Top Climate Scientists Accuse the Livestock Industry of Pushing Fuzzy Math to Downplay its Climate Warming Emissions
Key takeaways
- These targets, the scientists say, will allow the beef and dairy industries, which are responsible for the bulk of global methane, to continue emitting huge quantities of methane.
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May 20, 2026 Share This Article Republish Dairy cows at a farm in northern Germany on July 2, 2025. Credit: Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images Related Major Livestock and Animal Agriculture Companies Are Making Climate Promises They Aren’t Keeping California Explores First-Time Regulation on Dairy Methane Emissions International Effort to Curb Emissions of a Climate Super Pollutant Falls Short, UN Report Reveals Share This Article Republish Most Popular What to Expect as El Niño Approaches As El Niño Approaches, Scientists Predict Fierce Heatwaves, Wildfires and Floods Wildfire Crews Race to Keep Fierce California Blaze From Former Nuclear Reactor Site A group of the world’s leading climate scientists are warning governments and the livestock industry against adopting an “accounting trick” that will imperil the all-out global effort required to control heat-trapping emissions.
In the statement, 42 scientists call on the government of Ireland, a major dairy producer, to reject a proposal that would allow it to use what’s known as Global Warming Potential Star, or GWP*, to measure methane emissions. The scientists say the methodology, which was initially developed to more accurately measure the warming impact of different greenhouse gases, is being misused by the livestock industry and livestock-heavy countries to weaken requirements for reducing the powerful, short-lived greenhouse gas that comes mainly from livestock.
Major emitters, including the United States and the European Union, along with other major cattle countries, including Brazil and Argentina, are promoting GWP* to revise climate targets, aiming for “temperature neutrality” or “no additional warming” rather than substantially cutting emissions. These targets, the scientists say, will allow the beef and dairy industries, which are responsible for the bulk of global methane, to continue emitting huge quantities of methane.