admin A swathe of businesses, research hubs and other organizations within the livestock and dairy sectors are supporting a new UN-backed initiative plotting a course to net-zero emissions. Announced at the UN’s pre-summit for the Food Systems Summit, which is taking place in Rome this week, the new initiative is called ‘Pathways to Dairy Net-Zero’.
Details on the UN Initiative
This novel initiative is convening businesses, NGOs, researchers, scientists and academia in the joint development of a new roadmap to net-zero by 2050 at the latest, to be adopted globally in the dairy and livestock sectors.Commitments will be developed for “every area of the dairy community”, covering not only carbon but other greenhouse gases (GHGs) including methane.
The organizers are exploring a reduction in methane emissions of 24-27% by 2050 and a reduction in nitrous oxide emissions by 26% within the same timeframe, with these figures based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) landmark report in 2018.
As for CO2, it may be possible for the sector to reduce emissions by up to 40% simply by improving productivity and resource use efficiency. Action in other areas, such as nature restoration and decarbonizing equipment, could drive further progress.
Methodological Developments
The Pathways to Dairy Net-Zero initiative will also develop methodologies, tools and pathways to delivering against these new targets, and regularly report on progress. More information is set to be unveiled at the UN’s Food Systems Summit in September and then at COP26 in November.
Research has already begun to develop the targets and pathways, which will be context-specific depending on geographical region and the nature of the dairy value chain.The global dairy sector notably reduced emissions intensity by 11% between 2010 and 2019, while increasing milk production by 30%. However, absolute emissions will now need to be decreased rapidly. As of 2015, dairy accounted for around 3.4% of the world’s annual GHG emissions.
The Global Dairy Platform, which is spearheading Pathways to Dairy Net-Zero, claims that “there is no other climate effort of its size and scope in agriculture”.
Organizations Collaborating with the UN
Other organizations involved in developing and delivering the scheme include the International Dairy Federation, Dairy Sustainability Framework, SAI Platform, the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. Additionally, the Global Research Alliance (GRA) has been selected as the scheme’s ‘knowledge partner’.
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