World Animal Protection has raised alarm over the failure of global negotiators to address industrial animal agriculture at the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30), warning that overlooking the sector’s climate and deforestation footprint threatens global progress.
The conference, held in Belém at the edge of the Amazon rainforest, was expected to spotlight intensive animal agriculture—one of the world’s most urgent but persistently under-addressed climate drivers.
Despite extensive scientific evidence linking the sector to accelerating deforestation, biodiversity loss and rising greenhouse gas emissions, COP30 delegates avoided the issue almost entirely.
Sally Kahiu, External Affairs Lead at World Animal Protection, criticized the global inaction, saying: “We cannot protect the planet while propping up an industry that destroys forests, fuels the climate crisis, and subjects billions of animals to immense suffering.
Cutting down forests to grow crops for billions of intensively farmed animals rather than feeding people makes neither environmental nor economic sense. Ignoring this reality holds back global progress.”
The conference concluded with the Belém Political Package, a final document that observers say diluted earlier commitments to halt deforestation. This rollback comes at a time when global forest loss is accelerating, further destabilising weather patterns and intensifying climate-related disasters.
The impacts of weakened climate ambition are evident across Africa. The Horn of Africa continues to experience prolonged drought cycles, Southern Africa is grappling with destructive floods, while parts of West Africa face recurring crop failures—all linked to land-use change, climate disruption and ecosystem degradation.
As preparations begin for COP31 and COP32, World Animal Protection is calling on nations to confront the real drivers of deforestation and commit to humane, equitable and sustainable food systems.
Next year’s COP32, set to take place in Ethiopia, presents what the organisation calls a “historic opportunity” for African-led solutions to shape global climate action. Many African nations are already pioneering food system transformation and climate resilience efforts. Kenya’s growing adoption of agroecology, Rwanda’s forest restoration programmes, and Ghana’s sustainable land management initiatives exemplify homegrown solutions that could define the agenda in Addis Ababa.
World Animal Protection says elevating such models is essential to building a food system that protects animals, safeguards ecosystems and secures a stable climate for future generations.