'Burp Tax' and Methane Emission from Livestock

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Context

• New Zealand’s centre-right government announced the scrapping of the ‘burp tax’ — a scheme to tax greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. The tax was introduced in October 2022.

Reasons for Introduction of the 'Burp Tax'

Methane Emissions from Ruminant Species

• The primary aim was to curtail methane emissions from ruminant species.
• Ruminants are hoofed grazing or browsing herbivores that chew cud, including cows, sheep, goats, and buffaloes.
• Their digestive system has four compartments, including the rumen, which ferments food and generates methane.

Impact of Methane

• Methane is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide.
• Ruminant animals release methane mainly through burping.
• New Zealand has around 10 million cattle and 25 million sheep, contributing nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Government Decision

• The previous Labour Party-led government decided to impose a tax on livestock to address these emissions.

Reasons for Removal of the 'Burp Tax'

Protests by Farmers

• The introduction of the burp tax sparked protests by farmers across the country.
• Farmers argued that the scheme, along with other agricultural emission regulations, would severely impact their livelihood.

New Government's Stance

• The new centre-right coalition in power decided to scrap the tax.
• The government plans to explore other ways of reducing methane emissions.

Methane Emission from Livestock

• The livestock sector is one of the greatest contributors of methane emissions, mainly produced through the natural digestive process of ruminants known as “enteric fermentation” and manure management practices.
• Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for roughly 32 per cent of human-caused methane emissions – UNEP Data.
• Population growth, economic development and urban migration have stimulated unprecedented demand for animal protein and with the global population approaching 10 billion, this hunger is expected to increase by up to 70 per cent by 2050.
• Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas that increases global temperature.
• To limit global warming by 2030, countries should reduce methane emissions, particularly from livestock, by 30 percent- FAO Data

Where does methane come from? (UNEP Data) According to the UN’s Environment Program, agriculture is the leading contributor of atmospheric methane. One of the three primary greenhouse gases, methane enters the atmosphere from manure and gastroenteric releases, accounting for roughly 32% of anthropogenic methane emissions. Rice paddies are yet another major source of methane; flooded fields prevent oxygen from penetrating the soil, which allows methane-emitting microbes to thrive.   Paddy rice cultivation – in which flooded fields prevent oxygen from penetrating the soil, creating ideal conditions for methane-emitting bacteria – accounts for another 8 per cent of human-linked emissions. Characteristics of Methane Short-lived GHG: Methane has an atmospheric lifetime of around a decade. Potency: Over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.

Concerns associated with Methane

• Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year.
• Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
• Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s.
• In fact, according to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even as carbon dioxide emissions decelerated during the pandemic-related lockdowns of 2020, atmospheric methane shot up.

FAO's Global Conference and Findings

• Event: FAO’s first 'Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation' (September 25-27, 2023).
• IPCC Report: Methane emissions contribute about 0.5°C to global warming, making reduction vital to the Paris Agreement goals.

Managing Enteric Methane Emissions

• All livestock emit methane, but ruminants (e.g., cows, sheep) are particularly prolific due to their distinctive digestive system.
• Ruminants' digestive process generates methane, which they release mainly through burping.
• Research is ongoing to find safe and effective ways to reduce enteric methane emissions.
• Promising methods include:
• Synthetic inhibitors
• Seaweed
• Essential oils
• Tannins

Methane from Manure

• Methane is also released from livestock manure.
• Anaerobic digestion followed by biogas collection can effectively reduce these emissions.
• Storing manure in gas-tight structures can eliminate methane emissions.
• Other manure-management practices are being developed and tailored to specific species.

Challenges in Measuring Methane Emissions

• Quantification Difficulties: Accurate metrics and reporting are crucial but challenging.
• Current Methods: Involves placing animals in respiration chambers, which are expensive and labor-intensive.
• Advanced Technologies: Use of drones and satellites requires extensive modeling and validation.

Studying Methane

Metrics for Measuring Emissions

• Accurate metrics are essential to measure emissions and gauge progress.
• The step-pulse metric (e.g., GWP*) shows temperature change over time relative to warming at a reference date caused by previous emissions.
• GWP* is more suitable for measuring methane’s impact compared to GWP100 due to methane’s different behavior from carbon dioxide.

Behavior of Methane

• Methane decays in the atmosphere in roughly 12 years, unlike carbon dioxide, which accumulates.
• Constant methane emissions over time do not add new warming.
• Reducing methane emissions beyond stable levels can lead to negative warming.
• Efficient methane management is crucial for future food production to feed a growing population.

Life-Cycle Assessments

• Cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessments help identify potential co-benefits or trade-offs.
• Life-cycle perspectives consider the wide impacts of methane reduction measures beyond just emission reductions.

Food Waste and Methane

Contribution of Food Waste

• Food waste significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and rice systems.
• In developed regions, waste occurs mainly at the consumption stage; in low-income areas, it happens during production.
• Strategies to use production waste as livestock feed can reduce methane emissions and upcycle nutrients.
• Reducing and managing food waste is essential for the circular bioeconomy concept.

Methane Sinks

Atmospheric and Soil Methane Sinks

• Upland soil is a major methane sink, consuming 6% of total methane.
• Treed cropland has a higher sink capacity due to greater methane uptake in the soil under trees.
• Forests and grazing lands are significant methane soil sinks.
• Land degradation reduces sink capacity; restoration increases it but at a slower rate.

Grazing Management

• Grazing management can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
• Improved forage quality and healthy soils enhance methane sequestration.
• Adaptive multi-paddock grazing shows higher sink capacity compared to continuous grazing.

Managing Methane with Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering for Methane Mitigation

• Genetic engineering offers a promising, permanent, and cumulative methane mitigation strategy.
• Research is needed to identify lineages producing less methane while retaining important traits.
• Improved animal health and reproductive performance can also reduce methane emissions.

Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions

Complex Interactions and Policy Implications

• Agricultural emissions involve complex interactions between biological systems, environmental conditions, and management practices.
• Policymakers may set individual goals for methane due to its unique role in animal agriculture.
• Cooperative approaches under the Paris Agreement (limit global warming to 1.5°C) can help manage livestock emissions across national boundaries.
• To limit global warming by 2030, countries should reduce methane emissions, particularly from livestock, by 30 percent. FAO supports countries to mitigate methane emissions from livestock as part of their climate actions, while improving food security and livelihoods.

Mitigation Strategies for Methane Emissions

FAO’s Four Strategies

1. Animal Breeding and Management
2. Feed Management, Diet Formulation, and Precision Feeding
3. Forages
4. Rumen Manipulation

Feed Improvement

• Feed Efficiency: Improving the ratio of animal product to feed intake can reduce methane emission intensity.
• Methods:
• Increase nutrient density or feed digestibility.
• Alter rumen microbial composition.
• Enhance feed management practices.
• Selective breeding for animals with negative residual feed intake and smaller metabolic body weight.

Regional Impact Studies

• Need for Data: Quantify effects of improved nutrition, health, reproduction, and genetics on methane emission intensity regionally.
• Carbon Footprints: Lack of information to evaluate the impact of mitigation strategies on net GHG emissions.

FAO’s Work on Reducing Methane Emissions

Ongoing Projects

• Project: “Reducing Enteric Methane for Food Security and Livelihoods” funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
• Phase Three Goals:
• Improve livestock assessment with better data measurement, reporting, and verification.
• Identify country-specific mitigation opportunities, technologies, and interventions.
• Strengthen capacity building through technical trainings and knowledge transfer.

Challenges and Global Engagement

• Low and Middle-Income Countries: Face challenges in setting ambitious national methane reduction targets.
• Global Policy Engagement: Required for effective methane emission reductions.

Importance of Collaboration

• Synergies: Between livestock stakeholders, governments, research institutes, the private sector, and producer organizations.
• FAO’s Role: Provides technical support for integrating methane mitigation measures into national strategies, investments, and policies.

Importance of Holistic Approach

• A holistic approach is crucial for reducing overall climate impacts.
• Separating long-lived (e.g., carbon dioxide) and short-lived (e.g., methane) greenhouse gas emissions in targets is essential.
• Biogenic methane has an advantage over carbon dioxide as it does not need to be reduced to net zero for climate stabilization.
• Substantial methane reductions can lower global temperatures and contribute to the Paris Agreement goals.

Can farmers help in the campaign to cut methane emissions?

• They can provide animals with more nutritious feed so that they are larger, healthier and more productive, effectively producing more with less.
• Scientists are also experimenting with alternative types of feed to reduce the methane produced by cows and looking at ways to manage manure more efficiently by covering it, composting it, or using it to produce biogas.
• When it comes to staple crops like paddy rice, experts recommend alternate wetting and drying approaches that could halve emissions.
• Rather than allowing the continuous flooding of fields, paddies could be irrigated and drained two to three times throughout the growing season, limiting methane production without impacting yield. That process would also require one-third less water, making it more economical.

Will reducing methane really help counter climate change?

• Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. This means that even if emissions were immediately and dramatically reduced it would not have an effect on the climate until later in the century.
• But it takes only about a decade for methane to break down. So, reducing methane emissions now would have an impact in the near term and is critical for helping keep the world on a path to 1.5°C.

How much methane can we really cut?

• Human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent within the decade. This would avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045, helping to limit global temperature rise to 1.5˚C and putting the planet on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.
• Every year, the subsequent reduction in ground-level ozone would also prevent 260,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat and 25 million tonnes of crop losses.

Conclusion

• Mitigation strategies for methane are crucial, and research and implementation need to happen now. All stakeholders, including public servants, must be involved to secure funding and ensure successful adoption of strategies.
• Efforts are needed to implement policies and sustainable action plans to reduce methane emissions by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
• Global cooperation and tailored research are essential for the successful adoption of methane mitigation strategies at a global scale.

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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, significantly contributing to global warming. Discuss the sources of methane emissions, particularly focusing on livestock and rice systems. Critically evaluate the various mitigation strategies to reduce methane emissions.