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. 2020 Dec 15;11(1):6117.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19474-6.

Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products

Maximilian Pieper  1 , Amelie Michalke  2 , Tobias Gaugler  3
Affiliations

Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products

Maximilian Pieper et al. Nat Commun. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Although the agricultural sector is globally a main emitter of greenhouse gases, thorough economic analysis of environmental and social externalities has not yet been conducted. Available research assessing agricultural external costs lacks a differentiation between farming systems and food categories. A method addressing this scientific gap is established in this paper and applied in the context of Germany. Using life-cycle assessment and meta-analytical approaches, we calculate the external climate costs of foodstuff. Results show that external greenhouse gas costs are highest for conventional and organic animal-based products (2.41€/kg product; 146% and 71% surcharge on producer price level), followed by conventional dairy products (0.24€/kg product; 91% surcharge) and lowest for organic plant-based products (0.02€/kg product; 6% surcharge). The large difference of relative external climate costs between food categories as well as the absolute external climate costs of the agricultural sector imply the urgency for policy measures that close the gap between current market prices and the true costs of food.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Visualization of monetary costs for broad food categories.
Monetary costs [C] for broad categories (animal-based, dairy, plant-based in the comparison between conventional and organic production) arising from monetized externalities of greenhouse gas emissions. For conventional production (animal-based and dairy), the external costs from land-use change (LUC) emissions are highlighted separately. Source data are provided as a source data file.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Visualization of percentage price increases for broad food categories.
Relative percentage price [∆] increases for broad categories (animal-based, dairy, plant-based in the comparison between conventional and organic production) when externalities of greenhouse gas emissions are included in the producer’s price. For conventional production (animal-based and dairy), the surcharge from land-use change (LUC) emissions is highlighted separately. Source data are provided as a source data file.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Visualization of the method.
The method includes quantifying and monetizing product-specific externalities. In the case of Germany, emission data were obtained from the Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems (GEMIS). We used production data from the German Federal Statistical Office and AMI,, and calculated the emission difference between organic and conventional production based on a meta-analytical approach (see “Results” subsection on input data for quantification). The category-specific emission data were calculated on the basis of these input data. The emission cost rate was obtained from the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA). The category-specific external costs were determined on the basis of the previously developed price-quantity-framework (see “Results” subsection on input data for monetization).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Visualization of the quantification process.
Quantification as well as corresponding input and output data are displayed. Data from the Global Emissions Model for Integrated Systems (GEMIS) (gb,n,i,conv) and production data– (qb,n,i,conv) are combined, and emission data for broad (Eb,conv) and narrow (eb,n,conv) categories are derived for conventional production. Organic emission values are calculated by multiplication of conventional emission values (Eb,org and eb,n,org) with the emission difference (Db,org/conv) (cf. “Input data for quantification”).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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