UN livestock emissions report seriously distorted our work, say experts

Agriculture accounts for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, most of which are attributable to livestock. Photograph: ClarkandCompany/Getty Images

A flagship UN report on livestock emissions is facing calls for retraction from two key experts it cited who say that the paper “seriously distorted” their work.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) misused their research to underestimate the potential of reduced meat intake to cut agricultural emissions, according to a letter sent to the FAO by the two academics, which the Guardian has seen.