Foreign Affairs

Slash Your Meat Consumption To Help Gov’t Hit Climate Goals, Advisory Group Suggests

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Danish citizens should reduce their meat consumption by two-thirds and replace it with vegetables to help the country hit its 2030 climate goals, according to a Reuters translation of a report by a Danish government adviser.

To hit the Danish government’s goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions to 30% of 1990 levels by 2030, the government ought to tax beef and other emissions-heavy food items, the Danish Council on Climate Change (DCCC) recommended in its Status Report 2023, according to Reuters. The organization, which is an independent adviser to the Danish government, recommended taxing farming emissions last Monday in order to stunt beef farming.

Its new report recommends a 33% tax on beef, which has a larger carbon footprint than other meats, DCCC chairman Peter Mollgaard told Reuters. Danes consume more than twice as much meat and dairy than the global average, Reuters reported, citing the DCCC.

Danes eat roughly 2.2 pounds of meat per week on average, and cutting this by the adviser’s recommended level of roughly 0.75 pounds would help save between 2.6 million to 3.9 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per year, according to Reuters. This would represent a 4 to 6% decline in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.

The report also recommended reducing emissions by supporting the wind and solar industry, and cutting out gas furnaces in households, Reuters reported.

The DCCC did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.