GWP* shouldn’t serve as a "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD" for livestock producers or meat and dairy consumers.
However, there ARE some important ways GWP* should change the way we think of agricultural CH4...
--> quick thread...
1. Recognize that CH4 is fundamentally different than CO2 in terms of how it impacts the climate. So STOP measuring agricultural CH4 in terms of CO2 equivalents. Just stop. It’s unhelpful.
2. Livestock farmers (and by proxy, meat and dairy consumers) CAN SUPPORT climate change mitigation by supporting reductions in methane emissions.
One way to do this is to use technology…
yet another is to reduce the number of ruminants!
[We need both!]
3.1 Recognize that a certain amount of agricultural methane is unavoidable. CH4 is related to the decomposition of carbon-based life forms. Even before sedentary societies methane was part of the food system... (hunted ruminants, wild rice, etc.)
3.2 That said, in global terms agricultural methane emissions have been growing since the industrial revolution - adding significantly to global warming. We need to reduce that trend. Everyone has a role to play in climate mitigation.
4.1 Once emitted, agricultural CH4 and Fossil CH4 both have the SAME warming influence. However, they have different ORIGINS, and this means they have different LIFECYCLE impacts. The IPCC recognizes this:
4.2. Easiest way to think about this IMHO: Carbon in agricultural CH4 is returned to the atmosphere after its RECENT REMOVAL; Carbon in fossil CH4 is returned to atmosphere after being SEQUESTERED for millions of years.
5. Farmers are asking for FAIRER representations of livestock’s relationship to climate change (especially in the media). In some countries methane reductions are contributing to cooling!
6. There are merits to arguments calling for overall reductions of beef and dairy consumption based on climate. However, there’s ALSO (paradoxically) a climate argument to be made for supporting meat & dairy producers who are reducing methane emissions...
6.2 Yes, ruminants emit lots of methane, but they also play a very important role in the agri-food system.
Yes, a global reduction in the number of ruminants is NECESSARY for the climate, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater! blogs.oregonstate.edu/dairy/2016/12/…
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