Mitigation potential and global health impacts from emissions pricing of food commodities

Marco Springmann (), Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Sherman Robinson, Keith Wiebe, H. Charles J. Godfray, Mike Rayner and Peter Scarborough
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Marco Springmann: Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, British Heart Foundation Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus
Daniel Mason-D’Croz: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW
Keith Wiebe: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW
H. Charles J. Godfray: Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, University of Oxford
Mike Rayner: Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, British Heart Foundation Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus
Peter Scarborough: Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, British Heart Foundation Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Daniel Mason-D'Croz

Nature Climate Change, 2017, vol. 7, issue 1, 69-74

Abstract: Abstract The projected rise in food-related greenhouse gas emissions could seriously impede efforts to limit global warming to acceptable levels. Despite that, food production and consumption have long been excluded from climate policies, in part due to concerns about the potential impact on food security. Using a coupled agriculture and health modelling framework, we show that the global climate change mitigation potential of emissions pricing of food commodities could be substantial, and that levying greenhouse gas taxes on food commodities could, if appropriately designed, be a health-promoting climate policy in high-income countries, as well as in most low- and middle-income countries. Sparing food groups known to be beneficial for health from taxation, selectively compensating for income losses associated with tax-related price increases, and using a portion of tax revenues for health promotion are potential policy options that could help avert most of the negative health impacts experienced by vulnerable groups, whilst still promoting changes towards diets which are more environmentally sustainable.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/nclimate3155

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