The largest meat and dairy operations have inadequate strategies for methane production, according to new analysis by Changing Markets Foundation.
As COP29 begins this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, the company released data that analysed the policy landscape in the 11 countries where the largest meat and dairy companies are headquartered. It found nearly all national strategies lack mandatory requirements for agricultural emissions reductions, cuts in livestock production, or the inclusion of agriculture in any form of greenhouse gas pricing scheme.
Instead, the report found the landscape is dominated by supply-side, technically-oriented policy solutions and support – particularly for biogas from manure – that will fail to achieve the significant emissions reduction required to reach net-zero goals.
In earlier research, the campaign group found that among the 22 companies analysed, 15 had made voluntary net-zero pledges. However, only two of these pledges – from Danone and Nestlé – align with the Science-Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) 1.5˚C target for reaching net-zero by 2050.
Whilst, all the countries where the largest 22 companies are headquartered – besides China – are signed up to the Global Methane Pledge. Yet, the analysis revealed none of these companies have specific agricultural methane reduction targets or robust plans for achieving these reductions.
This has allowed meat and dairy corporations to boast green claims without delivering meaningful climate action. For example, FrieslandCampina, Arla and WH Group publicly back regenerative agriculture initiatives but are largely using them to report offset emissions rather than reduce them directly.
Meanwhile, biogas and other techno-fixes focus only on limited, small-scale emissions solutions. With 82% of emissions from livestock linked to enteric fermentation rather than manure, these strategies fall short of addressing the core of the methane problem.
The reason for this is suggested to be weak voluntary commitments, an over-reliance on market-inaccessible or ineffective techno-fixes, and a lack of public regulation. These factors continue to hinder the urgent emissions reductions needed from this high-polluting sector.
Alma Castrejon-Davila, senior campaigner at Changing Markets, said: “Our new analysis shows how meat and dairy companies’ emissions continue to go unchecked due to the ongoing regulatory ‘agricultural exceptionalism’ in the countries where the companies are headquartered.
“When this is paired with weak voluntary commitments and initiatives that give us the impression that action is happening, the chance to limit climate catastrophe slips further away. The science is clear; to keep the 1.5˚C limit alive, we must rapidly address and reduce methane emissions. If we’re to achieve this goal, agriculture should no longer continue to get a free pass.
“As COP29 commences, we call on State Parties, especially those signed on to the Global Methane Pledge, to set methane reduction targets for the agricultural sector that finally put a limit to Big Meat and Dairy companies’ emissions.”
