Climate change is one of the greatest threats to the planet today. If we don’t reduce our greenhouse gas emissions significantly, and rapidly, we will see a rise in global temperatures with devastating impacts on people, biodiversity, the environment and our food production.
In the food sector, we must look at the way we grow, manufacture, transport and consume our food and drink to reduce carbon emissions.
As an industry, we are absolutely committed to helping the European Union become the first climate neutral continent by 2050, and to achieve the Paris Agreement objective to keep the global temperature increase below 2°C above 1990 levels.
As Europe’s largest manufacturing sector, the food and drink industry will play an integral role in helping the EU reach carbon neutrality by 2050, but it can only be achieved with changes across the entire farm-to-fork process.
We will therefore work closely with other actors across the food chain, especially farmers, retailers and consumers, and across public and private sectors. Together, we will drive sustainability in the way we grow and consume our food.
Food and drink manufacturers are already integrating climate change measures into their business strategies and working to minimise the environmental impacts of their products. Between 2008 and 2017, FoodDrinkEurope members reduced emissions by 12%, while increasing production value by 5% in the same period.
We support an EU Climate Law that not only achieves climate neutrality, but also provides certainty for business to thrive, provide jobs and ensure the EU’s global competitiveness.
