How meat and dairy are heating up the planet

Pushing people to cut down on meat consumption has long been a goal of environmental activists owing to the sheer amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released into the atmosphere from the agricultural sector, be it from livestock or deforestation. But will it have any effect?

A new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has found that at least 20 of Europe's largest meat and dairy companies are actively contributing to climate change with only a minority setting climate goals or adequately reporting their emissions.

The study, which calculated the emissions of 35 of Europe's largest food companies, suggests that none of the companies examined are looking to actively reduce the number of livestock in their supply chains, where 90% of the sector's greenhouse gas emissions are emitted.

The report also states that the world's largest meat and dairy companies have "known about their climate impact since at least 2006" when a UN report provided a damning assessment of the livestock sector's contribution to global warming.

Read more: UK health professionals call for meat climate tax

This is the latest delve into the world's agricultural emitters which the team conducted alongside farmer NGO GRAIN. The team's 2018 study suggested the meat and dairy sectors rival oil giants in terms of raw greenhouse gas emissions.

Agriculture is currently the leading cause of methane emissions, which accounts for 10% of all GHG emissions. Like most emissions, it is also released through natural sources, such as wetlands.

These companies created 244 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018 - more than the Netherlands, or roughly 73% of Spain's emissions or over half of those emitted by the largest oil companies.

Only 10 of the companies examined in this new study have set themselves climate goals, with only three having pledged to reach net-zero.

The IATP actively accuses these companies of greenwashing, spreading false narratives and "hiding behind smokescreens" about unproven tech or relying on feeds that claim to reduce methane emissions without any real evidence.

The report accuses companies of relying on carbon offsets, such as carbon intensity reductions which neglect to acknowledge continued expansion, leading to a displacement of actual emissions targets. Efforts to improve energy efficiency often fall on farmers to implement and pay for, the report claims, while no government in Europe holds companies accountable for their pollution.

"The EU must not certify the use of impermanent and unreliable carbon offset schemes, which enable corporate polluters to delay climate action and hide their emissions", the report claims.

Four of the companies assessed, Arla, Danone, FrieslandCampina and Nestlé, report on supply chain emissions in any capacity. Of these, only Nestlé and Danone provide livestock emissions in any detail.

Read more: GMIS2021: John Kerry calls on India, China and Russia to help "keep 1.5°C alive"

Irish dairy company ABP reportedly increased emissions by 45% between 2016-2018 despite its pledge to the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi), which aims to set "ambitious corporate science-based climate action", by the largest climb of any company surveyed.

The data found that Germany has by far the highest agricultural emissions in the EU, claiming none of the companies headquartered there have set any kind of climate goals.

"Several companies ... have failed to exhibit even minimal transparency about their operations, including the number of animals they slaughter annually, making it impossible to calculate trends in their annual emissions", the authors state.

In addition, "EU exports on poultry, dairy and pork increased 93%, 45% and 58%, respectively between 2005 and 2018".

Limiting consumption in just Europe will have little effect on GHG emissions as long as the region’s outsized influence on global dairy and meat exports and EU trade policy is ignored, the report states. 86% of all meat and dairy products in the bloc comes from 10 countries.

The authors recommend harsher legislation targetting top emitters, saying "the industry must not be allowed to profit while conferring the costs of the extractive system of mass production of animal-sourced foods to the public". They also noted the sheer number of lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and governments over climate impacts, most notably the recent Dutch court order against Shell.

There are also calls for greater transparency on behalf of major companies to allow it easier to set more ambitious climate goals, while reporting on all types of emissions, including scope 3 emissions, which are often neglected.

Net-zero was a central topic of the COP26 summit in Glasgow last month, which suggests governments should do more to prevent the costs of the transition from hitting smaller businesses and farmers.

The latest IPCC report also concludes "strong and sustained" emissions reduction are the key to 1.5°C goals laid out by the Paris Climate Agreement., which singled out methane as a key emitter to be tackled.

Read more: "Strong and sustained" emissions reductions key for climate future

"In the absence of governments setting up accountable regulatory regimes, voluntary initiatives are proliferating. [Net-zero] targets are, at best, unaccountable, lacking clear benchmarks, indicators and robust third-party verification. At their worst, they are platforms for corporate greenwashing", the report concludes.

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