The five biggest meat and dairy producers are generating more methane than the five largest oil and gas companies, according to a new report. While sheep and cattle are a prolific source of the highly potent heat-trapping gas, few countries have set targets to cut emissions from livestock.
For the report, the Dutch think tank Profundo gathered data on the number of animals handled by 45 leading producers of beef, pork, chicken, and milk. The group found that, together, these firms are unleashing more methane yearly than the whole of the E.U.
The five biggest producers — JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva in Brazil, and Tyson and Cargill in the U.S. — are together responsible for more methane than the five largest oil and gas companies — BP, TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil. And yet, global efforts to curb methane have tended to focus on emissions from oil and gas drilling.
JBS alone is responsible for more methane than ExxonMobil and Shell combined. While JBS is aiming to cut its emissions by 30 percent by the end of this decade, this target accounts only for emissions from its operations and not the cattle it processes.
A new U.N. report finds that, overall, the world is doing too little to meet an international goal to cut emissions of methane by 30 percent, from their levels in 2020, by the end of this decade. A separate report, assembled by a coalition of climate groups, finds the world has made progress in curbing the amount of methane produced per sheep or cattle. But it needs to more than double the pace of cuts to meet international climate goals.
Additionally, many scientists say, the world must simply consume less meat. A recent study asked more than 200 leading climate and food experts what changes would be needed to bring the meat and dairy industry in line with the Paris Agreement. Those surveyed broadly agreed that the number of farmed animals must start dropping now.
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