Livestock Emissions and Climate Neutrality - Analysing EU Law through a Beyond-Growth Perspective

Livestock farming is a significant driver of transboundary environmental degradation, including climate change. Improving production efficiency offers a ‘low-hanging fruit’ solution in countries where livestock remains central to both protein supply and rural livelihoods, and where production methods are still inefficient. However, as noted by the European Court of Auditors (2021), such efficiency gains are unlikely to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in countries with already optimised livestock systems. This research focuses on the European Union (EU), a particularly efficient producer that nonetheless remains a major global contributor to livestock-related GHG emissions and bears substantial historical responsibility for climate change. EU livestock production has steadily increased over time, while consumption of animal-based foods continues to exceed dietary guidelines. As a result, livestock-related emissions have plateaued since 2005. Against this background, the study advances four preliminary observations that ground a legal research agenda on the EU’s mitigation of livestock emissions. It then conceptualises the European Regulatory Framework Governing Livestock Emissions (EURFLE) as the comprehensive body of EU norms and rules applicable at the close of the Green Deal process that exert a direct and purposive influence on livestock-related emissions within and beyond the EU. The analysis first identifies the legal instruments across climate change law, environmental law, and agri-food law that constitute this framework. It then evaluates their collective contribution to the attainment of the climate neutrality objective enshrined in the 2021 European Climate Law. The evaluation is conducted through a novel methodology that, first, assesses the adequacy of emissions targets applicable to livestock, and second, applies a ‘beyond-growth perspective’ to test the effectiveness of the relevant regulatory measures in delivering emission reductions. The study ultimately demonstrates the inadequacy of the EURFLE in contributing to climate neutrality, and discusses five ‘transformative shifts’ that may be required to render the framework effective. It concludes with a reflection on both the sources of resistance to, and the potential enablers of, the necessary changes.