Environment

​​Brazil, Argentina among meat producers scolded for “greenwashing” ahead of COP26

Revelations by Greenpeace UK show that countries acted to dilute findings and recommendations that run counter to agro interests in an IPCC report

meat Cattle being moved in Pocone, Mato Grosso. Photo: Cacio Murilo/Shutterstock
Cattle being moved in Pocone, Mato Grosso. Photo: Cacio Murilo/Shutterstock

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow fast approaching, documents revealed by Greenpeace UK show how countries like Argentina and Brazil are acting to water down a key UN climate report. The NGO’s investigation shows that large carbon emitters and meat- and dairy-producing countries want to conceal the report’s findings that may cause harm to their domestic economic interests.

The summit, which will be hosted by the British government, has been dubbed the “world’s last best chance” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as agreed in Paris in 2015. The 186 countries attending are facing a challenge to be more ambitious in their climate commitments and prove that they are making the required efforts to avoid the worst.

But leaks of more than 32,000 comments by governments, corporations, academics, and others made to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the UN body of leading climate scientists guiding mandatory climate change disclosures — show that countries like Brazil and Argentina, both influential agricultural powerhouses, are stepping up lobbying efforts to “greenwash” messages describing the environmental impacts of animal protein consumption. 

Brazil – home to the world’s largest bovine herd – requested that passages describing beef as “high carbon” be removed, as well as parts of the text that recommend a shift to plant-based diets.

That same argument was endorsed by Argentina and, to a lesser degree, neighboring Uruguay, where, in stark contrast to countries like the UK (where one-third of British people now drink plant-based milk, according to a new study by Mintel), meat and dairy are still kings. 

Argentina requested that passages recommending the introduction of taxes on red meat and campaigns to end meat consumption, like “Meatless Mondays,” be removed. These suggestions had riled large-scale Argentinian beef producers since the idea of a meat-free weekday was first introduced in the country earlier this year. In the IPCC report, Argentina claimed these were “biased” concepts.

The panel’s reports, which are produced every six to seven years, are intended to provide governments with accurate and clear information to evaluate climate change risks and serve as a basis for decisions and actions needed to mitigate climate change and protect the world from rising temperatures. 

Governments are invited to respond prior to publication and sign off on the report’s final summary, but authors of the report can also reject this input if it conflicts with their scientific findings.

Great environmental impact 

According to the IPCC, animal protein...

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