Farm Animal Welfare Climate Adaptation Advanced

Farm animal welfare and climate adaptation are inseparably linked - building resilience requires welfare-positive solutions.

Key Facts

Livestock account for approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions
Higher-welfare extensive systems often have higher per-animal but lower per-hectare emissions
Heat stress, flood events, and drought will increasingly affect livestock welfare in coming decades
Precision livestock technology can reduce emissions while improving individual welfare monitoring
Breed selection for heat tolerance and disease resistance is a long-term adaptation strategy
The transition to lower-emissions farming must include welfare safeguards to avoid displacement effects

Welfare Considerations

Climate adaptation and farm animal welfare must be planned together. Proposals to reduce emissions through intensification of indoor systems may reduce climate impact while worsening welfare. Conversely, extensive welfare-positive systems may have higher emissions per unit product. The challenge is to identify and invest in systems that deliver both welfare improvement and emissions reduction.

What You Can Do

Support research into climate-smart animal agriculture that delivers both welfare and emissions benefits
Advocate for climate transition funds that include welfare impact assessment
Choose food products from farms with demonstrated progress on both welfare and environmental indicators
Engage with climate policy discussions to ensure welfare is not traded off against emissions reduction