World Leaders Pledge to Reduce Livestock Emissions in Fight Against Climate Change

More than 100 world leaders at this year's United Nations climate summit agreed to make their farm and food systems a key part of their plans to fight climate change, seeking improvements in a sector that accounts for about a third of planet-warming emissions. With livestock accounting for over half of those emissions, meat and dairy are at the forefront of many agriculture conversations at COP28 in Dubai. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization added to those conversations with an updated report that included ways to cut those livestock emissions. "You don't meet the climate goals without doing something in the system, and in this case on livestock," said Francesco Tubiello, a senior statistician with the FAO who worked on the report. The report highlights ways the meat industry can improve productivity and efficiency, but change won't be easy. Like fossil fuel producers, the meat industry turned out in force to protect its interests at the talks, including casting their practices as "sustainable nutrition," according to one report.

Key Takeaways:

• World leaders at COP28 agreed to prioritize reducing livestock emissions, which account for about a third of planet-warming emissions.
• Livestock, particularly ruminants like cows, account for over half of those emissions due to methane production from their digestive systems.
• The FAO report suggests improving productivity and efficiency in the meat industry, but acknowledges that change won't be easy due to industry pushback and consumer resistance.
• The Global Meat Alliance, an industry-funded group, touted a message that meat is good for the environment, including grazing livestock can help maintain healthy soils and meat can help in food-insecure nations.
• Many governments around the world have promoted meat for a long time, transforming cultural meat eating habits, making it an industry fueled by multinational corporations worth billions of dollars.
• The US subsidizes farmers to overproduce to sell meat more cheaply to an urban population.
• Better consumer options, such as meat alternatives, are needed, but are hindered by far more public financial support and lobbying attention given to animal farming.
• The agriculture declaration signed by world leaders at COP28 is a loose pledge, not a binding agreement, and calls for improving enforcement of potentially misleading sustainability claims and incentivizing farmers to implement truly green practices.

Statistics:

• About a third of planet-warming emissions come from the farm and food system.
• Livestock accounts for over half of those emissions.
• The FAO report suggests that improving productivity and efficiency in the meat industry can reduce emissions.
• The Global Meat Alliance plans to tout a message that meat is good for the environment, including grazing livestock can help maintain healthy soils and meat can help in food-insecure nations.
• Animal farming receives far more public financial support and lobbying attention than meat alternatives do, a study from Stanford University found.
• The US subsidizes farmers to overproduce to sell meat more cheaply to an urban population.
• The agriculture declaration signed by world leaders at COP28 is not a binding agreement.

Sources:

• Associated Press (AP)
• United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Global Meat Alliance
• Stanford University
• The Guardian and DeSmog
• Sustainable San Mateo County
• Environmental Working Group (EWG)
• Western Michigan University
• Purdue University