COP28 Serves a Two-Thirds Plant-Based Menu to World Leaders

World leaders arriving in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit are being served a menu that is two-thirds plant-based, the first time any UN climate conference has made such a commitment.

The summit, which opened yesterday and runs until December 12, expects more than 60,000 visitors a day. Gulf News reports that around 250,000 meals will be served daily across nearly 80 food outlets, from food halls to grab-and-go stations and food trucks.

The commitment was confirmed by Mariam Almheiri, the UAE's Minister of Climate Change and Environment and food systems lead for COP28, who described a two-thirds plant-based menu as a "core commitment" of the summit's sustainable catering strategy. The strategy also covers emissions labeling, affordability, portion sizes and cutting food waste.

It came after months of work by youth climate group YOUNGO and the Food@COP coalition, supported by ProVeg International. Lana Weidgenant, campaigns and policy officer at ProVeg, said:

By committing to plant-rich, affordable catering, the COP28 Presidency is showing leadership and acknowledging the impact of diets high in animal-sourced foods.

Food has long been the missing piece at climate talks, so this is a welcome change (the campaigners had actually asked for at least 75%, so there's still room to go).

The science behind it couldn't be clearer. This summer an Oxford University study of 55,000 people found that vegan diets produce 75% less climate-heating emissions than high-meat diets. The UN's own Food and Agriculture Organization puts livestock's share of global emissions at 14.5%.

It's been quite a year. Denmark published the world's first national plant-based action plan in October, Lidl Germany made its vegan range the same price as meat, and Edinburgh became the first European capital to endorse the Plant Based Treaty. Back in 2016, 24 EU members demanded a shift to plant-based diets to protect the environment. Now the world's biggest climate meeting is putting it on the plate.

Climate action, served with a side of plants.