The Benefits of Climate Finance for Sustainable Livestock Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The document highlights a misalignment in climate finance, noting that less than 10% of agricultural climate finance reaches the livestock sector in LMICs. It argues that livestock are multifunctional assets providing 'triple wins'—climate mitigation, adaptation, and socio-economic benefits—but are often viewed narrowly as sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The authors identify barriers to funding, including poor data, complex measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures, and institutional fragmentation. To address this, the brief recommends that the G20 promote blended finance instruments, scale carbon credit standards for rangelands, update climate fund eligibility criteria, and develop standardized climate-smart livestock indicators.

• Livestock systems in LMICs provide critical multifunctional benefits across nutrition, economic stability, and environmental conservation, supporting 1.3 billion people globally and contributing roughly 40% of agricultural GDP.
• Climate change poses severe risks to livestock in LMICs, with a 2°C temperature increase projected to reduce productivity in low-elevation and low-latitude areas and negatively impact the livelihoods of over 180 million people in Africa.
• The livestock sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 12% of global anthropogenic emissions, with cattle contributing 77% of the sector's total. In sub-Saharan Africa, abandoned cattle corrals (bomas) in drylands represent overlooked hotspots, contributing about 5% of the region's anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions.
• Climate finance for the livestock sector in LMICs is severely inadequate, with less than 10% of the annual $28.5 billion in climate finance for agriculture allocated to livestock.
• Several systemic barriers hinder livestock climate finance, including a lack of data and indicators, costly and complex measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures, and a lack of coordination between agricultural and environmental ministries.
• Strategic interventions in livestock can achieve 'triple wins' (mitigation, adaptation, and socio-economic gains). Examples include silvopastoralism for carbon sequestration and heat stress management, and biogas digesters which can capture 60-80% of methane from manure.

APA

CRAMER, L., NGOME, D., AWOLALA, D., MBOLE-KARIUKI, M., PAUL, B., & WAMUKOYA, G. (2025). The Benefits of Climate Finance for Sustainable Livestock Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PN-17_Cramer-et-al_G20SustainableLivestock1.pdf

Chicago

CRAMER, LAURA, DAVID NGOME, DAVID AWOLALA, MARY MBOLE-KARIUKI, BIRTHE PAUL, and GEORGE WAMUKOYA. The Benefits of Climate Finance for Sustainable Livestock Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PN-17_Cramer-et-al_G20SustainableLivestock1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CRAMER |first1=LAURA |last2=NGOME |first2=DAVID |last3=AWOLALA |first3=DAVID |last4=MBOLE-KARIUKI |first4=MARY |last5=PAUL |first5=BIRTHE |last6=WAMUKOYA |first6=GEORGE |title=The Benefits of Climate Finance for Sustainable Livestock Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=17 September 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PN-17_Cramer-et-al_G20SustainableLivestock1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cramer2025benefits, author = {CRAMER, LAURA and NGOME, DAVID and AWOLALA, DAVID and MBOLE-KARIUKI, MARY and PAUL, BIRTHE and WAMUKOYA, GEORGE}, title = {{The Benefits of Climate Finance for Sustainable Livestock Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PN-17_Cramer-et-al_G20SustainableLivestock1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }