Livestock carbon emissions have reduced significantly since 2005

The red meat industry has been targeted by activists who say it contributes too much to climate change. But the sector’s carbon emissions are down 78 per cent since 2005.

The livestock sector has reduced its carbon emissions by 78 per cent since 2005. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Australia’s red meat and livestock industry has reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 78 per cent since 2005, according to a new report by the national science agency.

The CSIRO report provides an updated estimate of emissions attributable to the production and processing of beef, sheep and goats based on the 2021 Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

The sector is trying to fend off attacks from animal welfare groups and climate activists warning that red meat consumption needs to be dramatically reduced in diets because of the industry’s high carbon footprint.

The report identified a reduction in land clearing and increase in vegetation growth and carbon storage as the primary drivers of emissions decreasing.

Emissions from the red meat industry in 2021 were equivalent to 31Mt of carbon dioxide, down from 124.1Mt in 2005.

Julia Waite, who heads Meat and Livestock Australia’s carbon reduction program, said high rainfall in 2021 had provided an extra boost to emissions-reduction efforts through stored carbon.

Methane emissions from livestock, which produce the gas as plant matter breaks down in their stomachs, are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector, but decreased between 2005 and 2021, mainly due to lower sheep and cattle numbers.

The national sheep flock decreased from 100.7 million in 2005 to 71.4 million in 2021. It has since risen to 78.7 million.

The other major contributor was converting forest to grassland, which emits stored carbon into the atmosphere.

The red meat sector has set its own target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, but some within the industry say the target is unachievable.

To achieve carbon neutrality, the industry plans to decrease vegetation clearing rates, sequester carbon in the soil and find ways to reduce the methane emissions of ruminants, including with the use of dietary supplements, which the report said would need to be a primary focus over the next five years.

“In the short to medium term, sequestration helps to balance the ledger while the private and public sector continues to invest in options for direct emissions reduction,” Ms Waite said.

“Increasing production and ­resource efficiency, use of renewable energy, and manure management are the primary tools at our disposal today to lower emissions of livestock production.

“Novel interventions like low methane pastures, supplements, and genetic indexes are likely to play a bigger role in the later part of the decade, provided they are commercially viable with co-benefits for the whole farm business.

“Over time this can reduce the reliance on sequestration.”

A scientific study published this month by Curtin University said breeding low methane-emission traits in cattle was a viable method to meet climate targets.