Animal Welfare and Climate Change: Intersecting Crises

Climate change creates and amplifies multiple animal welfare harms across wild, farmed and companion animal populations, making climate action an animal welfare imperative.

Key Facts

Rising temperatures directly cause heat stress, dehydration and death in wild and farmed animals
Coral bleaching events linked to ocean warming have catastrophic impacts on reef fish populations
Extreme weather events including floods and fires cause mass mortality and acute suffering in wildlife
Changing phenology mismatches threaten breeding and food availability for migratory and hibernating species
Climate change is predicted to drive 30-50% of species to extinction conditions by 2050 under high emission scenarios
Reducing meat consumption is among the most effective individual climate actions with direct animal welfare benefits

Welfare Considerations

Climate change and animal welfare are deeply intertwined. The warming atmosphere directly inflicts suffering through heat stress, habitat loss, food insecurity and extreme weather events on billions of wild and farmed animals. Meanwhile, the animal agriculture industry contributes approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Actions that simultaneously reduce animal agriculture and mitigate climate change — including dietary shifts toward plant-based foods — address both crises in parallel, making them among the most high-impact choices available to individuals.

What You Can Do

Reduce meat and dairy consumption to cut your climate and animal welfare footprint simultaneously
Support climate policies with ambitious emissions reduction targets
Donate to organisations supporting wild animals displaced or harmed by climate events
Advocate for animal welfare criteria to be included in climate adaptation planning
Support renewable energy transition to reduce the climate harms driving animal suffering