No, 14 U.S. cities will not ban meat, dairy, and private car ownership by 2030

By: Vivek J
August 31 2023

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No, 14 U.S. cities will not ban meat, dairy, and private car ownership by 2030

Fact-Check

The Verdict False

C40 has signed no treaty with the WEF to implement lifestyle changes. A report from 2019 has been misrepresented to make the conspiratorial claims.

Claim ID 0deb24b9

 

What is the claim?

Several social media have claimed that 14 cities in the U.S. have signed a treaty with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to effectively ban people from consuming meat and dairy products, and even from owning private cars. One such post on X (formerly Twitter) read, "14 U.S. Cities Sign WEF Treaty To Ban Meat, Diary, Private Cars by 2030." Several similar posts include a link to an article making the same claim. Archives of such posts can be found here, here and here.

The article was published by the website The People's Voice, formerly known as NewsPunch and YourNewsWire. The article claims that C40, a global network of mayors from various cities worldwide, is a signatory to a WEF treaty that is aimed at effectively banning people in 14 U.S. cities from consuming meat and dairy products and preventing them from owning private cars: an initiative, the article claims, will supposedly be fully implemented by 2030. 

Screenshot from the article by “The People’s Voice.” (Source: thepeoplesvoice.tv)

However, the C40 and the WEF have not signed such a treaty, and none of their initiatives aimed at combating climate change have recommended such measures.

What does the article say?

The article by People's Voice, whose claims have been debunked by Logically Facts on several occasions, claims that the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) has been roped in by the WEF, forming a coalition to "infiltrate" U.S. cities. It further says that "C40 has established a target to meet WEF's radical depopulation goals by 2030." The article intends to link C40 to some of the known conspiracy theories like the Great Reset and Agenda 2030, which Logically Facts and other independent fact-checkers have debunked. 

Are C40 and WEF linked?

The article cites a C40 report titled "The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World" and notes that the report entails a plan to implement WEF's 'radical' goals. Logically Facts combed through this 2019 report and found that it makes no mention of anything related to depopulation. Also, C40 cities from the U.S. have not signed a WEF treaty to ban the use of meat and dairy or ownership of private vehicles. 

A C40 spokesperson told Logically Facts, "Our 2019 report on consumption-based emissions was neither funded by the World Economic Forum nor does C40 have a formal relationship with WEF." "The report is an analysis of consumption-based emissions in C40 cities, not a plan for cities to adopt, let alone a legally binding treaty. It's up to individuals to make their personal lifestyle choices, including what type of food to eat and what type of clothing they prefer," the spokesperson added.

In an explainer about the report, C40 explicitly notes that the 2019 report is just "an analysis and not a plan." It further stated, "We explored ways to make the production of goods and services less carbon-intensive without compromising their function, and provided a scenario for the adoption of low-carbon choices without compromising quality of life. In practice, these ideas aren't intended for every person, community, or city."

Screenshots from C40’s explainer on the 2019 report titled “The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World.” (Source: C40.org) 

While the report acknowledges that reducing global emissions would rely on some individual actions, it does not intend to impose behavioral changes. It notes, "It is ultimately up to individuals to decide what type of food to eat and how to manage their shopping to avoid household food waste. It is also largely up to individuals to decide how many new items of clothing to buy, whether they should own and drive a private car, and how many personal flights to take."


Screenshot of the C40 report where it clearly mentions that lifestyle choices are an individual’s personal choice. (Source:C40.org)

Thus, it is clear that the report by C40 has not made any recommendations that would force people to make lifestyle changes. The C40 report in question assesses the impact of urban consumption on climate breakdown in the C40 cities and notes that these alone accounted for ten percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions when accounting for consumption-based emissions. It also modeled multiple ways of achieving fewer emissions by reducing, not banning, the consumption of meat and dairy products and reducing household food waste. These suggested means are not binding recommendations.  

The C40 report has been misrepresented as a treaty with the WEF to propagate unsubstantiated conspiratorial claims. Logically Facts has previously debunked claims about the WEF forcing people to move into '15-minute cities'—another conspiracy theory.

The WEF and its initiatives to combat climate change and the active involvement of influential individuals and government representatives in WEF's events have long been used by conspiracy theorists to propagate unwarranted and fictitious narratives. 

The verdict

There is no treaty between the WEF and the C40 that forces people from 14 cities in the U.S. or any other place to give up meat and dairy products and ownership of private cars. The two entities have no formal relationship. A 2019 C40 report has been misinterpreted to make false claims. 

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