Greenhouse gas footprint of the Australian red meat production and processing sectors 2017 & 2018 updates
| Project start date: | 16 March 2020 |
| Project end date: | 30 June 2021 |
| Publication date: | 18 May 2021 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grain-fed Cattle, Grass-fed Cattle, Sheep, Goat, Lamb |
| Relevant regions: | National |
|
Download Report
(0.5 MB)
|
|
Summary
The red meat industry contributes to Australian national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In a previous project (B.CCH.7714), MLA and CSIRO developed a method to quantify GHG emissions from red meat production based on the UNFCCC Australian National GHG Inventory.
Annual updates to these calculations enable the industry to track changes in emissions attributed to red meat.
Objectives
The objectives of this project were to
- provide an update on the greenhouse gas footprint of the Australian red meat production (farm and feedlot) and processing sectors
- calculate GHG footprint for Australian red meat industry in 2005 and 2015-18 using alternative Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Global Temperature Potential (GTP) metrics.
Key findings
- Net GHG emissions from the red meat sector in 2018 were 63.5 Mt CO2e; 11.8% of total national emissions.
- The majority of emissions are from enteric methane production, particularly from grazing beef cattle.
- There are also considerable emissions from grazing lands related to vegetation management.
- Net emissions from the red meat industry have decreased since 2005 (135.8 Mt CO2e, 22% total national emissions) and have remained fairly constant between 2016 and 2018.
- A small increase in net emissions between 2017 and 2018 is related to reduced regrowth of forests and sparse woody vegetation.
Benefits to industry
The results presented in this report enable the red meat industry to identify major sources of emissions, monitor changes in emissions and prioritise activities to reduce emissions as part of a CN30 program.
MLA action
The findings of this project have been published in the 2021 Annual Beef Sustainability Update and the first iteration of the Sheep Sustainability Framework. The results will continue to be disseminated to stakeholders and the community in relation to the Red Meat Industry’s progress towards CN30.
Future research
The report suggests opportunities to improve the accuracy of these calculations, particularly the opportunity to work with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to report land use emissions on a spatial basis.
Related resources
More information
| Contact email: | reports@mla.com.au |
| Primary researcher: | CSIRO |
