Which animal has the biggest carbon footprint?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science, Technology

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Carbon footprints are a measure of how much we each contribute to the greenhouse gases that warm the Earth’s atmosphere. The global average of carbon dioxide emissions is nearly 5 tonnes per person per year, although it can be triple that in certain countries.

But one CrowdScience listener in Ghana is wondering about the bigger picture. After all, humans aren’t the only species on this planet. So which other animal has the biggest carbon footprint?

CrowdScience presenters Caroline Steel and Marnie Chesterton are on the case, examining and arguing over the animal that deserves the top spot for this title.

Caroline, a vegan, points to the cow as the top contender, since the livestock sector produces 14.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and cows, whether as meat or dairy animals, are responsible for the majority of that. The team look at initiatives around the world to be more efficient with each animal out there. But maybe it’s time to put another sector in the spotlight? Pets. We love our dogs and cats but do their meat-based diets win them a place on the podium?

From most loved to most detested, we look at the role that key pests play in upsetting the carbon budget. Could a small beetle with a large appetite for greenery be an unusual winner, thanks to the trees these pests destroy over their lifetimes?

Is the biggest offender a carbon footprint, hoofprint, pawprint, or clawprint?

Presenters: Caroline Steel and Marnie Chesterton Producer: Marnie Chesterton Editor: Cathy Edwards Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Technical producers: Sarah Hockley and Donald MacDonald

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to quickly tell you about some others.
0:05.2	My name's Andy Martin and I'm the editor of a team of podcast producers at the BBC in Northern Ireland.
0:11.3	It's a job I really love because we get to tell the stories that really matter to people here,
0:16.3	but which also resonate and apply to listeners around the world.
0:19.6	And because the team is such a diverse
0:21.2	range of skills and strengths, we have trained journalists, people who love digging through
0:26.0	archives, we've got drama and even comedy experts. We really can do those stories justice. So if
0:31.8	you like this podcast, head to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more fascinating stories
0:37.1	from all around the UK.
0:42.9	This is Crowd Science from the BBC World Service. I'm Caroline Steele.
0:49.1	And I'm Marnie Chesterton. And this is the show that answers listeners' science questions.
0:55.0	Easy and hard. Space to microbes, we attempt them all.
1:00.2	And listener Matthew has left us a voice note that set the whole crowd science team off into arguments.
1:06.7	Usually the sign of a good question.
1:10.0	Hello from Ghana. Matthew here. I'm very excited to have my question on your show.
1:16.4	My question is, what animal has the worst carbon footprint? Thank you.
1:21.8	Thank you, Matthew. Intriguing question. Which animal has the worst carbon footprint? So, Marni, before we turn to
1:29.5	the experts to find Matthew some answers, I think we probably need to start with a definition.
1:34.5	What is a carbon footprint?
1:38.1	Each of us on this planet contributes to a mixture of gases in the atmosphere.
1:44.0	And carbon in carbon footprint is shorthand for carbon dioxide,
1:48.5	which is the gas we breathe out after using up oxygen.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.