Reports have emerged in the last week of major US cities looking to ban meat, dairy, new clothing and private cars by 2030.
Fourteen major American cities, including Chiacago, LA, NYC and Washington DC, are part of a global climate organisation known as the ‘C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’ which has laid out ambitious targets by the year 2030 for:
- 0kg of meat consumption
- 0kg of dairy consumption
- 3 new clothing items per person, per year
- 0 private vehicles owned
- 1 short-haul return flight (less than 150km) every three years per person
What is the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group?
C40 was first created in 2005 by London Mayor Ken Livingston, and is now chaired by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. It launched with representatives from 18 cities around the world, but has now grown to include 96 cities, making up one-twelfth of the global population.
In 2018, Mayor Khan declared a climate emergency, describing it as one of the biggest threats we face today. And in response, set out an ambitious target for London to be net zero by 2030, committing to a Green New Deal for the capital.
Part of this, is the highly publicised and politically controversial Ulez – ultra-low emission zone – which expanded across London this month to a howl of protest from drivers. It charges drivers £12.50-a-day for driving on the city streets of London, and has become a political hot potato ahead of the UK’s general election next year.
C40’s controversial claims
But what of the ban on meat and private cars? “C40’s dystopian goals can be found in its ‘The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5C World’ report, which was published in 2019 and re-emphasised in 2023”, says Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation.
“The organisation is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organisation, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C and Seattle,” he says.
And disputes as to the true meaning of the C40 report have now become political.
“Media coverage of C40 Cities’ goals has been relatively sparse,” says Kokai. “The few media personalities and news outlets who have discussed it have been heavily attacked by the corporate “fact-checkers,” he says.
“In a ‘fact check’ aimed at conservative commentator Glenn Beck, fact checking site AFP Fact Check claimed that the banning of meat and dairy and limits on air travel and clothing consumption were actually “not policy recommendations” says Kokai, whilst posting on the John Locke Foundation’s website.
On its website, AFB Fact Check said: “A video from Glenn Beck, an American conservative commentator, claims a proposal backed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) would limit meat and dairy in smart cities by 2030. This is false; the document cited as evidence is an independent climate analysis that makes no specific policy recommendations.”
But Kokai disputes the AFB findings and says the paragraph, likely included in the report as a liability in the case of pushback, seems to directly contradict the meaning of “target,” which in this context can be defined as a “desired goal.”
And US media site Valuetainment has waded in on the row too: “Despite so-called fact-checks from mainstream media claiming that these “targets” do not constitute real policy recommendations, C40 cities across the United States have followed in lockstep with the agenda.”
So, could meat and dairy free policies be coming to a city near you? Watch this space…
Meanwhile, as America gears up for the next presidential election in 2024, with former president Donald Trump due to stand trial in March for alleged “hush-money payments” made during the 2016 campaign, and against a backdrop of higher inflation, job insecurity and wider economic instability, the political climate in the US is set to get even more heated in the coming year.
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Major US Cities to ban meat, new clothes & private cars by 2030! Is this for real?
Reports have emerged in the last week of major US cities looking to ban meat, dairy, new clothing and private cars by 2030.
Fourteen major American cities, including Chiacago, LA, NYC and Washington DC, are part of a global climate organisation known as the ‘C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’ which has laid out ambitious targets by the year 2030 for:
What is the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group?
C40 was first created in 2005 by London Mayor Ken Livingston, and is now chaired by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. It launched with representatives from 18 cities around the world, but has now grown to include 96 cities, making up one-twelfth of the global population.
In 2018, Mayor Khan declared a climate emergency, describing it as one of the biggest threats we face today. And in response, set out an ambitious target for London to be net zero by 2030, committing to a Green New Deal for the capital.
Part of this, is the highly publicised and politically controversial Ulez – ultra-low emission zone – which expanded across London this month to a howl of protest from drivers. It charges drivers £12.50-a-day for driving on the city streets of London, and has become a political hot potato ahead of the UK’s general election next year.
C40’s controversial claims
But what of the ban on meat and private cars? “C40’s dystopian goals can be found in its ‘The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5C World’ report, which was published in 2019 and re-emphasised in 2023”, says Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation.
“The organisation is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organisation, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C and Seattle,” he says.
And disputes as to the true meaning of the C40 report have now become political.
“Media coverage of C40 Cities’ goals has been relatively sparse,” says Kokai. “The few media personalities and news outlets who have discussed it have been heavily attacked by the corporate “fact-checkers,” he says.
“In a ‘fact check’ aimed at conservative commentator Glenn Beck, fact checking site AFP Fact Check claimed that the banning of meat and dairy and limits on air travel and clothing consumption were actually “not policy recommendations” says Kokai, whilst posting on the John Locke Foundation’s website.
On its website, AFB Fact Check said: “A video from Glenn Beck, an American conservative commentator, claims a proposal backed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) would limit meat and dairy in smart cities by 2030. This is false; the document cited as evidence is an independent climate analysis that makes no specific policy recommendations.”
But Kokai disputes the AFB findings and says the paragraph, likely included in the report as a liability in the case of pushback, seems to directly contradict the meaning of “target,” which in this context can be defined as a “desired goal.”
And US media site Valuetainment has waded in on the row too: “Despite so-called fact-checks from mainstream media claiming that these “targets” do not constitute real policy recommendations, C40 cities across the United States have followed in lockstep with the agenda.”
So, could meat and dairy free policies be coming to a city near you? Watch this space…
Meanwhile, as America gears up for the next presidential election in 2024, with former president Donald Trump due to stand trial in March for alleged “hush-money payments” made during the 2016 campaign, and against a backdrop of higher inflation, job insecurity and wider economic instability, the political climate in the US is set to get even more heated in the coming year.
STAY UP-TO-DATE
For fresh insights, company news and business advice, subscribe to the weekly Matt Haycox newsletter.
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