Why Meat Matters For The Climate Agenda

Food systems account for one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with animal agriculture contributing a major chunk. A quick Google search can reveal the realities of ruminant emissions, land and water overuse, biodiversity loss, and public health risks associated with conventional meat production. Yet, an analysis of climate coverage in leading media publications found that fewer than 4% of climate stories even mentioned animal agriculture. Even at COP30, the world's most prolific climate conference, animal agriculture was left largely off the table, despite being one of the most significant levers for climate action. 

While the conference delivered some progress on agri-food systems and the bioeconomy—such as Brazil’s RAIZ initiative for restoring degraded farmland or the Bioeconomy Challenge—clear measures to tackle industrialised animal agriculture were amiss. To feed over 10 billion people by 2050, relying on conventional forms of protein is no longer feasible. Smart proteins, known globally as alternative proteins, deserve increased attention as a sustainable and scalable solution—be it plant-based, fermentation-derived, or cultivated meat. As the second-most promising agri-food intervention for reducing GHG emissions according to the World Bank, smart proteins hold a global mitigation potential of up to 6.1 billion tonnes of CO2eq annually. 

The opportunity is significant for India. As the world’s seventh-most vulnerable country to climate change, our GDP is reliant on nature-dependent sectors like agriculture. Extreme weather could potentially cost over 10 per cent of the national income by 2100 and push 50 million people into poverty. This monsoon season, flooding in Punjab directly affected an estimated three lakh hectares of crops, underscoring the vulnerability of our domestic food systems and the need for systemic intervention. 

A Closer Look At India’s Plate
A common argument one hears is that Indians don’t really eat that much meat anyway. However, nearly 80 per cent of Indian households reportedly consume meat now, a steady increase over the last two decades as a result of rising disposable income and urbanisation. Moreover, despite low per capita consumption, India’s sheer population size drives exceptionally high aggregate demand. In fact, India is first in milk, second in eggs, and fifth in meat production globally, according to data from the FAO and the Government of India. 

Animal agriculture is being increasingly intensified to keep up with this demand. For instance, industrialised poultry farming emits hazardous gases like nitrogen dioxide and contributes to pollutant runoff, which poses threatening public health risks like antimicrobial resistance. In the case of seafood, aquaculture practices, including overfishing and shrimp farming, have depleted marine populations and destroyed critical coastal ecosystems. Cattle farming tends to be spread out across smallholder farmers—often serving as an income supplement in the event of crop failure—yet India’s gross cattle count still ranks among the highest globally. Overgrazing has contributed to land degradation across grasslands, wildlife reserves, and forests, which endangers our biodiversity. 

Most importantly, enteric fermentation from cattle, sheep, and goat farming is responsible for over 48 per cent of India’s methane emissions—its biggest source. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Methane Status Report, launched at Belém, names India as the third-largest emitter of methane. Methane’s warming impact is 86 times more potent than CO₂, despite having a shorter atmospheric lifespan. Yet, India’s current NDCs do not spell out a dedicated plan to mitigate methane emissions from animal agriculture. While the inclusion of smart proteins in the Department of Biotechnology’s BioE3 policy demonstrated a tangible commitment to recognising India’s strengths in innovation and biomanufacturing, domestic climate policies give limited weightage to smart proteins’ potential for mitigation. 

On The Global Stage
One of the major successes at COP30 for developing nations, including India, was securing a commitment to triple climate adaptation finance by 2035. So far, food systems receive under 3 per cent of climate financing, with enteric fermentation management receiving just $20 million per year in 2021 and 2022. In fact, alternative proteins are slow to be incorporated into climate frameworks globally, despite their promising ability to serve as both mitigation (reducing emissions at the source) and adaptation (building resilient food systems) mechanisms. Under-scaled financing, the alternative proteins’ share must be included and expanded to advance global and regional environmental goals. For India, integrating smart proteins into NDCs and supporting climate-aligned finance mechanisms like carbon credits can create a meaningful bridge between a development agenda and climate goals. 

2025 marks the deadline in the Paris Agreement for emissions to peak before declining. However, even if other sectors are decarbonised, the current state of protein production will make meeting the 1.5°C target impossible. As the world’s most populous country and the fourth-largest economy, India has already shown the world how to scale solar energy, digital public infrastructure, and affordable vaccines. If we choose to, we can do the same for climate-smart proteins, with indigenous and climate-resilient crops that can directly feed into the value chain as well as a soaring bioeconomy that enables us to produce smart proteins cost-effectively and at scale. 

COP30 has made it clear that the world must move from commitment to implementation. By transforming how we produce protein, India can help move the needle on climate action at the pace the planet demands.

Views are personal