TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH LIVESTOCK A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION OPPORTUNITIES NGE THROUGH LIVESTOCK A TE CH A CKLING CLIM Ta TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH LIVESTOCK A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF EMISSIONS AND mitigation OPPortunitieS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2013 Recommended citation Gerber, P.J., Steinfeld, H., Henderson, B., Mottet, A., Opio, C., Dijkman, J., Falcucci, A. & Tempio, G. 2013. Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome. Photo credits Cover and page 15: @SIE-Masterfile Page 1: @FAO/Giulio Napolitano Page 5: @FAO/Noah Seelam Page 23: @FAO/Giulio Napolitano, Vasily Maximov, Jim Holmes, Florita Botts, Tariq Tinazay Page 45: @iStockphoto.com/Kickers Page 59: @FAO/Ishara Kodikara Page 83: @International Telecommunication Union The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-107920-1 (print) E-ISBN 978-92-5-107921-8 (PDF) © FAO 2013 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Table of Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Overview xii Abbreviations and acronyms xvi Glossary xviii 1. Introduction 1 2. Methods 5 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) 5 2.3 Modelling carbon sequestration potential in grasslands 11 3. The aggregate picture 15 3.1 Overall emissions 15 3.2 Emissions by species and commodities 15 3.3 Main sources of emissions 17 3.4 Emissions by regions 21 4. Emissions by species 23 4.1 Cattle 23 4.2 Buffalo 27 4.3 Small ruminants (sheep and goats) 31 4.4 Pig 35 4.5 Chicken 37 4.6 Cross-cutting observations 40 5. Scope for mitigation 45 5.1 Mitigation potential 45 5.2 Carbon sequestration 50 5.3 Potential by main geographical areas 53 iii 6. Mitigation in practice: case studies 59 6.1 Dairy cattle production in South Asia 61 6.2 Intensive pig production in East and Southeast Asia 62 6.3 Specialized beef production in South America 68 6.4 Small ruminant production in West Africa 72 6.5 Dairy production in OECD countries 76 6.6 Potential for productivity gains 79 7. Implications for policy-making 83 7.1 A brief description of mitigation policy approaches 83 7.2 Targeting of mitigation policies 85 7.3 Main mitigation strategies and their policy requirements 86 7.4 Existing policy frameworks for mitigation through livestock 91 7.5 Conclusions 99 APPENDIX Supplementary information on methods 103 References 109 iv LIST OF TABLES 1. Sources of GHG emissions considered in this assessment 7 2. Summary of ruminant production systems 8 3. Summary of pig production systems 8 4. Summary of chicken production systems 9 5. Global production, emissions and emission intensity for cattle milk and beef 24 6. Global production, emissions and emission intensity for buffalo milk and meat 27 7. Global production, emissions and emission intensity for small ruminants 32 8. Global production, emissions and emission intensity for pigs 35 9. Global production, emissions and emission intensity for chickens 38 10. Estimates of emission reduction potential based on the analysis of emission intensity gap 51 11. Mitigation estimates computed for mixed dairy cattle systems of South Asia 62 12. Mitigation estimates computed for intermediate and industrial pig production in East and Southeast Asia 68 13. Mitigation estimates computed for specialized beef production in South America 72 14. Mitigation estimates computed for the small ruminant sector in West Africa 73 15. Mitigation estimates computed for mixed dairy systems in OECD countries 80 16. Effect of maintaining animal numbers constant on the production and emission volumes estimated in four case studies 81 v LIST OF BOXES 1. Main emission pathways 20 2. A review of available techniques and practices to mitigate non-CO2 emissions 48 3. Estimating mitigation potential through analysis of the emission intensity gap 52 4. Main emission reduction strategies 84 5. Brazil’s NAMA and progress in its livestock sector 95 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. Overview of the GLEAM modules and computation flows 6 2. Global estimates of emissions by species 16 3. Global emission intensities by commodity 16 4. Global emissions from livestock supply chains by category of emissions 17 5. GHG emissions from global livestock supply chains, by production activities and products 18 6. Global livestock production and GHG emissions from livestock, by commodity and regions 21 7. Global emissions from cattle milk and beef supply chains, by category of emissions 24 8. Regional variation in beef production and GHG emission intensities 25 9. Regional variation in cattle milk production and GHG emission intensities 26 10. Global flows of emissions in cattle supply chains 28 11. Global emissions from buffalo milk and meat supply chains, by category of emissions 30 12. Regional variation in buffalo milk production and GHG emission intensities 30 13. Regional variation in buffalo meat production and GHG emission intensities 31 14. Global emissions from small ruminant milk and meat supply chains, by category of emissions 32 15. Regional variation in small ruminant milk production and GHG emission intensities 33 16. Regional variation in small ruminant meat production and GHG emission intensities 34 17. Emissions per kg meat and milk protein from small ruminants, with and without allocation of emissions to non-edible outputs 34 18. Global emissions from pig supply chains, by category of emissions 35 19. Regional variation in pork production and GHG emission intensities 36 20. Global emissions from chicken meat and egg supply chains, by category of emissions 37 vii 21. Regional variation in chicken meat production and GHG emission intensities 38 22. Regional variation in chicken egg production and GHG emission intensities 39 23. Relationship between productivity and emission intensity of milk (country averages) 42 24. Global emission intensity from pig supply chains, by main production systems 43 25. Example of emission intensity gap – distribution of broiler production units in GLEAM according to their emission intensity in temperate zones of East and Southeast Asia 46 26. Example of emission intensity gap – distribution of dairy cattle production units in GLEAM according to their emission intensity in mixed systems in temperate zones of Western Europe 47 27A. Emission intensity per unit of edible protein 54 27B. Emission intensity per unit of land area 55 27C. Emission intensity per unit of human population 56 28. Interactions between trends in livestock production, GHG emissions and mitigation efforts 101 viii Foreword It is easy to draw a dramatic picture of today’s world. Climate change, the most serious environmental challenge humanity has to face, is threatening the well-being of the next generation. Globalization has led to rapid economic, social and technological changes that have left too many behind. Hunger is still a persistent problem, affecting over 900 million human beings worldwide. Faced with these issues, we sometimes feel over- whelmed by their magnitude and powerless. But we need not despair. Difficult problems can be tackled for the benefit of many if we apply the right policies that support the required innovation and investment. We have known for several years that livestock supply chains are an important con- tributor to climate change. This new report shows that the potential to significantly reduce emissions exists and is within reach. Options are available for all species, systems and regions. But we need political will and better policies. The report provides much-needed data that will allow us to move forward. It pre- sents an evidence-based picture of emissions with data broken down by species, agro- ecological zones, regions and production systems. The breadth of information provided by this report and the two complementary technical reports1 reflect the vast diversity of the livestock sector. A detailed understanding of the magnitude, sources and pathways of emissions is es- sential to inform policy dialogue and avoid oversimplifications. It will help us to make more informed choices about livestock policies in support of sustainable food produc- tion, economic growth and poverty alleviation. This report identifies ways of reducing emissions by assessing the mitigation potential of sets of technologies. Such analysis provides guidance for local and system-specific solutions, as sector actors seek to improve sustainability and viability, but also for more targeted pro-poor livestock development.