• Interview "To stop climate change we have to stop eating meat"

The goal of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below 2 degrees cannot be achieved without changes in global land use, which is linked to the way we produce food, a UN report warned Thursday, that lays the foundation for future negotiations on climate change.

The document, approved after five days of meetings of scientists at the 50th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, dependent on the United Nations), highlights that "better soil management can contribute to curbing climate change, although it is not the only solution. "

The report, second of the three commissioned to the IPCC after the signing of the 2016 Paris Agreement to facilitate compliance, is key for future negotiations between signatory States and will influence those that occur during the annual climate summit to be held in December in Santiago of Chile.

The comprehensive analysis contains recommendations for governments to enact policies to change forest and agricultural land use in order to contribute to the fight against climate change, taking into account that, among other things, forests absorb about one third of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

In this sense, the document recommends the implementation of "policies that reduce food waste and influence the choice of certain food options" , alluding to less carnivorous diets and reducing the obese or overweight population, next to 2,000 million people.

According to the report, between 25% and 30% of the food produced on the planet is wasted . Combating this problem can reduce the pressures to reduce forests and increase agricultural land, thus contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions (the main gas causing the greenhouse effect).

It is also proposed to resume agricultural, livestock and forestry practices of traditional indigenous populations, since according to the document "their experience can contribute to the challenges of climate change, food security, biodiversity conservation and the fight against desertification. ".

The report establishes, for the first time, the direct relationship between climate change and global land degradation (more arid areas, loss of biodiversity, desertification) and warns of an increase in droughts in regions such as the Mediterranean or Africa from the South due to global warming.

In other areas, such as boreal forests, the effects of climate change could include increased risk of forest fires or pests, according to the IPCC text.

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