Food for Change, Episode 2: Methane, Carbon and the Food-Climate Connection

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In episode two of Food For Change: Serving Solutions for People and Planet, find out why cutting methane emissions is a critical “emergency brake” for climate change and our food systems — and how data from food banks can help.

Carolina Urmeneta, director director of waste and circular economy for the Global Methane Hub explains why cutting methane is a critical “emergency brake” for climate change, since it is far more potent than CO₂ but shorter-lived. She highlights how food loss and waste drives methane emissions in landfills, and how prevention, food recovery, and donation can deliver rapid climate and community benefits. She also discusses the Metodologia FRAME, a new tool developed with GFN to measure the methane reduction impact of food banks and inform policy, investment and climate action.

Mariana Jimenez, director of BAMX (the Mexican Food Banking Network), shares how food banks in Mexico are applying FRAME and pioneering climate finance through carbon credits. By quantifying and monetizing their avoided emissions, BAMX has become the first national food bank network to participate in the carbon market. She emphasizes the dual impact of food banking — reducing hunger and mitigating climate change — and the importance of scaling logistics, warehouses and cold chain capacity to recover more nutritious food.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of The Global FoodBanking Network.

Key Takeaways

• Food banks are proving to be one of the most cost-effective climate solutions available today.
• Methane is 86x more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period.
• Cutting methane now could slow temperature rise quickly, buying time to reach long-term climate goals.
• Food systems account for 60% of methane emissions, much of it from food loss and waste.
• Solutions exist today: prevention, food recovery (like food banks), food donation, composting and anaerobic digestion.
• A key barrier to including food banks in national climate goals and financing has been lack of good data, which is why the FRAME methodology (Food Recovery to Avoid Methane Emissions)— developed with GFN — is a breakthrough. It enables food banks to measure, report, and monetize their climate impact, improving operations, shaping policy and unlocking climate finance.

Food For Change: Serving Solutions for People and Planet is a podcast by The Global FoodBanking Network, where we whisk together big ideas, bold innovations and inspiring action to serve up solutions for people and the planet. 

Why Comida para a mudança? Because right now, one in eleven people face hunger while one-third of all food goes to waste — and that’s contributing up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But here’s the good news: there are brilliant solutions out there and passionate people dedicated to creating meaningful change. 

Each episode brings together the sharpest minds in hunger relief, food recovery, climate action and food policy — who are reducing food waste, improving nutritious food access and addressing the gaps in our global food systems.