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Much of the global debate on climate change focuses on reducing CO2 emissions, but methane is about 25 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. At COP26, the UK government pledged to cut methane emissions by 30%. Professor Emeritus Ian Prewis of the University of Manchester describes the scale of the challenge and the changes needed, especially in the agricultural sector.
Methane is emitted from both natural sources such as wetlands and human activities such as wastewater treatment, industry and animal husbandry. In the UK, the latter is the largest source of methane emissions, mainly from cows raised for both meat and dairy.
The UK, along with more than 100 other countries, pledged to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% between 2020 and 2030 at the 2021 Glasgow COP26 conference, pledging “to reach that target. committed to taking comprehensive domestic action on 2020, setting standards to achieve all feasible reductions in the energy and waste sectors, and reducing agricultural emissions through innovation, incentives and partnerships with farmers. Perhaps optimistically, assuming global targets are shared equally by all countries, a 30% reduction in UK methane emissions would result in a total of That means 35.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). Given that the government has yet to show any concrete plans to deliver on its promises?
Of course, achieving targets to reduce methane emissions will only address some of the actions needed to reduce overall emissions to mitigate global warming. There is also an urgent need to reduce nitrous oxide, an even more potent greenhouse gas, especially in agriculture. When choosing among potential methane abatement scenarios, it is prudent to also consider other he GHG emissions and impacts on other environmental issues such as air and water pollution. For example, fewer livestock can lead to less animal manure and more use of artificial fertilizers that emit other greenhouse gases, making them more susceptible to fluctuations in gas prices.
Yet, as COP26 recognized, methane reductions will have short-term beneficial effects. Analysis (available on request) shows that even with reductions in other sectors, achieving a 30% reduction in overall methane would require significant and rapid changes in agricultural policies and practices indicates that
Changing attitudes towards land use in agriculture
There have been several changes in government policy since the UK left the EU, with land volume-based subsidy basic payment schemes shifting public funds to public goods such as landscape restoration and sustainable farming practices. It is gradually being replaced by systems that provide However, it takes time for these changes to take effect. Also, agriculture is a UK devolved administration responsibility, so it may not apply equally across the four countries. Additionally, the National Farmers Union has set a goal of reaching “net zero” by 2040, but its roadmap lacks detail.
Data from the UK Agricultural Practices Survey provides evidence that farmers are willing to consider change. They found that the proportion of farmers who consider greenhouse gases to be ‘less important’ or ‘not at all important’ in their decision-making has steadily declined from 48% in 2013 to 26% in 2021. indicates that you are Emissions have remained constant at about 60% during this period.
In the UK, as in all developed countries, there is widespread perception of excessive red meat and dairy consumption, both from a health and sustainability standpoint. Data suggest that consumption of red meat is declining, but not dairy. Policies are needed to reduce both demand and supply of these products.
Moving to a situation where the prices of these products reflect the true costs of production (including environmental costs) could help, providing farmers with incentives to reduce, for example, emissions per liter of milk produced. there is. More generally, developing measures of productivity that take account of environmental harm can shift the focus of policy away from simply trying to increase the production of each animal.
Reducing livestock numbers may also have other environmental benefits in that more land can be devoted to growing food for humans rather than for animals. Around 55% of the weight of UK cereal production (wheat, barley and oats) is now used for animal feed, along with essentially all oilseed rape and maize production. Reducing livestock production in favor of staple crops would not only reduce Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions, but would also improve the country’s food security and protect it from the effects of events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. is useful for
rapid change, urgent
Reducing UK methane emissions by 30% by 2030 will require significant investments and policy changes across the waste management, energy supply and agriculture sectors. But agriculture is where change is most urgently needed to meet the promises made to the international community at the government-hosted COP summit.
Policy@Manchester seeks to impact lives globally, nationally and locally by influencing and challenging policy makers with robust research-based evidence and ideas. For more information, visit his website and sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news.
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