Collaborative Proposal Creation
Create, improve and sponsor proposals in a respectful, fully bilingual environment. Grow proposals in the "Hothouse", for promotion to the "Workshop", to become official GPC policy.
- Proposal text
- The GPC supports revising the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to include all GHG emissions from the animal agriculture industry.
- Type of Proposal
- Public policy that the party would represent
- Objective / Benefit
- Animal agriculture is either the largest or second-largest carbon emitter globally of any industry. The IPCC estimated livestock rearing's global emissions contributions to be 14.5%. However, studies using top-down measurement rather than bottom-up approaches including land use and deforestation have shown the number is closer to 37% of all global GHG emissions coming from animal agriculture. Amending the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to include emissions from animal agriculture would send a clear price signal to this heavily-polluting industry and would help Canada reach net-zero emissions much faster.
- If your proposal replaces an existing policy or policies, which one does it replace?
- Add to current GPC policy.
- List any supporting evidence for your proposal
- 1. Animal agriculture's emissions are chronically underestimated. The IPCC says 14.5% but this comprehensive study shows the number is closer to 37% https://sentientmedia.org/the-climate-crisis-secret/ 2. "You Want to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Food? Focus on What You Eat, Not Whether Your Food Is Local,” Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local 3. Climate change: 'Global veganisation is now a survival imperative' - IPCC expert reviewer https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/468715/climate-change-global-veganisation-is-now-a-survival-imperative-ipcc-expert-reviewer 4. Interactive: What is the climate impact of eating meat and dairy? https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/what-is-the-climate-impact-of-eating-meat-and-dairy/ 5. Meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, uses the vast majority – 83% – of farmland and producing 60% of agriculture's direct GHG emissions. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216
- Does this proposal affect any particular group and what efforts have been made to consult with the group or groups?
- N/A
- Jurisdiction: Is this proposal under federal jurisdiction?
- Yes
- Please indicate the language the proposal is being submitted in.
- English
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Reference: PVC-PROP-2023-08-4150
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Gordon, thanks so much for asking all this! Very good points you've made.
I think an additional thing I should have added is to include proper measuring of GHG emissions of animal agriculture operations because they are generally speaking hugely underestimated. The easiest way to correct this would be fly-over spectrometry rather than calculated up based on estimates (the way it is currently done).
Because of this poor measuring, animal agriculture would not receive as much of a price signal as it needs to compared to other farming operations, but the other part of this is that if we were to remove the exemption for all farming, and not just animal ag, we'd be making enemies out of all farmers and be up against the very common-sense argument I think people would raise that "well, we need to eat, and food is already too expensive."
Though your suggestion is a better choice because I can also see a potential loop-hole with the price signalling: much of animal ag's emissions come from the growing of feed for the animals which does not happen at the actual animal ag operations. Regardless, how to best accomplish this requires more workshopping, and I really appreciate you engaging!
I think this should be standing in as a general policy, not an actual bill to put forward to the HoC, so I'm not sure how detailed we should be.
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