Climate change and animal welfare are deeply interconnected: climate impacts cause welfare harms while animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change, creating feedback loops that require integrated responses.
Climate change and animal welfare are not separate issues but deeply interconnected systems. Climate change causes welfare harm through heat stress, extreme weather events, habitat destruction, food web disruption and ecosystem collapse affecting billions of wild and domestic animals. Animal agriculture drives climate change through methane from ruminants, nitrous oxide from fertilisers, land use change for feed crops and the carbon footprint of production systems. Addressing one system benefits the other: dietary transitions that reduce animal product consumption simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and animal suffering. Climate adaptation for agriculture must include animal welfare as a central consideration. Conservation of wildlife habitats provides climate benefits through carbon storage while maintaining the ecosystems on which billions of wild animals depend. The welfare and climate agendas are aligned and can be pursued together.