None of the world’s 20 largest retailers have set methane reduction targets, despite meat and dairy making up a third of their emissions, a new analysis has found.
According to a new report focused on methane emissions, the world’s biggest supermarkets are failing us on climate action, with the situation particularly bad in the US.None of the top 20 retailers – from Lidl, Rewe Group and Tesco in Europe to Walmart, Kroger and Costco in the US – report how much methane they produce, or have targets to reduce their emissions of the harmful gas.
Methane is 86 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period, and is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a greenhouse gas linked to a million premature deaths every year. Agriculture is the main source of human-caused methane emissions, with livestock farming responsible for the majority of this share.
Meat and dairy also make up a third of retailers’ emissions, though in an assessment of their methane contributions across 18 indicators, the Changing Markets Foundation and Mighty Earth found that only one of these supermarkets – Tesco – scored higher than half of the points available (51 out of 100). In fact, the average score was just 20.
“Methane emissions are a major blindspot of supermarkets. Our scorecard reveals a complete lack of action, with the most powerful players in the food supply chains completely ignoring their government’s commitments to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This must change urgently,” said Maddy Haughton-Boakes, senior campaigner at the Changing Markets Foundation.
“Some retailers acknowledge the problem and have taken small steps, but none are treating it with the urgency it demands – there are no real leaders here,” she added. More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (methane emissions) - link - more like this (Tesco) - link
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