Abstract
Humanity is now facing what may be the biggest challenge to its existence: irreversible climate change brought about by human activity. Our planet is in a state of emergency, and we only have a short window of time (7-8 years) to enact meaningful change. The goal of this systematic literature review is to summarize the peer-reviewed literature on proposed solutions to climate change in the last 20 years (2002-2022), and to propose a framework for a unified approach to solving this climate change crisis. Solutions reviewed include a transition toward use of renewable energy resources, reduced energy consumption, rethinking the global transport sector, and nature-based solutions. This review highlights one of the most important but overlooked pieces in the puzzle of solving the climate change problem – the gradual shift to a plant-based diet and global phaseout of factory (industrialized animal) farming, the most damaging and prolific form of animal agriculture. The gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal farming can be achieved by increasingly replacing animal meat and other animal products with plant-based products, ending government subsidies for animal-based meat, dairy, and eggs, and initiating taxes on such products. Failure to act will ultimately result in a scenario of irreversible climate change with widespread famine and disease, global devastation, climate refugees, and warfare. We therefore suggest an “All Life” approach, invoking the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet. The logistics for achieving this include a global standardization of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) or similar measures and the introduction of a regulatory body for verification of such measures. These approaches will help deliver environmental and sustainability benefits for our planet far beyond an immediate reduction in global warming.
Generated Summary
This systematic literature review, guided by PRISMA criteria, summarizes peer-reviewed literature on proposed solutions to climate change over the last 20 years (2002-2022). The review aims to propose a unified approach to address the climate change crisis. The methodology involved sourcing research literature from major databases between October and December 2022, with a total of 704 publications initially retrieved. Keywords used in the search were solutions, mitigation, strategies, prevention, climate change, and global warming. After removing duplicates, articles were screened based on relevance, and assessed for eligibility using a pre-determined checklist. Initial screening involved scanning publications for relevance according to keywords, title, and abstract. Direct mention had to be made of proposed solutions to climate change in the keywords, title or abstract. Mention of proposed solutions or strategies to climate change or global warming (without explicitly stating ‘human-caused’) and mitigation (or prevention) of climate change also was accepted, provided it was relevant. Global solutions to climate change refers to proposed solutions in a global context (such as the switch to renewable energy). Studies which did not pass initial screening were excluded. Full-text eligibility checks were conducted on all remaining records. All items that passed eligibility were critically reviewed and synthesized.
Key Findings & Statistics
- CO2 accounts for 78% of total GHG emissions, and 68% of global GHG emissions is attributable to fossil fuels.
- If we are to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, global annual greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030.
- Warming beyond 1.5 °C will put us on a course of irreversible damage and a climate crisis.
- It is now widely accepted among scientists that far-reaching global change in human behavior is needed if we are to evade potentially irreversible climate change
- Researchers examining which of the two strategies (i.e. energy efficiency and renewable energy) is most effective in curbing CO2 emissions have found that renewable energy has a slight advantage over energy efficiency.
- The global transport sector is responsible for 19–26% of energy related GHG emissions.
- Road transport is responsible for 81% of GHG emissions within the transport sector, road freight being the largest emitter at 43% and motor cars the second largest.
- Approximately 38% of global GHG emissions are attributable to the building sector (including building construction and material manufacturing).
- Deforestation is a significant source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions (accounting for up to 18% globally).
- The livestock sector alone accounts for 25-30% of global GHG emissions.
- Animal agriculture is the main contributor of methane and nitrous oxide (CH4, N2O), and contributes between 52 and 84% of global emissions of these gases.
- Global tree restoration research has found that an extra 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover can be restored (excluding existing trees) which would allow for the storage of 205 gigatons of carbon.
- Research has found that a switch to diets containing less animal-source foods could cut GHG emissions from food production by up to 40%.
- The EDGAR-FOOD database estimating this contribution to be at 71%, which includes land use/land use change activities
- The livestock sector accounts for approximately four-fifths of agriculture’s GHG emissions.
- Industrialized animal farming occupies approximately 83% of the world’s farmland, while only providing 18% of our calories and 37% of our protein.
- A plant-based diet adoption on a global scale has the transformative power to reduce demand for land by 76% (including a 19% reduction in demand for arable land), a 49% reduction in food’s GHG emissions, reduced acidification by 50%, a 49% reduction in eutrophication, and a 19% reduction in freshwater withdrawals.
- Plant-based and lab-grown meat alternatives is increasingly obvious both to entrepreneurial ventures and also to major meat producers.
- In economic terms, the economic benefit of a shift to plant-based diets was calculated to be $31 trillion per year (13% of global GDP) by 2050
- If the meat industry’s operations expand by 50–73% by the year 2050 to meet the growing demand for meat of the projected 9 billion humans
Other Important Findings
- Solutions reviewed include a transition toward use of renewable energy resources, reduced energy consumption, rethinking the global transport sector, and nature-based solutions.
- The review highlights the importance of a shift to a plant-based diet and global phaseout of industrialized animal farming.
- The need for a gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal farming, which can be achieved by replacing animal meat and other animal products with plant-based products, ending government subsidies for animal-based meat, dairy, and eggs, and initiating taxes on such products.
- Failure to act will ultimately result in a scenario of irreversible climate change with widespread famine and disease, global devastation, climate refugees, and warfare.
- A gradual global shift to a plant-based diet and the gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal agriculture also reduce the risk of zoonoses and future pandemics and should be part of an integrated global pandemic preparedness response.
- The solutions are grouped according to their proposed mitigation strategy (e.g., transition toward renewable energy sources).
- Transitioning to renewable energy sources involves developing and widely implementing affordable renewable energy sources (e.g., wind and solar power).
- Reducing energy consumption involves conservation efforts coupled with behavioral changes (such as increasing beliefs about individual and collective efficacy), and energy efficiency improvement involving technological innovations.
- The global response to the climate crisis needs to be one of equity. LMICs with low emissions per capita should not have the same climate mitigation responsibilities as wealthy, industrialized countries that have benefitted the most from climate change-inducing activities.
- Green ICTs and Green ISs (Information Systems) have been proposed within several areas; for example, using innovative energy use and saver systems, using renewable energy sources, re-cycling, re-using, reducing e-waste, and mobile/internet services to minimize required energy.
- Road transport is responsible for 81% of GHG emissions within the transport sector, road freight being the largest emitter at 43% and motor cars the second largest.
- Other specific examples of GHG emission-reduction within the transportation sector include energy-efficient cars and trucks, alternative mobility such as walking and cycling, private car taxation, bicycle tourism, higher car occupancy, and sustainable mobility traffic policies (e.g., speed limit reduction, increased bike access).
- Some scholars propose that in combatting deforestation, livestock and cropland expansion reduction is the best strategy to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious diseases.
- The concept of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) addresses climate change through actions aimed at the restoration, protection and sustainable management of natural and modified ecosystems (ocean and terrestrial).
- Global conventions on climate change such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal, the most recent COP15, and COP26, are non-binding and have being criticized for lack of substantial and fast action.
- Animal agriculture is the main contributor of methane and nitrous oxide (CH4, N2O), and contributes between 52 and 84% of global emissions of these gases.
- Some agricultural land made available as a result of changes in food production could also be used to sequester carbon and grow lignocellulosic crops to substitute coal in power generation.
- The lowest emission plant-based foods are legumes, fresh vegetables, and cereals.
- To achieve a gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal agriculture, we propose ending government subsidies for animal-based meat, dairy and eggs and initiating taxes on such products to account for the externalized costs related to climate change and other factors mentioned above.
- We must recognize that by solely focusing on reducing GHG emissions to limit global warming, we are treating the symptom of the cause, and the cause is major global unsustainability.
Limitations Noted in the Document
- Only articles written in English were reviewed in this systematic analysis, which may have introduced bias, gaps in understanding of global climate change, and an omission of Indigenous and local knowledge.
- Articles published prior to 2002 were not included (due to set parameters of systematic review); solutions proposed in these articles may still be relevant today.
- Further, many articles covered the same strategies for climate change mitigation, which made it difficult to present a broad scope of climate change solutions.
Conclusion
The study emphasizes the urgent need for transformative action to address climate change, with a focus on the food system. The review highlights the critical role of a plant-based diet and the phaseout of industrialized animal agriculture as key mitigation strategies. The review emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life forms on the planet. The review notes the importance of the shift to a plant-based diet and the gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal agriculture. The study underscores the need for a global standardization of climate change metrics to ensure the reliability and validity of ESG measures, which are essential for guiding individual and institutional investors. This systematic literature review supports the need for a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to address the climate crisis. A transition towards fully renewable energies will be insufficient, and a change in diet is imperative. The research found that a reduction in meat consumption would reduce meat production, in turn, reducing GHG generation. The study emphasizes that the industrial animal agriculture industry or industrialized farming is grossly unsustainable. The proposed new strategic approaches are the gradual shift to a plant-based diet and global phaseout of industrialized animal agriculture. The global community needs to focus on the link between global beef consumption/trade levels and regional/global change.