FILE PHOTO: Environmental activists play dead as they participate in a Global Climate Strike near the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment office in Bangkok, Thailand
Activists around the world on Tuesday called on governments to put food systems at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis. The campaign for a ‘Plant Based Treaty’ will create bottom-up pressure for leaders to negotiate a global agreement to halt the impact of animal agriculture on the planet.Action was slated to take place outside nearly 100 town and city halls worldwide, including Manchester, Bristol, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Rome, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Seoul, Mumbai and Ankara to encourage leaders to sign the Treaty. Leveraging this grassroots support, the campaign will work towards 10 million individuals, 10,000 organisations, 10,000 businesses and 50 cities endorsing the treaty by 2023, ahead of the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement (GST).Several high-profile celebrities have given their support to the treaty, including Moby, Leona Lewis and Sophie Aldred.The Treaty urges leaders to negotiate a global agreement around the following three principles:
RELINQUISH – No land use change, ecosystem degradation or deforestation for the purposes of animal agriculture
REDIRECT – An active transition away from animal-based agricultural systems to plant-based food systems
RESTORE – Restore key ecosystems and reforest the Earth
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries entered into a pact to limit global warming to below 2°C – and preferably 1.5°C – above pre-industrial levels. While reducing the use of fossil fuels is an important way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alone it is not enough to meet this legally binding target.
The Plant Based Treaty draws attention to the effects of meat, dairy and egg farming, which are driving carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions, three major greenhouse gases. Experts say methane reductions are probably the only way of avoiding temperature rises above 1.5°C, and the biggest opportunity to slow warming between now and 2040.International recording artist Moby said, “As the production of meat and dairy is a leading cause of the climate emergency, it’s clear that we cannot solve the climate crisis without going plant based. Change is imperative, and I endorse the Plant Based Treaty, for the animals, the planet and human health.”
Anita Krajnc, Global Campaign Coordinator for the Plant Based Treaty said: “The sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agreement makes it clear that it is more critical than ever to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and identifies plant-based diets as a key method of achieving this. With our global temperature set to rise by 3°C unless we take urgent action, it is now imperative that we drive awareness of how our food systems – and animal agriculture in particular – are contributing towards the climate crisis.”
“With just five years left to reverse the worst effects of climate change, business as usual is no longer an option. It’s time to switch toward a plant based economy to reverse the damage we have caused to the environment, and to promote a healthier society.”
Individuals, organisations, businesses and cities can endorse the Treaty by emailing their support to endorse@plantbasedtreaty.org or by visiting PlantBasedTreaty.org.
About the Plant Based Treaty
The Plant Based Treaty initiative is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis. Modelled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty, the Plant Based Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture and to promote a shift to healthier, sustainable, plant-based diets. We are urging scientists, individuals, groups, businesses, and cities to endorse this call to action and put pressure on national governments to negotiate an international Plant Based Treaty.
