Global Methane Pledge: No point signing up, says Jason Strong

Meat and Livestock Australia’s Jason Strong joins The Australian Ag Podcast to talk Glasgow and emissions targets. LISTEN NOW

The livestock industry must not become the sacrificial lamb or cow of key global climate change talks in Glasgow this week, the head of Australia’s billion-dollar red-meat sector says.

Speaking on The Australian Ag Podcast, out today, Jason Strong, the managing director of Meat and Livestock Australia, which oversees the expenditure of more than $100 million in livestock producer levies annually, backed Australia’s decision not to sign up to the US and European-backed Global Methane Pledge ahead of this week’s crucial summit.

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The pledge, for a 30 per cent reduction in methane emissions on 2020 levels by 2030, has gained the support of about 80 nations but not some of the world’s big emitters such as Russia, China and Brazil.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week said Australia would not support the target. Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said a 30 per cent cut in emissions would have a disastrous impact on the beef, feedlot, dairy and coal mining sectors.

Methane makes up about 20 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions – with the livestock industry responsible for roughly half of that.

Mr Strong said the sector was already a world leader when it came to reducing emissions.

“When you think about the contribution of livestock, so often the poor old cow gets maligned in this whole discussion,” Mr Strong said.

“(The livestock industry accounts for) half of the methane emissions but the addition to that is that it’s only 10 per cent (of total emissions). And ... it’s actually been halved since 2005.

“So we have all this discussion around livestock, largely from the people who are responsible for the other 90 per cent. We’ve all got our part to play and livestock, particularly cattle, have already done a massive amount of the heavy lifting.”

Mr Strong said breakthroughs on genetics, enabling farmers to turn off livestock at a younger age and a heavier weight, and progress with technology, in particular methane-reducing feedstuffs, meant the red-meat industry was more than halfway to meeting its goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.

He said the industry recorded “some quick wins up front when we didn’t know much about where the specific areas of progress were going to come from first” and expects the remaining percentage to be somewhat more challenging.

“Maybe it was the easy half but we’ve still got the best part of nine years to go (to reach the target) so it is OK … it’s definitely achieveable and something which the sector remains committed to.”

Mr Strong said expected “bonuses along the way” to carbon neutrality by 2030 included climate neutrality “where we no longer contribute to warming”.

“This is what so much of the conversation is about,” he said. “The Australian sheep industry is already there and the beef industry has got a line of sight to that in the next few years.”

Debate about the importance of the industry in Glasgow comes as Australia’s beef farmers enjoy record prices. The benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator hit a new high of 1075.8c/kg last week – and currently is tracking almost 25 per cent of this time last year and more than double its rate of early November 2019.

Mr Strong said the fundamentals of the beef industry were “as about as exciting as it gets”.

“Is it sustainable? The short answer is yes but that’s obviously not at the record prices,” he said.

“We are in a position where we’ve seen a sustainable improvement and sophistication of the red-meat supply chain and we are seeing the benefits of the industry’s investment and commitment over the last 20 or 30 years in increased market access, in more consistent, high-quality product that is targeted to higher-value committed consumers and we are seeing a connection along the supply chain.

“We’ve absolutely got some drivers around it at the moment around supply and demand, which are certainly peaking those prices, but we are also seeing a benefit of all of the investment and effort the industry has put in.”