Climate Smart Agriculture aims to increase productivity and food security, strengthen resilience to climate change impacts, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions where possible. However, some civil society organizations argue that Climate Smart Agriculture dilutes the need to transform food systems through agro-ecology, focuses too much on mitigation, and is dominated by vested interests without proper social or environmental safeguards. There are also questions around whether Climate Smart Agriculture and agro-ecological approaches can be compatible, if the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture has been captured by certain groups, and how to address civil society concerns while still making progress through initiatives like the Global Alliance and COP21 negotiations.