The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) is an investor-focused not-for-profit organization, promoting large-scale investments that could help deliver a global low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. CBI works to mobilize the $100 trillion bond market to fund climate change solutions.
On 23 June 2021 CBI published its criteria for agriculture, including livestock, which incorporate animal
welfare.
The CBI criteria state that where livestock are farmed intensively animal welfare must be certified by one of the following five schemes:
The CBI details many of the welfare concerns that must be addressed. These include: heart failure, foot pad injuries, and overly fast growth in chickens produced for meat; weak bones, feather pecking, and painful procedures such as beak trimming of laying hens; caged confinement, ear and tail biting, and tail docking of pigs; permanent indoor housing, unnatural diets (containing grain for example, which often leads to acidosis), and dehorning of cows.
The Initiative states that in countries where none of these schemes operate, welfare assessments should be undertaken using the FARMS. This is an important step forward for two reasons. First, it highlights the fact that livestock production and animal welfare are central to tackling climate change. Second, the proliferation of different animal welfare schemes worldwide has led to some investors finding it difficult to set a global policy.
The FARMS framework sets out the minimum acceptable conditions for farmed animals and is relevant across the world. It is designed to provide a globally relevant framework for the minimum acceptable conditions for farmed animals. We welcome the CBI’s recognition of this.