Accelerating climate solutions in agriculture: Why reducing methane from livestock is an urgent opportunity

Agriculture is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane emissions, with livestock (enteric and manure emissions) accounting for 80% of that total. The document highlights a significant disparity in emissions intensity, noting that lowest-income countries have intensities 6-16 times higher than high-income countries due to differences in production efficiency. To limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, the agriculture sector must reduce absolute methane emissions by 30-38 Mt/year, despite projected increases in animal protein demand, such as a 102% increase in Africa by 2050. Proposed solutions include improving animal health and breeding for efficiency, as well as deploying feed additives and anaerobic digestors. The brief emphasizes that policies must be regionally tailored, moving beyond voluntary incentives and the $600 billion in annual global agriculture subsidies that often lack environmental scopes.

• Agriculture is the primary source of human-caused methane, contributing 40% of such emissions, with agricultural methane specifically responsible for approximately 0.2°C of the current 1.1°C global temperature rise.
• Livestock methane emissions are divided between enteric fermentation, which accounts for 73% of agricultural methane, and manure management, which accounts for 7%. Together, livestock emissions represent 80% of all methane produced by agriculture.
• There is a stark divide in methane emissions intensity based on national income; the lowest-income countries exhibit intensities 6-16 times higher than those in high-income countries because the latter utilize more productive animals and efficient systems.
• To maintain a global temperature limit of 1.5°C, the global agriculture sector needs to reduce its absolute methane emissions by 30-38 Mt/year, a task complicated by rising demand for animal protein, which is expected to grow by 102% in Africa by 2050.
• Methane mitigation strategies are categorized into efficiency gains (better diets, pasture management, and breeding) and direct reductions (feed additives for enteric emissions and anaerobic digestors or flaring for manure).
• Current global agricultural support, totaling over $600 billion annually, largely lacks environmental objectives, and the document argues that voluntary incentives are often insufficient for accelerating technology adoption.
• Specific national examples of climate-aligned agricultural planning include Brazil's sectorial plan for science-based practices and Uruguay's use of its Nationally Determined Contribution Plan and National Policy of Climate Change to reduce beef methane intensity.

APA

Ferreira, F., & McCabe, D. (2024). Accelerating climate solutions in agriculture: Why reducing methane from livestock is an urgent opportunity. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2024/10/accelerating-climate-solutions-agriculture-why-reducing-methane-livestock-urgent-opportunity/

Chicago

Ferreira, Fernanda, and David McCabe. Accelerating climate solutions in agriculture: Why reducing methane from livestock is an urgent opportunity. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/2024/10/accelerating-climate-solutions-agriculture-why-reducing-methane-livestock-urgent-opportunity/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ferreira |first1=Fernanda |last2=McCabe |first2=David |title=Accelerating climate solutions in agriculture: Why reducing methane from livestock is an urgent opportunity |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=8 October 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/2024/10/accelerating-climate-solutions-agriculture-why-reducing-methane-livestock-urgent-opportunity/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ferreira2024accelerating, author = {Ferreira, Fernanda and McCabe, David}, title = {{Accelerating climate solutions in agriculture: Why reducing methane from livestock is an urgent opportunity}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/2024/10/accelerating-climate-solutions-agriculture-why-reducing-methane-livestock-urgent-opportunity/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }