News
International Lenders Continue Pouring Money Into Meat and Dairy, Despite Climate Promises
A new analysis shows that billions went to industrial livestock and grain companies, including a $200 million loan to a firm producing corn and soy in the heavily deforested Cerrado region of Brazil.
By Georgina Gustin
The world’s biggest development banks have agreed that they will funnel their financial support to businesses that promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
State of Play
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”