Sharing the safe operating space by using different allocation principles for sheep meat in Iceland. Iceland's share of the safe operating space for sheep meat production for the Planetary Boundary of climate change

Abstract

Several Planetary Boundaries, including climate change, have been transgressed due to human activity. Iceland has a small population, but its per capita consumption is higher than in most European countries. Iceland is self- sufficient in one of its main livestock products, sheep meat. Locals widely consume this traditional food, making it a compelling case study for this research. While Planetary Boundaries quantify global limits, recent studies have attempted to allocate them to a national level. Therefore, this research assessed the contribution of sheep meat production in Iceland to the country's climate change Planetary Boundary. This was done by combining life cycle assessment results with the concept of absolute environmental sustainability. Different sharing principles from philosophical literature and distributive justice theory were tested with two scenarios to determine how they affect Iceland's ability to stay within its climate change boundary. The results show that the assessed three sharing principles, equal per capita, grandfathering, and ability to pay, upscaled with final consumption expenditure, transgress Iceland's Planetary Boundary for climate change. Sheep meat production is, therefore, unsustainable in Iceland at its current rate. Iceland aims to become carbon neutral by 2040, and the results of this study suggest reducing sheep farming in Iceland and replacing part of the caloric and protein need with low environmental impact foods.