27 July 2021
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2 min read
The global dairy sector's emissions amount to more than that of aviation and shipping combined
Initiative calls on the entire global dairy supply chain to join the movement towards net zero before 2050
A "ground-breaking" UN-backed initiative to scale up research and actions towards slashing emissions across the global dairy supply chain has been announced this week, winning support from a raft of businesses, organisations, scientists and researchers within the livestock and dairy sectors.
The Pathways to Dairy Net Zero initiative, which was unveiled in Rome on Monday, calls on the entire industry supply chain to join the movement to ramp up climate action across the global dairy sector towards achieving net zero emissions before 2050. Its official launch is set to take place at the UN Food Systems Summit in September in preparation for the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow later this year.
The initiative - dubbed as the first of its kind in the world - has been developed in coopreration with industry organisations "of every size and type" throughout the global dairy supply chain, including the Global Dairy Platform, the International Dairy Federation, and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform.
Others involved in the intitiative include the International Livestock Research Institute, Dairy Sustainability Framework and IFCN Dairy Research Network, while the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases has been tapped to act as a "knowledge partner".
"The global dairy sector is creating this ground-breaking initiative to help speed climate action already underway, while continuing to provide livelihoods for a billion people and important nutrition for six billion people," said Donald Moore, executive director at the Global Dairy Platform.
With global population of 270 million dairy cows, the global dairy sector's climate impact is thought to be on a similar scale to that of aviation and shipping combined, and tackling emissions from the sector is therefore key to hitting climate targets. In 2015, the industry's emissions were estimated at more than 1,700 million tonnes of CO2, or around 3.4 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
As part of the initiative, research is currently underway to determine where positive action is possible in the dairy industry. Initial findings from a study being carried out by the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Scotland's Rural College and the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre suggest that positive change is possible across all dairy systems worldwide, organisations behind the initiative said.
The findings so far conclude that greenhouse gas emissions from the dairy industry could potentially be cut by up to 40 per cent in some regions, with the and the reduction of methane in particular expected to see more immediate results, said Hayden Montgomery, special representative of the GRA.
"Our initial analysis suggests that wider use of existing greenhouse gas mitigation technologies will make an important impact in reducing dairy's emissions in the short term, while the development of new innovations takes place," he explained. "This initiative may ultimately act as a blueprint for other livestock sectors."
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