Climate Facts: Food waste accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, says UNEP

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can prove difficult to digest.

TheCable’s quick climate facts will help demystify these concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

• A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas, is rapidly accelerating climate change and damaging the ozone layer.

• UNEP says urban waste will rise from 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050, costing the global economy up to one-fifth of available food.

• The organisation added that about 1.05 billion tonnes of food was wasted in 2022, with food loss and waste accounting for 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

• The World Meterological Organisation (WMO) says 2024 is set to be the first year to exceed the 1.5°C pre-industrial levels.