According to Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, thirty-five of the largest companies in these sectors were responsible, in 2018, 7% of EU emissions. The NGO calls governments to “regulate agrobusiness”.
Le Monde with AFP
Despite the climate crisis, greenhouse gas emissions from European giants of the meat and dairy products continue to increase. This is the conclusion of A report published on Monday December 13 , by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).
This NGO based in Minneapolis (USA), but also having an office in Berlin in Germany, reviews thirty-five of the largest companies in the sector in the European Union (EU), in the Kingdom And in Switzerland, and examines their potential climate plans and emissions encompassing the entire supply chain, particularly livestock, large greenhouse gas transmitter.
According to the results of the analyzes, these companies were responsible in 2018 of 7% of EU emissions and the emissions of the first twenty of them exceed those of the Netherlands.
The report focuses on ten large companies with more or less accurate climate goals. For seven of them, over two years, absolute emissions have increased. For example, meat processing, between 2016 and 2018, +45% for the Irish ABP and + 30% for German Tönnies; and milk side, between 2015 and 2017, respectively + 15% and + 30% for the French Danone and Lactalis.
Accounting tricks and “greenwashing”
“The carbon footprint of the European giants of milk and meat competition that of the giants of fossil energies, but they continue to act with impunity,” denounced Shefali Sharma, Director Europe of IATP in a statement.
And “the handful of companies that have climate plans are based on accounting tricks, the Greenwashing and the dubious effects of compensation to distract the attention of the fundamental changes needed to reduce emissions, while postponing a large part Costs and risks on farmers “who provide them, she added.
The report, which calls on governments to “regulate agrobusiness”, notably denounces the use by these companies of the concept of carbon intensity, that is to say the emissions per liter of milk or kilogram of meat , which may decrease without reducing absolute emissions because at the same time the production and number of livestock heads increase.
On the twenty companies analyzed, only four (Arla, Danone, FrieslandCampina and Nestlé) declare the total emissions of their supply chain and only three (Nestlé, FrieslandCampina and ABP) announced their intention to reduce their absolute emissions in Including their supply chain, according to the text. But “no public evidence indicates that one of these companies plans to thoroughly modify its model of large-scale livestock production and processing”.
IATP also denounces the attempt of these large companies to deflect responsibility for both farmers and European consumers. Even if they consume less meat and milk, it would have “limited effects” to reduce European livestock emissions due to the important part of exports, notes the report.