Much of the change has so far focused on emissions from coal-fired power plants, heavy industry and car transport.
But according to a new study published in the scientific journal Science, it would be difficult to achieve climate goals even if emissions from all of them stopped completely.
Our food and how it is produced accounts for such a large part of the emissions that they on their own would make it difficult to reach the Paris Agreement.
- The study clearly shows that we do not meet the 1.5 degree goal if we do not work with the food system, says Line Gordon, head of the Stockholm Resilience Center at Stockholm University and associate professor of systems ecology.
Researchers have calculated emissions from various strategies that can be used to achieve climate goals.
Photo: Science / Torbjörn Johansson
Different strategies
The study states that the most effective strategy would be to completely switch to a plant-based diet.
But even such a drastic measure is not enough to secure the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
To reach the lower emission levels, food waste must also be reduced, and technological solutions are needed that increase the efficiency of agriculture so that you get more harvest per area and less greenhouse gases per product produced, according to the study.
- It is therefore not possible to expect that a sector, a type of player or a region in the world will make the change, but we must work in parallel on many changes where everyone has a role to play, says Line Gordon.
Herbal diets also have large emissions
The study also shows that a healthy plant-based diet emits more than a plant-based diet that is not as healthy.
- This is partly because you include beans, peas and nuts that have lower productivity, and higher impact per calorie produced.
You need a little more surface than when you focus on wheat and corn, for example, they do not provide the same nutritional content at all, says Line Gordon.