Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector

Although Australia remains committed to the Paris Agreement and to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, it was late in joining the 2021 Global Methane Pledge. Finding suitable methane (CH4) mitigation solutions for Australia’s livestock industry should be part of this journey. Based on a 2020–2023...

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Main Authors: Kelliher, Merideth, Bogueva, Diana, Marinova, Dora
Format: Journal Article
Published: MDPI 2024
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94702
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author Kelliher, Merideth
Bogueva, Diana
Marinova, Dora
author_facet Kelliher, Merideth
Bogueva, Diana
Marinova, Dora
author_sort Kelliher, Merideth
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Although Australia remains committed to the Paris Agreement and to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, it was late in joining the 2021 Global Methane Pledge. Finding suitable methane (CH4) mitigation solutions for Australia’s livestock industry should be part of this journey. Based on a 2020–2023 systematic literature review and multicriteria decision approach, this study analyses the available strategies for the Australian beef and dairy sector under three scenarios: baseline, where all assessment criteria are equally weighted; climate emergency, with a significant emphasis on CH4 reduction for cattle in pasture and feedlot systems; and conservative, where priority is given to reducing costs. In total, 46 strategies from 27 academic publications were identified and classified as ‘Avoid’, ‘Shift’, or ‘Improve’ with respect to their impact on current CH4 emissions. The findings indicate that ‘Avoid’ strategies of conversion of agricultural land to wetlands, salt marshes, and tidal forest are most efficient in the climate emergency scenario, while the ‘Improve’ strategy of including CH4 production in the cattle breeding goals is the best for the conservative and baseline scenarios. A policy mix that encourages a wide range of strategies is required to ensure CH4 emission reductions and make Australia’s livestock industry more sustainable.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-947022024-04-24T05:56:49Z Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector Kelliher, Merideth Bogueva, Diana Marinova, Dora Although Australia remains committed to the Paris Agreement and to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, it was late in joining the 2021 Global Methane Pledge. Finding suitable methane (CH4) mitigation solutions for Australia’s livestock industry should be part of this journey. Based on a 2020–2023 systematic literature review and multicriteria decision approach, this study analyses the available strategies for the Australian beef and dairy sector under three scenarios: baseline, where all assessment criteria are equally weighted; climate emergency, with a significant emphasis on CH4 reduction for cattle in pasture and feedlot systems; and conservative, where priority is given to reducing costs. In total, 46 strategies from 27 academic publications were identified and classified as ‘Avoid’, ‘Shift’, or ‘Improve’ with respect to their impact on current CH4 emissions. The findings indicate that ‘Avoid’ strategies of conversion of agricultural land to wetlands, salt marshes, and tidal forest are most efficient in the climate emergency scenario, while the ‘Improve’ strategy of including CH4 production in the cattle breeding goals is the best for the conservative and baseline scenarios. A policy mix that encourages a wide range of strategies is required to ensure CH4 emission reductions and make Australia’s livestock industry more sustainable. 2024 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94702 10.3390/cli12040050 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ MDPI fulltext
spellingShingle Kelliher, Merideth
Bogueva, Diana
Marinova, Dora
Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title_full Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title_fullStr Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title_full_unstemmed Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title_short Meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for Australia’s beef and dairy sector
title_sort meta-analysis and ranking of the most effective methane reduction strategies for australia’s beef and dairy sector
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94702