New research reveals animal agriculture – not fossil fuels – as the top driver of climate change, yet it’s still missing from major climate discussions.
A new Australian study suggests that animal agriculture is the leading cause of the climate crisis and yet it remains largely ignored in climate conversations. In a revelation that could redefine global climate priorities, a new scientific paper argues that animal agriculture – not fossil fuels – is the leading cause of climate change. The study is authored by Dr. Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop, former Queensland government scientist in Australia and now Executive Director of the World Preservation Foundation. Published in IOP Science in March 2025, the study dismantles three decades of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting conventions, claiming they underreport the true impact of deforestation and methane emissions from farmed animals. The study concludes that agriculture has caused 60% of global warming (from which animal agriculture caused 53%), while fossil fuels have caused 19% of global warming.
Exposing the faulty math behind climate policy
Dr. Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop worked as a Principal Scientist with Queensland Government Natural Resources, using satellite data to monitor three decades of vegetation cover and deforestation. He co-authored the Beyond Zero Emissions’ Land Use Plan, a plan to take Australia’s land use and agriculture emissions beyond zero, and works pro bono with NGO World Preservation Foundation, focusing on deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss, and is on the Zero Emissions Byron Land Use Advisory Panel. He co-authored a book for the Eating Our Way To Extinction documentary, and has produced a series of explanatory videos on the climate impact of animal agriculture. He is, therefore, an expert on climate change emissions.
Bad accounting on climate by the UN?
He has concluded that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s current emission measurement framework – established over 30 years ago – fully counts fossil fuel emissions but severely undercounts those from land clearing. In Australia, for instance, 2,500 acres of bushland are razed daily, with over 90% converted for grazing.
Dr. Wedderburn-Bisshop said, “Either burning fossil fuels or burning forests produce carbon dioxide…but the interesting thing was that the people doing the deforestation, like the industries driving that, the grass-fed industries were being gifted offsets off their emissions to the order of a discount of two-thirds of their emissions. Deforestation releases an awful lot of carbon dioxide, but they were gifted this discount of two-thirds. It turns out that that’s the way we count it. We count fossil fuels fully, and we count deforestation only a third or so of the emissions.”
He added, “Using the latest science and the latest data shows that we’ve got it wrong. We’ve had it wrong for decades because we set those rules when we did the wrong measure. Now, the industry pressure will be to maintain those rules, to keep the rules in place… Science will recognize all of these things that I’ve been saying, and it already has.”
Methane’s hidden impact and the media blackout
The study also reevaluates methane using a new model called Effective Radiative Forcing (ERF), which amplifies methane’s contribution to warming by a factor of three. Livestock methane – from cow burps, manure lagoons, and food waste – has been grossly underestimated, despite being a major short-term lever for controlling climate.
Wedderburn-Bisshop said, “Methane is really interesting because, even though it’s here for only 10 years or so, methane has caused, since 1750, half of the current global warming we are now experiencing. So, methane has been responsible for 0.6 of a degree of global warming. Now, you don’t hear that very often either. That’s hidden away.”
Shockingly, these findings have not broken into the mainstream media, where coverage of climate is largely shaped by ad dollars from fast food and pharmaceutical companies. “The same corporations that profit from meat are keeping the lights on in media newsrooms,” said host Jane Velez-Mitchell. “This is why UnchainedTV exists – to speak the truth corporate media won’t.”
The implications of this research is staggering. It suggests that government subsidies to meat and dairy industries are actively funding climate destruction. UnchainedTV urges its viewers and policymakers alike to reevaluate their assumptions about climate change. If this new study is right, it’s not just the fuel in your car, but the food on your plate, that determines the fate of our planet.
Original source: https://unchainedtv.com
https://www.animalagricultureclimatechange.org/media-climate-animal-agriculture/
