Food Companies Emitting “More Methane Than Russia”  

Ahead of the Global Methane Pledge ministerial meeting at COP27, a report by the Changing Markets Foundation and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has called for more “ambitious action” to cut meat and dairy sector emissions. The report found only six of the fifteen most methane-intensive food companies – which include Nestlé, Danone, Danish Crown and Saputo – fully report their emissions, including from animals in their supply chains, which account for 90% of the sector’s climate footprint. The companies’ combined methane emissions are equivalent to 83% of the entire EU, surpassing Russia at 115%, and far exceeding Canada, Australia and Germany. Collectively, the 15 are responsible for 3.4% of global methane emissions from human activity, and 11.1% of livestock methane emissions. Brazilian meat company JBS exceeded the combined livestock methane emissions of France, Germany, Canada and New Zealand alone. The 15 food companies’ combined GHG emissions are greater than that of Germany, the world’s fourth biggest economy, and exceed those of oil and gas giants such as ExxonMobil, BP, or Shell. Shefali Sharma, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s European Director, said: “The methane emissions of the big meat and dairy companies rival those of nation states, yet they hide their colossal climate footprint behind a veneer of greenwash and net zero targets. These companies won’t do what is needed voluntarily – governments must set rules to regulate their emissions and support farmers to transition away from industrial agriculture.”  

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