Less meat consumption critical to achieving climate goal: report

A worldwide shift to healthier diets that contain less meat consumption could help close the gap between current emissions reduction plans and what is needed to prevent dangerous climate change, according to a report released Tuesday by a British think tank.

The main goal of the upcoming Paris climate change conference is to limit the rise of global temperature by two degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Researchers believe that governments around the world still have much to do to achieve that goal.

The livestock sector is already responsible for 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and unless strong demand growth for meat is curtailed, the sector's emissions will increase to the point where dangerous climate change is unavoidable, according to the report by researchers from the Chatham House and Glasgow University.

Researchers said meat consumption had already reached excessive levels in many Western countries: in industrialized countries, it was around twice the amount deemed healthy by experts.

Figures also indicate that with the rise of new meat-eating middle classes in developing countries, global meat consumption is set to increase by 76 percent by 2050.

"Reducing meat consumption is a real win-win for health and for the climate," said report author Laura Wellesley. "As governments look for strategies to close the Paris emissions gap quickly and cheaply, dietary change should be high on the list."

However, the report finds that governments are ignoring the opportunity. Reducing meat consumption does not feature in a single national emissions reduction plan submitted in advance of the Paris meeting. Governments are afraid to interfere in lifestyle choices for fear of public backlash, according to the report.

But new research undertaken, including a public survey in 12 countries, shows that government fears are exaggerated. Once aware of the link between meat and climate change, consumers accept the need for government action.

Even unpopular interventions to make meat more expensive, for example through a carbon tax, would face diminishing resistance as the public come to understand the rationale behind intervention, according to the report

To build support for government action, the report recommends initiatives to raise public awareness of the climate and health impacts of excessive meat consumption. Governments should pursue comprehensive strategies to shift diets, including policies on labeling, public procurement, regulation and pricing, according to the report.

"Raising awareness about the health and environmental impacts of meat is an important first step, but on its own it will not lead to significant behavior change. Governments must do more to influence diets," said Wellesley. Endit