At COP28 a new report, which I authored on behalf of World Animal Protection, was released. How Factory Farming Emissions are Worsening Climate Disasters in the Global South details how 11% of greenhouse gas emissions stem from factory farming operations, resulting in worsening heat waves, wildfires, floods and droughts – with devasting consequences for vulnerable communities in the Global South. The report details how intensive animal agriculture is impacting small-holder farming, which contributes to the livelihoods and food security of 1.7 billion people. The report finds the Global North’s factory farms are responsible for US$8.65 billion worth of damage across recent disasters in Africa, Asia and South America. By 2050, the economic costs associated with climate driven disasters globally could exceed US$1 trillion annually as the impacts of climate change intensify – this research finds factory farms could be liable for over US$100 billion of that cost.
This report is accompanied by an exclusive film which can be viewed below:
Factory farming continues to expand around the world in response to urbanisation, a growing population and growing demand for meat – but this growth comes with significant cost: to our climate, environment, biodiversity, health and to billions of animals caught up in cruel factory farms. This damaging model of livestock production, which concentrates power and control into a handful of global agri-businesses, is effectively being exported to the global South, with little or no say from those traditional pastoral, agroecological and smallholder producers, whose livelihood’s will be most impacted by the expansion of these resource intensive industrial models of livestock production.
There is increasing recognition that the climate related impacts of producing more than 80 billion land animals for food annually, over 70% of which are reared in factory farms, increases the frequency and impact of climate related weather events around the world. The worst impacts of climate events are often felt by the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Global South, particularly Africa and Asia, who contribute the smallest share of global emissions. These countries are also those that are most vulnerable to the impact of the extreme weather events and must bear the costs of the loss and damages that result. Africa for example, is a continent that contributed the least to climate change contributing just 3.9% of global GHGs in 2021. However, it is also the continent that must bear the most significant costs that will result with some estimates suggesting that it will need $53 billion annually by 2030 to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Our report identifies how emissions from factory farming in the Global North contributes to the frequency and intensity of droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, storms and flooding in Africa,Asia, and South America. We focused on identifying how emissions from the Global North – where factory farming initially emerged and where per person rates of meat consumption remain high – are influencing climate disasters felt in the Global South.
Based on climate attribution science and estimates of the economic impacts of climate disasters on the Global South caused by the most damaging climate induced weather disasters over 5 years (2018 – 2022), we attributed the proportion of these negative impacts (known as ‘loss and damage’) to factory farming globally and from factoryfarming emissions from the Global North specifically. The worst impacts of climate induced weather disasters are felt by the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Global South, particularly Africa and Asia, who contribute the smallest share of global emissions.
Pakistan Floods 2022
After weeks of non-stop rain, severe flooding devastated much of Pakistan affecting over 33 million people, destroying 1.7 million homes, and killing 1739 people. Pakistan received 243% more rainfall than usual during this period and it stands as the wettest August since records began in 1961. 750, 000 livestock were killed and around 18, 000 square kilometres of cropland were ruined, including roughly 45% of the cotton crop – one of the nation’s key exports. Climate attribution modelling highlighted that climate change may have increased the rainfall intensity by up to 50%. Based on our analysis and estimates, the economic costs of this event attributable to climate change were at least US$15 billion with the cost attribution of factory farming emissions from the Global North estimated to be at least US$0.64 billion.
Our report highlights 6 key recommendations for governments and policy makers. Governments and policy makers should impose a moratorium on factory farming for the next 10 years and remove and redirect policy and subsidy support away from factory farming towards humane and sustainable livestock production. This includes countries in the Global South where factory farming is not yet widespread. Richer countries have a moral and ethical responsibility to support countries in the Global South to promote humane and sustainable
agroecological and pastoral livestock production: ultimately, they are the best solutions for long term food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and livelihoods.