Why Care
Research indicates that current trends in global food systems, particularly animal agriculture, pose a significant threat to achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. Even if fossil fuel emissions were halted immediately, the ongoing impact of animal agriculture would still prevent us from reaching the 1.5°C target. To effectively combat climate change, rapid and ambitious changes are needed in both food and non-food sectors. A shift towards plant-based diets by 2050 could greatly help by allowing significant carbon sequestration through ecosystem restoration, potentially offsetting a large portion of CO2 emissions and increasing our chances of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Support: Global food system emissions could preclude achieving the 1.5° and 2°C climate change targets
The Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5° or 2°C above preindustrial levels requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Although reducing emissions from fossil fuels is essential for meeting this goal, other sources of emissions may also preclude its attainment. We show that even if fossil fuel emissions were immediately halted, current trends in global food systems would prevent the achievement of the 1.5°C target and, by the end of the century, threaten the achievement of the 2°C target. Meeting the 1.5°C target requires rapid and ambitious changes to food systems as well as to all nonfood sectors. The 2°C target could be achieved with less-ambitious changes to food systems, but only if fossil fuel and other nonfood emissions are eliminated soon.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33154139/
Support: The carbon opportunity cost of animal-sourced food production on land
Extensive land uses to meet dietary preferences incur a ‘carbon opportunity cost’ given the potential for carbon sequestration through ecosystem restoration. Here we map the magnitude of this opportunity, finding that shifts in global food production to plant-based diets by 2050 could lead to sequestration of 332–547 GtCO2, equivalent to 99–163% of the CO2 emissions budget consistent with a 66% chance of limiting warming to 1.5 °C.