New analysis exposes methane greenwashing tactics by Big Meat and Dairy

Changing Markets Foundation reveals woefully inadequate national strategies for methane reduction in countries where largest meat and dairy corporations are headquartered

As the UNFCCC COP29 begins this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, new analysis from the Changing Markets Foundation interrogates the reported emissions of Big Meat and Dairy companies, and exposes a suite of weak commitments and initiatives from industry giants that fail to address their role in fuelling the climate crisis.

The cycle of weak voluntary commitments, an over-reliance on market-inaccessible or ineffective techno-fixes, and a lack of public regulation continues to hinder the urgent emissions reductions needed from this high-polluting sector.

Changing Markets analysed the policy landscape in the 11 countries where the largest meat and dairy companies are headquartered, and found that 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 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 avert climate breakdown.

The new briefing - ‘Big Emissions, Empty Promises’ - builds on the findings of Changing Markets ‘New Merchants of Doubt’ report, released earlier this year. The companies assessed produce emissions that exceed those of many countries around the world, yet the net-zero commitments they often tout, remain largely unaccounted for. Among the 22 companies analysed, 15 have made voluntary net-zero pledges. However, only three of these pledges (from Danone, Nestlé and Lactalis) align with the Science-Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) 1.5˚C target for reaching net-zero by 2050.

Besides China, all of the countries where the 22 largest companies are headquartered are signed up to the Global Methane Pledge (launched at COP26 in 2021 by the European Union and the USA). However, Changing Markets’ analysis shows that none of them have specific agricultural methane reduction targets or robust plans for achieving these reductions. 

This has allowed many companies to flaunt green claims without delivering meaningful climate action. The promotion by Big Meat and Dairy corporations of regenerative agriculture initiatives serves to present companies as part of the solution - yet these initiatives are rarely backed up by robust outcomes-based frameworks for emissions reductions. 

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 (cow digestion) rather than manure, these strategies fall short of addressing the core of the methane problem.

The briefing also reveals the impact of industry lobbying on national policies. For example, the EU, where eight of the top corporations are headquartered, has seen at least ten European Green Deal policies derailed by Big Meat and Dairy, including weakening the Farm to Fork strategy to remove any reference to reducing meat consumption, removing cattle entirely from the Industrial Emissions Directive, and a lack of mandatory actions for the sector within the EU’s Methane Strategy.

Meanwhile, in the US, home to four of the largest corporations, Obama’s former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack served as the head of the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) before returning to the Agriculture Secretary role under the Biden administration. During this time the US government has prioritised incentives for agriculture, but done little to drive accountability for emissions reductions. Many of the current agriculture strategies are focused on driving up manure-based biogas production.

Alma Castrejon-Davila, Senior Campaigner, Changing Markets, said: Our new analysis shows how Big Meat and Dairy companies' emissions continue to go unchecked thanks 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.” 

Changing Markets is urging meat and dairy companies to set short- and long-term climate targets aligned with a 1.5°C temperature trajectory, which include an ambitious methane target - at a minimum a 30% reduction by 2030. It is also calling on companies to set clear trajectories that include reductions in livestock numbers and a shift to less and better meat and dairy, as well as more plant-based products.