Meat consumption is destroying the climate: IPCC report warns

«Less meat = less heat,» chanted activists from the environmental organisation Greenpeace on Thursday at the Place des Nations in Geneva.

«We must not be satisfied with half measures», said Mathias Schlegel, spokesperson for Greenpeace Switzerland. «The report is very good news, because it highlights what we have been saying.»

The IPCC expressed concern in its report about the impact of land use on climate change. It recommends a drastic reduction in meat consumption. According to Greenpeace, this must be cut by half worldwide by 2050. In Switzerland, the reduction would need to reach as much as 70 to 90 percent.

Climate as an election campaign issue

He hoped that Greta Thunberg’s visit to Lausanne and the IPCC report would help make climate a major issue in the federal elections in autumn. «We need to go beyond a CO2 tax», Schlegel continued. Politicians in Switzerland must take the findings of the report into account, the Academy of Natural Sciences stated.

Agriculture must undergo a rethinking. This has implications for the environment abroad, and the production of the Swiss food system influences the natural ecosystems.

«Agriculture must become local again», said another Greenpeace representative. It is responsible for approximately a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, but this figure rises to as much as 37 percent when transport and labour associated with agricultural products are included.

• Meat consumption has more than doubled over the past 60 years, as land has been converted for agricultural purposes at an unprecedented rate in human history.
• Around two billion adults are overweight or obese, while 821 million people are still undernourished, highlighting the urgent need to reform the global food system.

«We don’t have to give up animal products entirely, but we need to return to the principle of the Sunday roast.»

Alexander Popp, researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and author of the IPCC report.

«Governments cannot wait until the planned meeting at the end of 2020 to take action», says Schlegel. «I think that citizens, especially young people, are receptive to the need to change our food consumption.»

Act before it’s too late

«The report sends a clear message», said a WWF representative on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting. The priority must be to protect and restore ecosystems and to move towards sustainable food production and consumption.