“We have to stop destroying the planet as we feed ourselves,” a World Bank official said, as red meat and dairy drive CO2 emissions.
Cows and milk are out, chicken and broccoli are in — if the World Bank has its way, that is.
In a new paper, the international financial lender suggests repurposing the billions rich countries spend to boost CO2-rich products like red meat and dairy for more climate-friendly options like poultry, fruits and vegetables. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to save the planet from climate change, the bank argues.
The politically touchy recommendation — sure to make certain conservatives and European countries apoplectic — is one of several suggestions the World Bank offers to cut climate-harming pollution from the agricultural and food sectors, which are responsible for nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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The paper comes at a diplomatically strategic moment, as countries signed on to the Paris Agreement — the global pact calling to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — prepare to update their climate plans by late 2025.
We need to reduce animal consumption across the board.
Rich people get stuff that the normals don’t. This isn’t new.
You could also make it more equitable by implementing a carbon tax and returning some of it in the form of cash payments to the poor, and/or investments in infrastructure that benefit the poor the most (health care, public and active transport, welfare).
I’ve heard of that. I think I’ve heard it called “carbon dividend” or something to that effect.
I’m totally for it.