THE GEORGE WA SHINGTON U NI V ER SIT Y L AW SCHOOL W I N T E R 2013
1 E n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d E n e r g y LA W P E R S P E C TIV E S
Environmental AND Energy Law Perspectives
SPR I N G 2013
P E R S P ECT I VE S
The Policy Implications of Livestock’s Contribution to Climate Change Jessica A. Wentz, Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Environmental Program Fellow
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V I EW P O I N T
GW Alumni with the Kirkland & Ellis Environmental Transaction Practice Group
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lobal activities associated with the production, distribution, and consumption of livestock products represent a significant but often overlooked driver of climate change. In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted a life-cycle assessment of the global livestock sector, in which it estimated that livestock-related activities generated 7.1 million tons of CO2 equivalent each year, approximately 18 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The FAO also identified a range of other environmental impacts from livestock, including land degradation, water shortage, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity, and concluded that livestock production was among the most environmentally detrimental activities on the planet. See Policy Implicatons on page 2
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he Environment and Energy Law Program is proud to recognize six GW alumni who form a large portion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s Environmental Transaction Group. Based in Washington, D.C., the group is the largest of its kind in the United States, and is recognized for its success in managing high-stakes matters involving major companies such as Chemtura and Tronox, as well as private equity funds such as Bain
See Viewpoint on page 10