Pathways towards lower emissions - A global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems

Key messages:

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock agrifood systems, comprising farm gate, land-use change (LUC) and supply chain processes. The assessment employs the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’s latest Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM), a geospatial framework that simulates the environmental impact of livestock systems.

The findings from GLEAM reveal that livestock agrifood systems – which include cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens – are responsible for 6.2 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq) emissions. This accounts for approximately 12 percent of all anthropogenic GHG emissions based on the reference year 2015.

The emission intensity, or carbon footprint, of livestock production varies significantly across countries, species and production systems due to differences in breeds, management practices, feed quality and environmental conditions.

Of all the six animal species considered, cattle contribute to over 60 percent of global livestock emissions. Of the edible animal products – meat, milk and eggs – two-thirds of the emissions are linked to meat production across all species. Finally, about one-third of emissions emanates from the production, processing and transport of feed inputs when considering the global emissions by source.

By 2050, the growing and more affluent global population is anticipated to drive a 20 percent increase in animal product demand for animal produts compared to 2020 levels. Without intervention, this upward trend could result in increased emissions from livestock systems, potentially undermining efforts to reduce GHG emissions and exacerbating global temperature rises.

The adoption of sustainable practices is crucial in attaining lower emissions and mitigating the environmental impact of livestock systems. There are several pathways towards lower emissions, encompassing interventions on the supply side and reductions in the demand for animal products. They include improvements of animal health, the reduction of food loss and waste, enhancements in breeding practices, and the implementation of measures directly targeting GHG emissions.

By collectively implementing these enhancements, the livestock sector has the potential to achieve significant emission reductions while still meeting the anticipated increase in the demand for animal products by 2050.

Enhancing productivity and products efficiency across the entire production chain is the most promising way to reducing emissions, promoting sustainability, and mitigating the environmental impact of the livestock sector.