Economists say labelling supermarket food to show its environmental impact, in combination with taxing the most carbon-intensive items, could slash Britain's greenhouse gas emissions by almost five per cent, while generating net gains for society. As food production and consumption account for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the researchers believe there is huge, untapped potential in this area for new climate mitigation policies and interventions. PublicThe study results show that carbon labels led to a 5.6 per cent decrease in the carbon content of the average food basket, the equivalent of 2.7 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions. That cost, the researchers argue, is more than offset by the social benefits of having lower greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere and more revenues for the public sector. The welfare impacts of carbon taxes and labels on food demand is published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.