Climate Change Litigation Turns Toward Animal Agriculture

Even as the geographical and doctrinal diversity of climate change litigation increases, climate lawsuits—whether they seek to hold private actors directly accountable or challenge government policies—continue to focus primarily on fossil fuels. This makes sense given that major oil and gas companies (sometimes called the “Carbon Majors”) are leading contributors to the climate crisis. But […]  Nikki Ritcher / We Animals Media Even as the geographical and doctrinal diversity of climate change litigation increases, climate lawsuits—whether they seek to hold private actors directly accountable or challenge government policies—continue to focus primarily on fossil fuels. This makes sense given that major oil and gas companies (sometimes called the “Carbon Majors”) are leading contributors to the climate crisis. But other industrial sectors also generate significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The animal agriculture sector plays a prominent role, estimated to produce between 11 and 20 percent of all global GHG emissions, about one-third of the world’s emissions of the climate super-pollutant methane, and more than half of global nitrous oxide emissions. Though animal agriculture has long escaped most climate litigants’ notice, activists and lawyers in jurisdictions around the world are increasingly attentive to its responsibility for climate change. Our research discussing what we