Transformando a Pecuária Brasileira: Ganhos de Produtividade e Reduções nas Emissões de Metano

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio analyzes the strategic role of the Brazilian livestock sector in climate change mitigation, focusing on reducing methane emissions from enteric fermentation. It proposes a portfolio of solutions across land use, biological productivity, nutrition, and system management to align productivity gains with environmental sustainability.

• The Brazilian livestock sector is a primary driver of national methane emissions, with enteric fermentation from beef and dairy cattle accounting for approximately 60% of the country's methane emissions and about 17% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
• Brazilian extensive livestock systems are characterized by very low productivity, with an average stocking rate of 1.2 animals per hectare nationally, dropping to approximately 0.9 head per hectare in the North region.
• Improving forage quality and recovering degraded pastures can significantly reduce methane emissions and increase productivity; specifically, forage quality improvements alone can reduce enteric methane emissions by up to 25%.
• Biological productivity gains through genetic improvement have shown measurable results in Brazil; for example, between 2000 and 2020, the Girolando dairy breed saw a 39% reduction in enteric methane emissions per kilogram of milk while average productivity per animal rose by about 60%.
• Dietary additives offer high potential for methane reduction in confined systems: 3-NOP can reduce methane emitted per unit of food by about 30%, and the seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis can reduce emissions by over 40%.
• Integrated systems, such as crop-livestock-forestry (ILPF), can lead to carbon neutrality or net sequestration, while well-managed pastures can incorporate approximately 2.5 tons of carbon into the soil per hectare annually.
• While Brazil has a solid institutional base including the 'Metano Zero' program and the 'Plano Safra' credit lines, significant gaps remain in the scale of pasture recovery, the diffusion of integrated systems, and policies for animal welfare and traceability.

APA

Zangiski, G., & Dotta, M. (2026). Transformando a Pecuária Brasileira: Ganhos de Produtividade e Reduções nas Emissões de Metano. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Transformando-a-Pecuaria-Brasileira.pdf

Chicago

Zangiski, Gabriela, and Mario Dotta. Transformando a Pecuária Brasileira: Ganhos de Produtividade e Reduções nas Emissões de Metano. Climate Policy Initiative, 2026. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Transformando-a-Pecuaria-Brasileira.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zangiski |first1=Gabriela |last2=Dotta |first2=Mario |title=Transformando a Pecuária Brasileira: Ganhos de Produtividade e Reduções nas Emissões de Metano |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Transformando-a-Pecuaria-Brasileira.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zangiski2026transformando, author = {Zangiski, Gabriela and Dotta, Mario}, title = {{Transformando a Pecuária Brasileira: Ganhos de Produtividade e Reduções nas Emissões de Metano}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Transformando-a-Pecuaria-Brasileira.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }