A coalition of twenty-eight low-income countries has called for a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism targeting industrial livestock production in wealthy nations. The appeal was made during the thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, Brazil, where developing countries argued that high levels of meat consumption in rich economies are driving disproportionate climate damage.
The group, made up of seven African countries and twenty-one Pacific island nations, signed a “Belem Declaration on Greenhouse Gas Emission Pricing on Agri-Food Systems.” The declaration urges high-income countries, the European Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states and China to impose greenhouse gas pricing on their industrial meat and dairy sectors. It also recommends that at least twenty per cent of revenue from such measures be directed to the Loss and Damage Fund, which supports countries most affected by climate impacts.
Supporters say the proposal is based on the polluter-pays principle. According to the signatories, nations with high levels of industrial meat consumption should share the cost of climate damage linked to emissions from livestock production. The declaration was backed by eighty non-governmental and international organisations.
Agriculture and food systems account for roughly one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the declaration notes, with livestock production responsible for a majority of those emissions. It highlights the significantly higher emissions associated with beef, pork and chicken compared to plant-based proteins such as legumes and nuts. Advocates argue that reducing overconsumption in wealthy nations is essential for reaching global climate targets.
Campaigners say the debate around climate justice has primarily focused on fossil fuels, but similar inequities exist in the global meat economy. Meat consumption in high-income countries averages more than seventy kilograms per person per year, compared to twenty-six kilograms in developing countries. The recommended level from the EAT Lancet Planetary Health Diet is just sixteen kilograms annually.
The signatory countries emphasise that this proposal is not a call to eliminate meat entirely, but to reduce excessive demand. They argue that industrial livestock production in wealthy countries not only accelerates climate change but also drives land use, with livestock responsible for an estimated eighty per cent of global agricultural land. Introducing a tax, they say, would help reduce emissions while opening vast areas of land for restoration and rewilding, increasing natural carbon absorption.
The declaration arrives at a time when global livestock numbers are expected to grow sharply. The Food and Agriculture Organization projects that herd sizes could increase by more than fifty per cent by 2050 if current trends continue. Analysts warn that such growth is incompatible with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement and the goal of net zero emissions.
With pressure mounting ahead of future climate negotiations, developing countries say that future climate agreements must explicitly address the transition away from excessive animal protein consumption. Whether wealthy nations will accept the call for a meat tax remains uncertain, but negotiations have opened a new front in the climate justice debate.