The estimated methane emissions from the three largest dairy processors – Dairy Farmers of America, the French Lactalis, and New Zealand’s Fonterra – together exceed those of some of the biggest fossil fuel corporations such as ExxonMobil.
Methane from livestock farming is, according to a new report by Greenpeace Nordic, one of the most climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Viewed over twenty years, methane is 80 times more potent than CO2 pollution. So far, global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases have mainly focused on CO2 gases.
The Greenpeace report on methane emissions specifically targets large companies in Scandinavia. Danish Crown, a Danish company, is one of the largest pork producers worldwide. The company’s methane emissions correspond to 83 percent of the total methane emissions from the livestock industry in all of Denmark.
The recently appointed new CEO, Niels Duedahl, announced just last week that the company will lay off 500 office employees because it is still facing major financial difficulties. According to him, those 500 jobs are only the beginning; tariffs and prices must also be considered.
The Greenpeace report illustrates how Danish Crown and the other companies push the global temperature rise beyond the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement. But it also makes clear how the meat and dairy industry can keep global warming below the critical threshold, if the industry significantly reduces the number of animals.
‘If we switch to much more plant-based agriculture, we can indeed significantly reduce global warming,’ says Christian Fromberg of Greenpeace Nordic. It will reduce global warming by 2050. Positive results, he believes, can already be visible by 2030.