Climate Change

Big meat and dairy companies rival major oil companies as sources of climate pollution

In 2018, IATP worked with GRAIN to analyze some of the biggest meat and dairy company’s climate pollution for the first time. Collecting emission and production data from the companies was a challenge, with many not reporting emissions at all, and others not reporting on their full supply chain.

Emissions from major global meat and dairy companies rival those of Saudi Arabia

NEW YORK — The world’s major meat and dairy companies are generating combined greenhouse gas emissions on par with some of the biggest fossil fuel producers, according to new estimates from environmental and food policy experts issued ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.

Roasting the Planet: Big Meat and Dairy’s Big Emissions

Roasting the Planet: Big Meat and Dairy’s Big Emissions, a new report co-authored by Foodrise, Friends of the Earth U.S., Greenpeace Nordic, and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, reveals the colossal, yet often overlooked, climate footprint of Big Meat and Dairy.

The EU’s plans to put a price on agriculture emissions

As the rest of the European Union’s economy reduces its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the air is getting thinner for the agriculture sector to escape demands to address the climate pollution caused by our food and agriculture system. 

A new EU Emissions Economy?

A Policy Guide to Agriculture Emissions Pricing in the European Union. The European Commission is exploring whether and how to price greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its agrifood sector, looking for policy options to help bring down the sector’s stagnating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This guide unpacks each of the three proposals and assesses their potential impact on the climate and farmers.

IATP Comments on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Nutrient Reduction Strategy

The following comments were submitted to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on September 9, 2025 on the proposed Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Download a PDF with the full comments here.

IATP Europe comments on the EU’s strategy for global climate and energy transition

The following comments were submitted on September 3, 2025 in public consultations of the European Commission, in regards to the EU's strategy to boost the global climate and energy transition.

IATP Europe comments on the EU’s Climate Law and 2040 target

The following comments were submitted on September 3, 2025 in public consultations of the European Commission, in regards to the European Climate Law and the proposed 2040 climate target. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) Europe welcomes the EU’s efforts to make its 2040 climate target legally binding.  

A COP30 Dilemma: How to commodify greenhouse gas emissions reductions

If you want to sell and buy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction credits, stakeholders in the carbon trading system must agree on what is being sold and on system operating rules.

The climate case of the century: what the ICJ decision means for food and agriculture

On July 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its unanimous advisory opinion which asserts that all governments have a responsibility to tackle the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change, and governments that fail to do so may be obliged to pay reparations for their climate impact. The ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate could have far-reaching implications for the global food system.