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By Laurie Goering [[link removed]] | Climate Change Editor

Kicking beef?

It’s 2024!

What will this year bring for climate action – and climate impacts? How could that be affected by major elections around the world – in the United States, India, Indonesia and elsewhere? Some of the smartest climate thinkers we know will be giving us their ideas this week – stay tuned!

We’ll also be digging into what climate change will mean, around the world, for the food we eat, and how growing that food in turn affects climate change and nature protection. Look out for some great videos starting this month as part of our Rerooted [[link removed]] series.

Cattle are seen at the Marupiara ranch in the city of Tailandia in the state of Para, Brazil March 16, 2020. Picture taken March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

In Brazil – which has the world’s biggest cattle herd – demand for beef abroad and at home has been a major driver of deforestation. Huge areas of the Amazon forest and Cerrado savannah have been cleared to create pasture and fields to grow soy, much of which becomes animal feed.

Cutting beef eating globally would be a major step toward meeting the world’s climate and nature preservation goals. So why can’t we kick beef [[link removed]]?

Our video correspondent Albert Han hits the road with Brazil’s cattle and soybean truckers – and visits its famed barbecue restaurants – to explore why it’s so hard for us to give up the things that are bad for the planet.

A school student paints a mural calling for action against climate change and environmental pollution on a roadside wall in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 2021. Jimran Md Saiak/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Kicking school emissions

How else might we kick-start climate action? How about better educating people about climate change and then letting them drive policy?

In Colorado, a 30,000-student school district late last year became the first in the country to approve a “Green New Deal for Schools” [[link removed]] resolution, pushed by its students.

As part of the resolution, the district has pledged to move towards 100% clean energy, improve teaching about climate change, give students a voice in sustainability planning and work to better prepare students for green jobs, writes our correspondent Carey L. Biron.

U.S. lawmakers are considering a similar national “green schools” bill that would make $1.6 trillion available over a decade for green building upgrades and hiring additional teachers – something that could not only improve tens of thousands of aging and deteriorating U.S. schools but win broader support for climate action.

In Bangladesh, meanwhile, schools are testing fun ways to interest children in climate change [[link removed]] and nature protection issues from an early age, from planting school gardens to building playground equipment with used and recycled materials.

The country’s textbooks already include climate-related information, but more such hands-on study is crucial, Aruba Faruque, a 17-year-old climate activist, told our correspondent Md. Tahmid Zami.

“Our schools teach children facts and theories that help them pass exams but what we need is multi-dimensional, action-oriented learning, taught by well-trained teachers,” she said.

General view as VfL Wolfsburg players pose for a team group photo before a match, Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany. December 5, 2023 REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Kicking (smarter) football goals

Can football – or soccer, as it’s known in some parts of the world - kick its heavy emissions?

As we hit the midpoint of the European football leagues’ season, our reporter Beatrice Tridimas takes a look at the carbon footprint of the world’s most popular sport, and at efforts underway to reduce it, from vegan stadium menus and kit made of recycled plastics to holding more tickets for local fans to cut travel emissions.

“If (football) could be mobilised in service of climate action, that could make a really significant contribution,” noted British sports writer and researcher David Goldblatt.

See you next week!

Laurie

This week's top picks What is football’s carbon footprint? [[link removed]]

Football, the world's most popular sport, is getting bigger but can it cut CO2 emissions to meet green pledges for sustainability?

From farm to fork, UN plan targets fair cuts to food emissions [[link removed]]

A new global roadmap to reduce agricultural emissions, launched at COP28, calls for a "just transition" to a greener food system

Students and teachers push to reduce U.S. school emissions [[link removed]]

About 50 school districts around the United States are pushing for school retrofits and to prepare students for green jobs

Children play their way to a greener, climate-resilient future [[link removed]]

Schools in Bangladesh are testing fun ways to interest children in climate change and nature issues from an early age

Energy transition can only work if we deal with labour disruptions [[link removed]]

If the world is serious about wanting to address climate change, then ensuring a just transition must be central to the conversation

Here’s how to boost gender equality and climate action together [[link removed]]

COP28 can help advance a just transition for women by improving data, unlocking finance and creating equal work opportunities

Read all of our coverage here [[link removed]] Editor's pick Brazilians are eating less beef than ever. Is it enough to stop deforestation? [[link removed]]

Brazil’s love for beef comes at the expense of the Amazon rainforest. Does change start with the habits of everyday Brazilians?

[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

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