'Tax beef' - Denmark finds ways to tackle climate change - video Dailymotion

Applying taxes to beef products could be one way to reduce CO2 emissions, says the Danish Government

Transcript

00:00 Steaks from cattle raised on the other side of the planet, a particularity of which the

00:06 chef of the Flaman restaurant in Copenhagen seems to be proud.

00:10 "Our oxen meat is from Uruguay or Argentina."

00:15 It's not a trivial matter when it comes to the health of the planet. Beef accounts for

00:21 55% of Denmark's food-related emissions. And it's not just because it's carried thousands

00:26 of kilometres away from home.

00:28 "It's because cows are so bad a machine. They emit between 80 and 90% of the energy

00:35 they eat as body heat. And on top of that, they have four stomachs and the stomachs,

00:42 and that's methane."

00:45 Changing the menu, eating poultry or fish can ease the problem. This is the approach

00:50 Flaman has taken.

00:51 "A large reduction potential by moving to other types of meat such as pork or chicken,

00:56 and then a larger potential if you can move all the way to plant-based meat."

01:01 Danish beef consumption emits 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to 40% of the

01:07 country's emissions reduction target. The government does not rule out tackling the

01:12 problem through taxation.

01:14 "We look at all possibilities. That means we are in the process of changing our food

01:20 products. We are looking at how we make a production tax, for example on beef. And then

01:26 we look at how we can use the consumption tax."

01:31 Livestock accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a share almost as large as

01:36 that of global transportation.

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