In a recent study, the yearly nutritional and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts of eliminating animals from United States agriculture were quantified. Modelling estimated that agricultural GHG emissions would decrease by 28%, but that the resulting nutritional profile of a plant-based diet would be inadequate for US citizens.
Developing countries require systems for measurement, reporting and verification of livestock greenhouse gas emissions that can capture emissions reductions linked to productivity.
Agriculture directly contributes 10-12% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 60% of which come from livestock (enteric fermentation and manure). Emissions from agriculture are likely to increase as developing countries seek to ensure food security for their growing populations and as trends toward increased meat consumption con
tinue.
Ninety-two countries include livestock in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to climate change mitigation. However, many countries cannot document livestock emission reductions through productivity gains and more efficient farm management because of simple reporting systems and insufficient data. As countries begin to implement their NDCs, there is strong interest and need to improve methods for measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) emission reductions in the livestock sector.
In response to countries’ interest and with input from technical experts from dozens of countries, UNIQUE Forestry and Land Use, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) authored the report, ‘Measurement, reporting and verification of livestock GHG emissions by developing countries in the UNFCCC: Current practices and opportunities for improvement’, to be released at COP23.
“Our research found that of 140 countries interviewed, only five have MRV methods in place that can capture reductions in livestock emissions related to increases in productivity or improvements in agricultural management practices”, lead author Andreas Wilkes, UNIQUE Forestry and Land Use, said.
Harry Clark, Co-chair of the GRA’s Livestock Research Group and Director of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, commented, “This is a major concern for countries who are working hard to meet climate goals while at the same time ensuring food security, rural development and livelihoods. Improving the productivity of livestock systems and increasing resource use efficiency is a critical entry point that can help achieve all of these objectives, but current reporting systems can’t capture these achievements.”
The paper describes basic requirements for MRV as established in the UNFCCC and the IPCC and then assesses current MRV practices for livestock emissions in 140 developing countries.
“Countries are innovating in exciting ways that reflect their own policy priorities. Sharing these innovations will help other countries identify pathways for improving their own systems”, said Lini Wollenberg, leader of the CCAFS Low Emissions Development research program based at the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for Environment. “Key challenges are a lack of data and expertise and uncertainty about how to fill data gaps and best build capacity in key institutions”.
The report makes a number of practical recommendations to help address these issues. These include:
- Document and share examples of the approaches countries have taken in developing Tier 2 inventories, specifically, and improving their MRV systems in general
- Enable regional sharing of MRV experiences
- Provide resources to build countries’ capacities for inventory compilation, including strengthening institutional arrangements
- Review current Tier 2 approaches to clarify how different methodological approaches have evolved over time
- Improving understanding of the interaction between policy goals, MRV design and specific data needs
- Compare methods for data collection on livestock populations, herd structure, feed intake and livestock performance
- Develop specific guidance on uncertainty analysis, how to deal with data gaps, transparency and quality assurance/quality control
- Support piloting and testing of MRV systems at the national and sub-national levels
The GRA and CCAFS are now working together with partner countries and other organisations such as the FAO, the UN Environment Programme’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and the World Bank to implement the report’s findings.
Download the report: Wilkes, A, Reisinger A, Wollenberg E, van Dijk S. 2017. Measurement, reporting and verification of livestock GHG emissions by developing countries in the UNFCCC: Current practices and opportunities for improvement. Please note that the full report will also be published in French and Spanish later this year.
For media interview and enquiries, please contact:
- GRA: Andy Reisinger / +64 21 613 125 / [email protected]
- CCAFS: Julianna White / +1 802 777 7017 / [email protected]
- UNIQUE Forestry & Land Use: Andreas Wilkes (lead author) / [email protected]
For more information see: GRA Livestock Research Group and CCAFS
Photo credit: N. Palmer, CIAT
At a 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) side event in Bonn, Germany yesterday with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, the Global Research Alliance’s Special Representative Hayden Montgomery argued that more innovation was needed to combat agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
His argument is supported by the 2016 article ‘Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2°C target’, published in Global Change Biology. The article summarises the findings of a number of scientists, including Global Research Alliance representatives, which showed that current technologies can only reduce 20-40% of the agricultural emission reductions needed in order to meet the international 2 degree greenhouse gas emissions target which was agreed to by 100 countries in Paris in 2015.
The Global Research Alliance is delighted to announce our newest Partners, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Global Agri-Business Alliance (GAA).
The WBCSD seeks to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world by making increasing the number of successful sustainable businesses. Read more about the WBCSD here
The GAA aims to collectively address sustainability, social, labour and environmental issues in order to improve the resilience of farmers across the world. Read more about the GAA here
These organisations have already shared many programmes and key Partners with the Global Research Alliance, and expect that closer collaboration will help focus on the most promising areas of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions reductions research and develop new forms of public and private sector partnerships to achieve them.
New research by the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC)’s Dr Andy Reisinger and Dr Harry Clark shows that the livestock contribution to global warming is significantly greater than previous estimates.
Previous estimates were based on CO2-equivalent emissions, but Dr Reisinger explains that methane plays a critical role in global warming: “We found that of the warming the world had experienced by 2010, as much as 19 percent was due to direct historical methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock. Once you add the warming due to emissions when land is converted into pastures, you end up with a total contribution of 23 percent to current warming… [not including] indirect emissions from energy use or growing livestock feed such as soy beans…”
Dr Reisinger says the study also addresses how much livestock will contribute to future warming under different scenarios and how reductions in livestock emissions would impact on allowable CO2 emissions as set out in the 2016 Paris Agreement.
Read the full article here, published in Global Change Biology
For further questions, please contact Dr Andy Reisinger, [email protected]
The Global Research Alliance and its Partner CCAFS (CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) are delighted to launch the new CLIFF-GRADS (Climate Food & Farming Graduates) program. Proposals are invited from students from developing countries currently enrolled in PhD programs on agricultural greenhouse gas quantification. Short-term (4-6 month) scientific training and research stays on topics related to measurement and management of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage in agricultural systems will be sponsored in the amount of 10,000-12,000 USD to collaborate with selected CCAFS / GRA projects.
Download the list of available projects and the application information here or visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/about/careers-and-calls/call-proposals-cliff-grads
The deadline for applications is 31th of December 2017.
- Find out more about CCAFS: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/themes/low-emissions-agriculture
- Find out more about the CLIFF Network: http://ccafs.cgiar.org/climate-food-and-farming-network
- For unanswered questions please contact Meryl Richards, Science Officer for CCAFS Low Emissions Agriculture ([email protected])
Two opportunities have arisen for Senior Research Scientists to join Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) Agriculture Climate Smart Program:
- Senior Research Scientist – climate change, agri-business and agricultural systems: this role will develop and apply foresighting, analysis and solutions to help agribusiness and financial institutions meet market, social licence and business growth in the face of climate, climate policy impacts and stakeholder/shareholder/consumer concerns and pressures.
- Senior Research Scientist – agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability: this role will develop and apply life cycle assessment and natural capital accounting and provide environmental benchmarking metrics and advice to agribusiness and other institutions involved in agriculture
Applications close 10 December 2017. For more details, including role summaries and the application process, please visit the CSIRO website (link provided below).
The latest issue of the Livestock Research Group (LRG) newsletter is available to download.
In this edition, the LRG Co-chairs make a special request for readers to consider contributing to critical IPCC reports that are currently being developed, including the Sixth Assessment Report. The newsletter also discusses:
- Our work with South and South-East Asian countries developing Tier 2 inventories for livestock GHGs
- Outcomes from the recent GRA Council meeting
- Details of the first four projects confirmed for the Enteric Fermentation Flagship
- Recent work by CCAFS in low emissions agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2017 Borlaug Global Research Alliance Fellowships. Fellows selected from eligible countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) will work with a mentor at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service or a United States university for up to 12 weeks on resilient agricultural research. The United States’ mentor will later visit the fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration.
The fellowships are designed to provide fellows with training opportunities and practical experience, increase collaboration and networking, and aid in the transfer and implementation of technologies in the area of climate change mitigation research in agriculture.
Applications close November 5, 2017.
Read more about the 2018 Fellowship
Learn more about Borlaug Fellowships
The Global Research Alliance is very pleased to welcome our newest Member country, Senegal.
Senegal became a Member at the 10th Biennial Consultative Meeting of the National Experts Committee of the Africa Rice Centre held in Banjul, the Gambia in September 2017. Senegal is our third African Member, and we are looking forward to working together in the future.
The Global Research Alliance is delighted to welcome our newest Partner, ISRIC – World Soil Information.
ISRIC is linked to other global soil initiatives, such as the Global Soil Partnership, led by the Food & Agriculture Organisation. Together, ISRIC and the Global Research Alliance are looking forward to enhancing collaborations with countries and working on our Soil Carbon flagship, which is strongly connected to our existing Partner FACCE-JPI’s Coordination of International Research Cooperation on Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture Horizon 2020 Coordination & Support Action (CIRCASA H2020 CSA).
Read more about ISRIC – World Soil Information
Two highly qualified Scientific Officers are sought for INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) soil carbon programmes based in Paris, France.
1. Scientific Officer of the international research program on ‘Soils for Food Security and Climate’ (1-year position)
The research program has a focus on soil organic carbon, in relation with food security and climate change challenges.
2. Scientific Officer of the European funded project CIRCASA (3-year position)
CIRCASA (Coordination of International Research Cooperation on soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture) aims to develop international synergies concerning research and knowledge transfer on agricultural soil C sequestration at European Union (EU) and global levels.
Note that CVs must be received before 22 September 2017, and availability to start on 1 November 2017 is required.