New Climate and Clean Air Coalition Report Spotlights Cost-Effective and Scalable Solutions to Reduce Livestock Methane Emissions

11 July 2024, Paris – With methane emissions continuing to rise around the world, contributing to warming and leading to devastating impacts on both the planet and human health, the CCAC is spotlighting innovative and underfinanced methane mitigation measures that, if fully implemented, can help the world meet its emissions targets and keep 1.5C within reach.  

Launched at a virtual gathering of national government representatives, sector experts, and finance stakeholders, the report, ‘Scaling underfinanced SLCP mitigation solutions: driving innovation and technology in the agriculture sector’, co-led by Ireland and Senegal, examines under-explored methane mitigation measures in the livestock sector. These include digital agricultural services and results-based payments that can both play a key role in reducing harmful methane emissions.  

Digital agricultural solutions are tools that help farmers to facilitate knowledge transfer and allow for a better understanding of the impact of animal diets, veterinary care, and breeding on methane emissions. The CCAC Panel has identified a pressing need for investment into digital solutions, including mobile aps, SMS messaging, and mobile platforms that that disseminate best practices and market information directly to farmers, providing them directly with the knowledge and tools they need to enhance productivity and reduce methane emissions.  

Leading examples that could be scaled commercially include:  

iCow, a Kenyan digital agriculture extension service that provides over 1.6 million smallholder farmers with real-time, simple, and cost-effective advice that is tailored to their production systems.

Global Farm Animals Ration Programmes (GlobalFARP), a digital tool to optimize feed rations, increase productivity, and reduce methane emissions impact from cattle, which is being adapted by the Global Methane Hub to use in 16 countries across Africa and Asia.  

Fonagro Innovation for Pasture Management, a program that connects farmers in Latin America to leading research in pasture management, providing an easily accessible web tool to optimize livestock grazing management and increase forage production on beef and dairy production systems.  

The CCAC-TEAP also identifies results-based payments as a promising approach to encourage actions that are beneficial for both climate mitigation and farmers bottom lines, by aligning financial incentives with practices that reduce emissions intensity. By targeting small markets with the potential for rapid growth, and subsidizing sustainable solutions, results-based payments can help de-risk farmer investments made towards scaling up methane mitigation efforts in the agricultural sector.  

An effective example of results-based payments includes the AgResults Tanzania Dairy Productivity Challenge Project, an ongoing four-year prize competition that aims to reduce methane emissions in the dairy sector by increasing dairy productivity and quality through providing financial incentives to improve parasite control, nutritious feed, vaccines, and artificial insemination.  

“Despite the opportunities that these solutions present, the challenge lies in scaling these practices to achieve meaningful impact”, said CCAC Agriculture Expert, Gregory Kohler. “Digital agricultural services and results-based payments are key to changing the way we manage livestock and can help incentivize markets to drive sustainable change.”

Speaking on the CCAC-TEAP, Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, underscored the importance of establishing a key business case for super pollutant mitigation measures. “By identifying important mitigation measures across the livestock sector, we hope the CCAC-TEAP will act as a guide for countries and international financial institutions to fund tangible projects in regions that need them the most, while also scaling support to countries to implement cost-effective measures that are known to work.”

“By focusing on affordable solutions to reduce harmful methane emissions, the CCAC-TEAP can, if implemented at scale, make a measurable difference across the livestock sector, leading to better outcomes for people and planet”, said Cheikh Sylla, Co-Chair from Senegal of the CCAC-TEAP. TEAP Co-Chair Brian Carroll, Director General (Environment), Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Ireland, said “we look forward to building on this report as we continue to spotlight effective and under-utilized measures that can help to reduce the impact of super pollutants on a global scale”.  

As a next step, interested CCAC Partners are encouraged to further help identify interested countries and scalable projects, and determine where investments can leverage the greatest impact for both local and global communities.  

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)  

The UNEP-Convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a partnership of over 182 governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. It works to reduce powerful but short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) – methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone – that drive both climate change and air pollution. It aims to connect ambitious agenda setting with targeted mitigation action within countries and sectors. Robust science and analysis underpin its efforts and bolstered by its Trust Fund, it has given rise to high level political commitment, in-country support, and a range of tools that help make the case for action and support implementation.

About the CCAC-TEAP  

In 2023, the CCAC established its Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (CCAC-TEAP) to develop and share knowledge with countries about promising, innovative, and underfinanced short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) mitigation measures which can improve both climate and air quality outcomes. The CCAC-TEAP is co-led by Ireland and Senegal and will identify and assess proven and scalable practices and technologies that can be commercialized in the short- to mid-term (1 to 3 years) and the mid- to longer term (4 to 5 years) to achieve SLCP mitigation targets.  

Download the TEAP Brief here.

For more information, please contact:

Vincent Hughes, Communications and Media Consultant, Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat at United Nations Environment Programme – Vincent.Hughes [at] un.org

Ava Bahrami, Communications Officer, Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat at United Nations Environment Programme – Ava.Bahrami [at] un.org