Vegan row erupts at Cop climate summit – and the UN steps in

The UN has been forced to step in after a row about a lack of vegan options erupted at the Cop29 climate summit in Baku.

The food court at the Azerbaijan conference centre features just one vegan and vegetarian outlet, prompting complaints from delegates who said plant-based food should be prioritised for its green credentials.

Previous Cop summits have made a point of featuring a variety of vegan options.

The Cop26 summit in Glasgow displayed the carbon footprint of all food items and offered more environmentally-friendly meat options, such as venison.

Logistics for the summit are organised by hosts Azerbaijan , but the UN said it was responding to several complaints about a lack of available vegan food in a message on Thursday.

"In response to queries received by the UNFCCC secretariat, we herewith wish to highlight the vegan and vegetarian food options available at the conference venue," the message said.

"As part of its commitment to promoting sustainable practices, the host country has made available a variety of vegetarian and vegan food options."

'Meat has a much, much higher carbon footprint' Dr Lambert Schneider, a Belgian researcher at the Oko-Institut, who was waiting in line at the only vegan food stand on Thursday, said the lack of options was a dereliction of duty by the hosts.

He said: "They sent this message to all delegates that all the food options have a very low carbon impact but that's just not true."

Dr Schneider added: "If you look to the studies, the science is very clear that eating meat has a much, much higher carbon footprint than eating vegetarian or vegan ."

The conference centre offers dozens of food stalls ranging from local Azerbaijani food to Domino's pizza, with the majority of options including meat.

The lone vegan stall was busy on Thursday but offered a relatively limited selection of dahl, pumpkin soup and spinach stew.

Vegan campaigners have been handing out free sandwiches at the entrance to the summit, which started on Monday.

Other complaints about the summit's environmental credentials have included the temperature of the conference centre, which is heated to 30C in some places, despite the temperate climate in Baku at this time of year.

Delegates have also complained about the cost of food, with some outlets charging higher prices than in Baku city.