Cargill’s Post

Todays #lunchtimeread looks at the difficult problem of methane - a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and challenging to map accurately. #ClimateCrisis https://lnkd.in/eYc5-Hgt

Global methane reduction efforts have gained significant momentum as countries recognize the impact of methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a much shorter atmospheric lifespan than CO2 but over 80 times the warming power. Major countries, including Australia, Europe, and the US, are taking decisive action to curb methane emissions as part of their broader climate strategies. Australia has pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, aligning with global targets set by the Global Methane Pledge. The agricultural sector, particularly livestock, is a key focus for methane abatement, with research into feed additives and methane-reducing technologies, including the work of companies like ROAM Agricultural, leading the charge in sustainable farming practices. The European Union has set out its Methane Strategy, targeting emissions from agriculture, energy, and waste. The EU is also working on regulations to reduce methane leaks in the energy sector and is exploring feed-based solutions to tackle emissions from livestock. The United States, as one of the leading signatories of the Global Methane Pledge, has focused its efforts on curbing methane leaks in the oil and gas industries while also supporting agricultural methane reduction through research and innovation. Government initiatives are funding new technologies to help ranchers and farmers reduce methane output without sacrificing productivity. Collectively, these efforts show a commitment to mitigating methane's role in climate change, with countries employing a mix of regulations, innovation, and collaboration to drive down emissions. We are positioning ROAM Ag and our Fungi pathway for methane reduction to be part of the solution.

“Any approach to mitigate or remove CH4 or N2O has the potential to alter emission of the other greenhouse gases.” 👀🫢 Today in #climate #science (from Science Magazine, no less!) comes a welcome reminder that trying to regulate one “leg” of a stool can sometimes lead to unintended consequences. 🪑 And another fun reminder that ~2.2 billion tons’ of CO2 equivalent gases are emitted by livestock guts and excrement, per annum. 🐄 🐖 For the June 2024 #openaccess letter (see the cycles!?): https://lnkd.in/eaK5-WFX

This is such a great short video explaining the journey taken by an imagined 10 carbon atoms from grass, and how they travel the biogenic carbon cycle after they are ingested by the cow. Some of the carbon will be burped out as methane, which over ten years or so reduces back into water and CO2 and is reabsorbed by the grasses. Within this system, and assuming stable cattle numbers, no additional carbon is 'created'. It completely puts to bed this idea that cows and other ruminants are filling our atmosphere with methane. Giving them drugs to 'tackle' the problem is completely unnecessary when you actually understand this cycle. Unlike other sources of methane, from landfill, swamps and waterlogged land, and of course the gas and oil sector, cattle methane doesn't have a net impact. And data indicates that the number of all wild and domestic ruminants in the US currently is comparable to when enormous herds of bison roamed the plains - so the volume of ruminants is similar to pre-industrial levels. The panic over methane from cattle is yet another miscalculation and misunderstanding of how nature works. Remember when the UN reported that cattle rearing led to more greenhouse gas emissions than all cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats in the entire world combined... which was then popularised via the film Cowspiracy. It turns out that the researchers had compared a 'cradle to grave' model of ALL inputs over the lifecycle of rearing a cow, including feed, machinery, transportation, processing, cooking etc, against just the tailpipe emissions for transport. Even though the researchers retracted their statement, it was already embedded in public awareness. Then there was the data about a quarter pound of beef requiring 660 gallons of water to produce. Again, the 'researchers' had discounted so-called 'green water', i.e. rain water falling on fields, hydrating the soil and grasses as an external input. Any water the cows take in is then peed out back onto the fields. Exogenous inputs are minimised. And of course, many people engaged in rearing livestock care about their impact. I couldn't help but be struck at last years Oxford Real Farming Conference that there were so many people farming beef and dairy who also made time to do their carbon accounting, measure biodiversity etc. It seems as though another stereotype is that farmers don't care. This may apply to some of the big ag companies, and of course they need to be accountable, but allowing small and medium size farmers to be punished is not the answer. We need to inform ourselves and support them in the different ways we can if we want to preserve nutritious, locally raised or grown food, plant or animal based. And its time that the climate activists drop the narrative about beef and dairy being the enemy - it doesn't stack up. #climate #methane #emmissions #greenhousegases #biogeniccarboncycle #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming

Why target dairy methane? Methane has 80x the warming power of CO₂ in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. With agriculture responsible for nearly 40% of human-caused methane emissions, the majority from livestock, dairy companies have a leading role to play in reducing emissions and protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change.    EDF’s new “Dairy Methane Accounting” and “Dairy Methane Disclosure” guides provide actionable steps to start. Kudos to Bel and Lactalis USA for disclosing their dairy methane data today as members of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance. 🌱🐄 Learn how food and dairy companies can lead on climate today:

A few months ago, AgriCapture made history with the first-ever large-scale carbon credit issuance for the US rice industry — cutting 37,615 tonnes of CO2e and saving 9 billion gallons of water. Read more to learn: ✅Why methane reduction has an outsized climate impact ✅Comparisons to understand the project's scale ✅How farmers are shaping a more sustainable future https://lnkd.in/eFSYMrCD

Why target dairy methane? Methane has 80x the warming power of CO₂ in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. With agriculture responsible for nearly 40% of human-caused methane emissions, the majority from livestock, dairy companies have a leading role to play in reducing emissions and protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change.    EDF’s new “Dairy Methane Accounting” and “Dairy Methane Disclosure” guides provide actionable steps to start. Kudos to Bel and Lactalis USA for disclosing their dairy methane data today as members of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance!  🌱🐄 Learn how food and dairy companies can lead on climate today: https://www.edf.org/Z6Eb  Vrashabh Kapate Katie Anderson John Tauzel Ariella Sela

REVEALED: the UK's methane hotspots! Unless the data compiled and modelled by the government is bilge. Which it very well may be. Read on: https://lnkd.in/eWYMFPha I've mapped the hotspots on the Watershed Pollution Map 2/2. Explore it here: https://lnkd.in/eS3_4bSH

Due to the significant business risks imposed by climate change and nature loss, stakeholders are demanding greater transparency and accountability. #GuidehouseExperts Ravi Kantamaneni and Kelly Dong share how organizations can account for land-based greenhouse gas impacts and set targets that are relevant to their unique impact areas and business activities: https://lnkd.in/eA8vnikX