Meat and Dairy Industries Threaten to Derail Europe’s Commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement
A Meat and Dairy Industries Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Reynard Loki, Earth/Food/Life a project of the Independent Media Institute
February 2021

Between 2007 and 2018, the EU’s meat and dairy production saw a 9.5% increase, which, according to Greenpeace, resulted in a 6% increase in annual emissions—the same impact as putting 8.4 million new cars on the road.

The true cost of beef: Emissions from animal products are 10 to 50 times higher than those from plant-based foods. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals)

The true cost of beef: Emissions from animal products are 10 to 50 times higher than those from plant-based foods. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals)

A new report exposes the outsized and growing impact of Europe’s animal agriculture industries on
the climate.

A recent analysis conducted by Greenpeace has come to an extremely worrying conclusion: If the European Union (EU) doesn’t put checks on the greenhouse gas impacts created by the expanding animal agriculture industry, the bloc risks missing its Paris climate agreement targets, which are intended to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Published in September, “Farming for Failure: How European Animal Farming Fuels the Climate Emergency” crunches data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other peer-reviewed research to find that animal farming in the EU is responsible for the equivalent of 704 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually — mostly through methane emissions resulting from the digestive processes of ruminants like cows and sheep — representing 17% of the bloc’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The authors note that this amount is more than the total amount of CO2 produced yearly by all the cars and vans currently on the roads in the EU.

In order to meet the goals of the Paris agreement, global greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. But current national commitments are insufficient, say scientists.

“The Paris Agreement is not enough. Even at the time of negotiation, it was recognized as not being enough,” says Alice C. Hill, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It was only a first step, and the expectation was that as time went on, countries would return with greater ambition to cut their emissions.”

To make matters worse, the ongoing expansion of the EU meat and dairy industries threatens to upend the bloc’s climate goals. Between 2007 and 2018, the EU’s meat and dairy production saw a 9.5% increase, which, according to Greenpeace, resulted in a 6% increase in annual emissions — the same impact as putting 8.4 million new cars on the road....

 

Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE (PDF) 

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