Tackling climate change through livestock: A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities

Abstract

The global livestock sector contributes significantly to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it can also deliver a significant share of the necessary mitigation effort. This report presents a global assessment of GHG emissions along livestock supply chains, providing an overview of results and exploring main mitigation potential and options on the production side. Total GHG emissions from livestock supply chains are estimated at 7.1 gigatonnes CO2-eq per annum for the 2005 reference period. Feed production and processing, and enteric fermentation from ruminants are the two main sources of emissions, representing 45 and 39 percent of sector emissions, respectively. Significant reductions in emissions would be possible, for example, if producers in a given system, region and climate adopted the technologies and practice currently used by the 10 percent of producers with the lowest emission intensity. Such reductions in emissions would also require supportive policies, adequate institutional and incentive frameworks, and more proactive governance. It is only by involving all sector stakeholders that solutions can be developed that address the sector’s diversity and complexity, making concerted and global action urgently needed. – AI-generated abstract.