🥩 Steaks are high for Brazil’s emissions

Brazil needs to cut beef emissions by half to hit NDC

By hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in the Amazonian city of Belém this November, Brazil seeks to cement its place as a global climate leader. However, as we at The Brazilian Report have pointed out on a number of occasions, the country holds something of a dual identity in this regard, due to its insistence on fossil fuels and its gigantic cattle herd.

And a recent study by researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) shows that, if things stay the way they are, Brazil’s beef sector will emit more than double the limit of greenhouse gases necessary for the country to meet its own international climate goals.

Cattle farming is a major industry in Brazil. Home to more cows than people, the country is the world’s second-largest producer of beef and its top exporter — while the vast majority of its meat is consumed domestically. The sector alone accounted for roughly 7% of Brazil’s gross domestic product in 2024. 

But this comes at a cost.

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