Reducing Global Dietary Emissions Through Plant-Based Diets: Study Highlights Potential for Emission

The Leader Globe17 Aug, 2024News

A recent study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that global dietary emissions could be reduced by 17% if more people adopt plant-based diets. The research, conducted by an international team of scientists, suggests that over half of the global population, currently over-consuming, could contribute significantly to this reduction by shifting to the planetary health diet proposed by the EAT-Lancet Commission. The study highlights that this dietary change would offset the 15.4% increase in emissions expected from under-consuming populations (43.1% of the global population) as they move towards healthier diets. The researchers emphasise the disparity in dietary emissions between affluent and poorer countries. Wealthier nations, with higher red meat and dairy consumption, generate more emissions but have lower levels of dietary inequality. Conversely, poorer countries exhibit lower emissions but face greater challenges in achieving dietary equity.