.jpg 1090w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/insights\/mapping-chinas-agricultural-methane-reduction-trends-and-local-actions\/\" class=\"con\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"txt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tit\">Mapping China&#8217;s Agricultural Methane Reduction<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"desc\">This policy brief analyzes agricultural methane emissions in China. It quantifies the substantial mitigation potential through measures such as improved irrigation, adoption of low-emission rice varieties, and anaerobic digestion of livestock manure. The analysis combines national-level emission analysis, county-level spatial mapping identifying five provinces that account for one-third of total agricultural methane emissions, a systematic review of provincial methane control action plans (nine provinces as of October 2025), and case studies of on-the-ground practices in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Jiangxi. It also catalogs the multiple co-benefits of mitigation, including water savings, reduced fertilizer costs, and improved agricultural productivity.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"span1\">Policy Brief<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"date\">NOV 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"picbox\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1093\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM-768x1093.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM-768x1093.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM-720x1024.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM-1079x1536.jpg 1079w, https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-9.48.15-PM.jpg 1130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This working paper quantitatively examines the scale and climate impact of food loss and waste (FLW) in China. It analyzes the uneven distribution of FLW across supply chain stages and food types, highlighting that while vegetables account for the largest share of losses, livestock products carry disproportionately high emissions intensity. The paper reviews China&#8217;s evolving policy landscape, including the Anti-Food Waste Law and cold chain development initiatives, while identifying critical gaps in data infrastructure, sustainable cold chain coverage, and consumer behavior interventions. It explores the dual role of cold chain logistics\u2014reducing post-harvest losses while contributing significant energy-related and refrigerant emissions\u2014and assesses the potential of business innovations, public engagement, and food waste valorization to mitigate FLW. The paper calls for integrating FLW reduction into climate governance frameworks, proposing four priority pathways: establishing systematic FLW data systems, advancing sustainable cold chain solutions, strengthening circular utilization of food waste, and promoting green consumption patterns to unlock a cost-effective, high-potential climate mitigation opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1942,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"igdp_summary":"This working paper quantitatively examines the scale and climate impact of food loss and waste (FLW) in China. It analyzes the uneven distribution of FLW across supply chain stages and food types, highlighting that while vegetables account for the largest share of losses, livestock products carry disproportionately high emissions intensity. The paper reviews China's evolving policy landscape, including the Anti-Food Waste Law and cold chain development initiatives, while identifying critical gaps in data infrastructure, sustainable cold chain coverage, and consumer behavior interventions. It explores the dual role of cold chain logistics\u2014reducing post-harvest losses while contributing significant energy-related and refrigerant emissions\u2014and assesses the potential of business innovations, public engagement, and food waste valorization to mitigate FLW. The paper calls for integrating FLW reduction into climate governance frameworks, proposing four priority pathways: establishing systematic FLW data systems, advancing sustainable cold chain solutions, strengthening circular utilization of food waste, and promoting green consumption patterns to unlock a cost-effective, high-potential climate mitigation opportunity.","igdp_featured_media":1942,"igdp_download_file":1732,"igdp_external_url":"","igdp_key_info":"","igdp_related_insights":[]},"insight_type":[49],"insight_region":[45],"igdp_topic":[148,154,156],"class_list":["post-1550","insight","type-insight","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","insight_type-working-paper","insight_region-china-national","igdp_topic-beyond-carbon","igdp_topic-climate-food","igdp_topic-gaap"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/1550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insight"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/1550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4372,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/1550\/revisions\/4372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"insight_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight_type?post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"insight_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight_region?post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"igdp_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.igdp.cn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/igdp_topic?post=1550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}