A shift away from meat-heavy diets is essential if the UK food system is to achieve net-zero, according to a major new decarbonisation plan for the food and drink sector.
The analysis, led by IGD and Wrap, found that supply-side measures to decarbonise the food system will not be sufficient to meet climate goals in isolation and that a moderate shift in diets towards lower carbon foods like pulses and away from red meat and dairy will also be needed, along with a reduction in food waste.
The findings were published in a UK food system transition plan, a collaboration between IGD, Wrap and the consultancy EY, which models what it would take for the food sector to reach net-zero.
Building on industry commitments such as the Courtauld Commitment 2030 target to deliver a 50% absolute reduction in GHG emissions associated with food and drink consumed in the UK by 2030, the report aims to set out a high-level pathway for the UK food system to reduce emissions in line with a 1.5-degree SBTi outcome and to meet the UK’s legally binding national decarbonisation goal.
Achieving sector net-zero targets by 2030 and 2050 will be extremely stretching, according to the analysis, but is possible with urgent focus and partnership throughout the system.
It calls for a major transformation in all aspects of the food system’s supply-side, including a very high uptake of lower carbon farming practices, effective regulation and processes to eliminate deforestation from supply chains, and major infrastructure and capacity provision for renewable energy, zero emission logistics and low carbon heating and cooling.
The plan suggests there is realistic scope for a 19% emissions cut in 2030 versus a 2021 baseline through supply-side abatement options, meaning demand-side changes will also be required to meet overall emissions targets.
This includes dietary change with modelling suggesting the equivalent of a 20% reduction in red meat and dairy is required by 2050, a more conservative scenario than the 20% by 2030 modelled by the Climate Change Committee.
The plan says the industry should also aim to deliver the Courtauld Commitment target to reduce food waste by 50% in 2030 against a 2015 baseline, and go beyond it, reducing food waste to “very low levels” by 2050.
The plan is not designed to set new targets for the industry but to provide an evidence base that helps stimulate collaboration, focus and acceleration towards net-zero.
It deliberately incorporates many of the requirements of the Transition Plan Taskforce in the hope that it provides a useful reference for businesses as they develop their own detailed climate transition plans.
In her foreword, IGD chief executive Sarah Bradbury said the report pointed to the need for a different approach to delivering net-zero, involving the whole supply chain and with a more aligned dialogue across industry and with government.
“My ask of you reading this is to ensure we don’t use all our energy debating the elements on which we might disagree,” she added. “I invite you to join us, to enrich this analysis, and to use it is a catalyst for us to work in partnership – because we will go further, faster, together.”
