Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector
Journal article, 2016
The livestock sector supports about 1.3 billion producers and retailers, and contributes 40-50% of agricultural GDP. We estimated that between 1995 and 2005, the livestock sector was responsible for greenhouse gas emissions of 5.6-7.5GtCO(2)e yr(-1). Livestock accounts for up to half of the technical mitigation potential of the agriculture, forestry and land-use sectors, through management options that sustainably intensify livestock production, promote carbon sequestration in rangelands and reduce emissions from manures, and through reductions in the demand for livestock products. The economic potential of these management alternatives is less than 10% of what is technically possible because of adoption constraints, costs and numerous trade-offs. The mitigation potential of reductions in livestock product consumption is large, but their economic potential is unknown at present. More research and investment are needed to increase the affordability and adoption of mitigation practices, to moderate consumption of livestock products where appropriate, and to avoid negative impacts on livelihoods, economic activities and the environment.
Author
M. Herrero
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
B. Henderson
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
P. Havlik
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg
P. K. Thornton
International Livestock Research Institute Nairobi
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
R. T. Conant
Colorado State University
P. Smith
University of Aberdeen
Stefan Wirsenius
Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Physical Resource Theory
A. N. Hristov
Pennsylvania State University
P. Gerber
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Wageningen University and Research Centre
M. Gill
University of Aberdeen
K. Butterbach-Bahl
International Livestock Research Institute Nairobi
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus North
H. Valin
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg
T. Garnett
University of Oxford
E. Stehfest
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Nature Climate Change
1758-678X (ISSN) 1758-6798 (eISSN)
Vol. 6 5 452-461Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
DOI
10.1038/nclimate2925