Save the planet, go veggie, says climate chief Lord Stern



Britons should turn vegetarian to help beat global warming, according to one of the world's top experts on climate change.

Lord Stern said methane emissions from cows and pigs were putting 'enormous pressure' on the world.

The peer, who wrote an influential review of climate change in 2006, advocated a meat-free diet and called on people to think more about the effect of what they eat.



He predicted people's attitudes to eating meat would change so much with time that it would eventually become unacceptable - in the same way as drink driving.



And he also forecast the price of meat and other foods that generate a lot of greenhouse gases could rise after December's pivotal climate change conference.

Damaging? Lord Stern says cows and pigs give off huge amounts of greenhouse gases that are worsening global warming

'Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It put enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better,' he said.

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The former World Bank chief economist spoke to The Times ahead of the climate change summit in Copenhagen.

He said a successful conference would result in higher costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.

'I think it's important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,' the London School of Economics professor said.

Drastic: Lord Stern says Britons should stop eating meat to save the planet

'I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student.

'People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.'

Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, and it has been estimated that livestock accounts for a fifth of the global warming impact.

Lord Stern said if business continued as usual then temperatures could increase by 5C by early next century.

'These kinds of changes will have huge consequences. Southern Europe is likely to be a desert; hundreds of millions of people will have to move. There will be severe global conflict,' he claimed.



His 2006 review warned that if the world did not act on global warming, the cost would be at least 5 per cent of GDP 'now and forever'.

'Climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response,' he said.

