These groups are fighting cow burps to slow methane emissions

When it comes to tackling climate change, carbon dioxide tends to steal the spotlight — and understandably so, given that it accounts for three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. For years, climate experts have been urging greater attention to a critical but often overlooked greenhouse gas: methane. Accounting for 16% of global emissions, methane is a significant contributor to climate change. Now, international development is beginning to take notice. Methane is far more potent than CO2 in the short term, trapping substantially more heat per molecule. What makes methane especially critical to address now is its relatively brief atmospheric lifespan — around 12 years, compared to centuries for CO2. This also means that reducing methane emissions can deliver rapid climate benefits, significantly slowing the pace of global warming, experts say. “Methane is like the emergency brake for the warming that we’re experiencing,” said John Tauzel of the Environmental Defense Fund, or EDF, an environmental nonprofit and advocacy group. “If we can slow the emissions of methane, that slows the rate of climate change and gives us more time to solve carbon dioxide.” In 2021, at the COP26 United Nations climate conference, the United States and European Union launched the Global Methane Pledge, in which 150 countries committed to cutting methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 — the first firm commitment of its kind. And while there has been progress in cutting methane emissions from the EU and Nigeria, a lot of work remains: A study published in September showed that methane emissions have risen faster over the past five years than any other period since recordkeeping began roughly four decades ago. There are three main sources of methane emissions globally: Agricultural production — particularly livestock rearing — improper waste management, and the oil and gas industry. This series will take a closer look at methane mitigation in the first two categories and examine some of the solutions that the international development sector is pursuing to tackle them. Agriculture stands as the largest global source of methane emissions, contributing about 43% of the total, according to data from the International Energy Agency. Livestock rearing dominates within this category, with cows and other ruminants emitting methane during their digestion. Rice production also adds to the problem, as waterlogged paddies create ideal conditions for methane-producing microbes to thrive. Of course, environmentalists will argue that reducing consumption of meat and dairy products is an obvious way to reduce methane emissions that should be actively pursued. But there are ways to reduce methane emissions in tandem with curbing emissions — including ways that can be pursued in places where consumption is already quite low. This piece will take a closer look at how international development organizations are trying to reduce methane emissions. EDF, for example, is working with small-scale farmers in Africa to help ensure that they have access to higher-quality feed, which can help reduce methane emissions. EDF is collaborating with research group the International Livestock Research Institute, or ILRI, which is also examining how improved breeding strategies can lead to lower emissions. The International Rice Research Institute, meanwhile, is working to develop more climate-friendly seed varietals. Meanwhile, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD, a U.N. funding mechanism focused on smallholder farmers, is working with these smallholder farmers to reduce emissions in their production of both livestock and rice. And now, multilateral lenders such as the World Bank are starting to explore innovative agricultural financing models to help encourage the adoption of strategies that reduce methane emissions. Livestock digestion and methane emissions “The biggest component of that is what we call enteric fermentation — basically, cow burps,” Tauzel of EDF said. “The cow’s stomach is this huge fermentation vat, where it’s chugging along. As part of that, one of the bacteria that lives in the rumen — the cow’s largest stomach compartment — produces methane as a by-product.” Not all cows emit the same levels of methane. In general, cows in so-called extensive farming systems — or low-input, low-output contexts more common in low-income countries — produce more methane per pound of meat or liter of milk than those in intensive ones. Animal health plays a significant role here — healthier cows emit less methane. For instance, access to higher-quality feed, such as protein- or carbohydrate-rich options, can significantly lower emissions. Consistency in feed availability also matters. In some places, like Kenyan rangelands, cows have good nutrition during the rainy season but not during the dry season, resulting in increased methane emissions when it’s dry. Diseases also contribute to methane emissions because they reduce feed efficiency and productivity, leading to higher emissions per unit of milk or meat produced. However, this can be mitigated by improving animal health through preventive measures, better nutrition, and genetic selection for livestock species that are more resilient against disease. “This creates a win-win scenario,” said EDF’s Tauzel. “Farmers inadvertently address methane reduction while improving their livelihoods.” Indeed, EDF research found that eliminating abortive diseases in cattle (or, those that cause pregnancy losses) in Tanzania could significantly boost productivity and provide enough protein to feed an additional one million Tanzanians. This intervention could also lower the greenhouse gas intensity of that protein by 14%. “Some of the interventions that we are doing to reduce methane emissions are actually linked to better animal health, to veterinary services. We are developing, jointly with the Green Climate Fund and the Global Methane Hub, a project in East Africa, ultimately leading to increased dairy production, but also leading to reduced methane emissions,” said Juan Carlos Mendoza, director of environment, climate, gender and social inclusion at IFAD. This project, the Dairy Intervention for Mitigation and Adaptation, or DaIMA, project, running from 2023 to 2025, is collaborating with over half a million farmers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda to tackle methane emissions while boosting dairy productivity. Supported by a total investment of $348.35 million, the initiative also involves partners such as the Global Methane Hub, the U.S. Department of State, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Global Dairy Platform, and USAID. The project aims to reduce methane emissions by 12.6% and simultaneously increase milk production by 34%. “There are very few livestock keepers or farmers who wake up every day and say, ‘I want to reduce my greenhouse gas emission intensity,’” noted Todd Crane of ILRI. “They wake up wondering how to improve profitability.” To be clear, this is not to say that smallholder farmers are major greenhouse gas contributors. “They are not responsible for climate change,” said Mendoza. “But we can find ways in which something that has a benefit to all of us, such as lower emissions, also leads to better livelihoods and incomes for small-scale farmers.” IFAD is funding several projects globally that can help reduce methane emissions. One is the ROLL project in Lesotho which, by improving access to higher-quality feed, could not only boost farmer productivity but also reduce emissions by 7%, the organization says. Finding better data One major challenge here is that there’s a lack of reliable data on agricultural methane emissions in regions such as Africa. And even when there is data, sometimes different methodologies are being used to collect it which creates different results. Organizations such as ILRI are working on changing this. “So little investment has been made in establishing baselines from African research and African livestock systems. So that means, historically, some estimates are made using emissions factors from intensive European or American livestock systems,” Crane said. ILRI, through its Nairobi-based research facility the Mazangira Center, is conducting research to establish accurate baselines for African livestock emissions. “This is important to start with because if we want to do interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to make animals healthier or feed them better, we have to be able to show that we’re moving the needle. That means you have to calibrate the needle to start with,” said Crane. ILRI is even exploring the use of drones to measure methane emissions from livestock herds — a first in Africa. Tackling livestock emissions in wealthier countries While the largest opportunities for reducing livestock methane emissions exist in extensive farming systems, wealthier nations with intensive systems also have room for improvement. One promising avenue involves the use of mitigation tools designed to reduce methane production in livestock. “Just like in the U.S., we take something called Bean-O to cool our upset stomachs, we’re thinking about technologies that could do this for cows,” said Tauzel. These tools, which essentially serve as dietary supplements for cattle, must meet stringent health safety standards since they directly impact the food chain. Tauzel noted that significant progress is being made to ensure their safety and efficacy. The leading product in this space is Bovaer, which was developed by the Swiss-Dutch company DSM-Firmenich, which says that the product can reduce methane from dairy cows by up to 30% and beef cows by up to 45%. Bovaer is available for use in 68 countries, including the EU, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole way — last month, for example, some U.K. social media users poured milk down their sinks in protest over Bovaer trials in the country, saying that it posed a danger to public health, despite approval from the U.K. Food Standards Agency. Seaweed is another feed additive that can help reduce methane emissions from cattle. Early studies suggested it could cut emissions by up to 80%. However researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that while methane reductions were significant initially, the effect diminished over time, possibly because cows developed resistance to it. Beyond technological innovation, collaboration within the dairy industry is ramping up. At COP28 in 2023, the Dairy Methane Action Alliance was launched, which brings together eight of the world’s largest dairy companies: Danone, General Mills, KraftHeinz, Lactalis, Nestlé, Bel Group, Clover Sonoma, and Starbucks. By joining, companies pledged to measure and publicly report methane emissions in their dairy supply chains and to develop detailed methane action plans by the end of 2024. “For the first time, dairy companies sat down and committed to solving methane,” Tauzel said. In November, the alliance released two new guides for dairy companies, on effective accounting and disclosure of methane emissions. Innovative funding solutions for methane reduction Despite methane’s potency as a greenhouse gas, its critical role in meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming target, and the availability of proven methods to reduce emissions, its abatement receives a disproportionately small share of global climate finance — less than 2% last year, according to the World Bank. Innovative financing mechanisms could help bridge this gap and spur action. For instance, the World Bank approved a $350 million loan for Uruguay last year with an interesting feature: Reduced interest payments if the country achieves its ambitious targets for lowering the methane emissions intensity of beef production. This package, which the World Bank describes as the first loan with built-in climate incentives, demonstrates the potential for creative solutions in addressing methane emissions. Denmark also broke new ground by introducing the world’s first livestock emissions tax earlier this year: Farmers in 2030 will have to pay 300 kroner (about $43) per metric ton of methane, and this will increase to 750 kroner in 2035. Proceeds from the first two years of the tax are set to support Danish agriculture’s green transition — after that, it will be reassessed. While methane is a potent greenhouse gas and a significant driver of climate change, proven solutions to reduce emissions already exist. Addressing livestock emissions, improving data accuracy, and scaling up innovative financing mechanisms are crucial steps to achieving global methane reduction goals. Collaboration among farmers, researchers, and policymakers will be key to making meaningful progress.