Animal Agriculture’s Stranded Asset Risk, and Why ESG Keeps Missing It Artwork

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

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Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Animal Agriculture’s Stranded Asset Risk, and Why ESG Keeps Missing It

June 17, 2026 • Tom Raftery • Season 1 • Episode 281

0:00 | 41:18

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What if one of the biggest climate risks in your portfolio is hiding in plain sight — in food, land, methane, and animal-dependent industries?

In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Claire Smith, founder and CEO of Beyond Investing, to unpack why climate finance cannot stop at fossil fuels. Claire has spent years building investment products that screen for animal use, climate impact, weapons, defence, human rights issues, and risks mainstream ESG too often waves through with a clean conscience and a spreadsheet.

You’ll hear why Claire believes animal agriculture is a broken business model, propped up by subsidies and exposed to stranded asset risk in ways that echo the fossil fuel sector. We dig into how food systems connect to methane, water use, land use, biodiversity loss, emissions reduction, and supply chain fragility — and why treating food as a side issue in the energy transition is a mistake.

You might be shocked to learn that animal agriculture uses around 75% of agricultural land while producing only 18% of calories. We also explore where climate tech, policy, and capital could help scale animal-free alternatives and resilient food systems that support decarbonisation, net zero, and real-world climate action.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how Claire Smith and Beyond Investing are challenging lazy ESG thinking and redirecting finance toward a cleaner economy.

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