February 19, 2010

United Nations to clamp down on livestock emissions

The United Nations is proposing levies on livestock to reflect their gaseous emissions, which taken on a broad measure contributes about 7,000 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, in carbon dioxide equivalents.

This calculation, which includes estimates for gases released through feed manufacture, forest destruction for pasture and abattoir energy bills, is only one of the environmental costs of the livestock industry. The sector is also accused of threatening ecosystems, biodiversity, land and forest resources and water quality.

But focus is given to the emission issue as the greenhouse gas figure equates to 18% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the methane and nitrous oxide animals "enteric fermentation". That percentage is greater than for transport, which contributes 13.1%, and even for the whole of farming itself, if stripped of related activities such as forestry destruction.

This issue may be best tackled by a levy to apply on farmers the appropriate incentives, said the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

And it may be best tackled by a levy to apply on farmers the appropriate incentives, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

Market-based policies, such as taxes and fees for natural resource use, should cause producers to internalise the costs of environmental damages, said FAO.

To reduce emissions, farmers can reduce livestock numbers to focus on fewer, more efficient animals. Farmers can also fine tune feed, with diets high in concentrates or with the appropriate additives or antibiotics, producing more environmentally-acceptable animals.

Farmers can also farm more chickens instead of cattle or sheep, which gives out more emissions.

The FAO said the first half of this century will see a 70% jump in cattle numbers of 2.6 billion head, which represents a lot more emissions or taxes.