Decarbonizing the World’s Protein Production Systems
The challenge of decarbonizing the world’s food production systems comes with an unsavory combination of trends: Though the global production of food generates 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions (even without accounting for transportation, packaging, or refrigeration), this massively important and carbon-intensive sector receives a paltry 3% of total global climate investment.
“If all emissions outside of food went down to zero tomorrow, we still would not be on pace to reach even a two-degree target,” notes Kevin Karl, a research associate at Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research. “We simply cannot leave emissions from food systems untouched. It’s an important part of the future of a sustainable climate.”
Download Sustainable Proteins below to explore technologies for decarbonizing protein production, along with financial and policy tools to accelerate their adoption
Three Key Levers
In very different ways, both animal agriculture and alternative protein production will need to find creative, large-scale means of improving their efficiency — and therefore, their carbon intensity and economics.
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- Agricultural emissions are estimated to reach ~15 GtCO₂e by 2050 (30% higher than 2021 levels), with 60% related to animal protein.
- Global protein consumption is dominated by vegetal sources. However, animal protein consumption has accelerated fast, from 27 grams per capita per day in 2020 to 37 grams in 2022.
- Increasing income levels are one of the main reasons for increasing meat consumption, especially in Asia, where animal protein intake rose by ~300% over the past five decades.
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Can educating food buyers about the sustainability of their choices drive lower-carbon trends? Many experts were doubtful — but what is clear is that consumers don’t know enough about the environmental impacts of everything on their plates.
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Danone: Redefining Corporate Responsibility
What are the opportunities and challenges that Danone faces as it becomes the world’s largest multinational corporation with B Corp certification?
Danone had long seen itself as having a mission-driven identity of "bringing health through food." After decades of growth from a small yogurt producer into a sprawling food conglomerate, it went as far as sell its cookie division to refocus on just that mission. In 2015, Danone entered into an agreement with B Lab, a global nonprofit that sets and raises business standards in hopes of inspiring and guiding corporations to act as a force for good in the world.
Decarbonizing Protein: 3 Levers That Transform Industries
By Katie Gilbert, Isabel Hoyos & Gernot Wagner
The challenge of decarbonizing the world’s food production systems comes with an unsavory combination of trends: Though the global production of food generates 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions (even without accounting for transportation, packaging, or refrigeration), this massively important and carbon-intensive sector receives a paltry 3% of total global climate investment.