Food Giants’ climate plans lack credibility, new report finds

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new report by the NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch finds that food giants Danone, JBS, Mars, Nestlé, and PepsiCo are overstating their climate progress through reliance on vague and unverifiable carbon removals, while failing to adequately address methane emissions and deforestation
• The report comes ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, where agriculture is set to be a key focus

🔭 The context: The global food and agriculture sector is a major emitter, responsible for up to one-third of all greenhouse gases and the primary driver of deforestation
• Previous benchmarking studies have flagged widespread shortcomings in corporate climate targets, which often rest on ambiguous terms like “regenerative agriculture” and exclude methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases
• Despite mounting pressure, most firms continue to rely on soft targets and minimal accountability

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Accurate and science-based emission reductions are crucial to keeping global warming below 1.5°C
• Overreliance on natural carbon removals, which are difficult to measure and can be reversed, risks delaying urgent action — especially on methane, which has a powerful but short-lived climate impact
• Loopholes in deforestation commitments undermine forest conservation, biodiversity, and climate resilience ahead of a critical climate summit hosted in the Amazon

⏭️ What's next: Regulatory pressure is expected to increase as stakeholders push for greater transparency, gas-specific targets, and full traceability in deforestation-linked supply chains
• The upcoming COP30 will spotlight food system emissions, with growing calls for mandatory rather than voluntary corporate climate disclosures
• EU action on the Deforestation Regulation may also be decisive, though its implementation faces significant lobbying and delay risks

💬 One quote: “It is high risk and not very transparent to be using removals toward reduction targets,” —  Eve Fraser, co-author of the report. “This means a lack of action, for example on methane emissions, might be masked by a focus on removals”

📈 One stat: Nestlé’s total emissions are nearly three times higher than those of its home country —  Switzerland

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Nestlé, Danone, Mars, PepsiCo and their peers Unilever, Cargill, Tyson Foods

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