In a major report on land use and climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says rising global temperatures are creating more extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and droughts, leading to land degradation and desertification.
At the same time it says poor land-use practices are contributing to global warming.
The destruction of natural habitats to make way for livestock and cultivation, is responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is reducing the land’s capacity to store carbon.
The report’s authors are calling for a shift to sustainable land-use practices, and for action to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions.
While they have stopped short of telling people to stop eating meat they say reducing consumption will take pressure off our planet’s limited natural resources.