How much influence does beef production have on climate change? This is what a recent study published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil investigated a link between Brazil’s renowned beef production and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This study has the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, legislators, and the public better understand how the livestock sector contributes to climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate these impacts.
For the study, the researchers estimated GHG emissions from Brazil’s livestock sector and compared it to the GHG emissions limit called the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for Brazil that was established by the Paris Agreement in 2015, with the NDC limit being 0.26 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030. Beef production is a major export for Brazil, as it accounted for USD 10.55 billion in 2023 from selling 2.29 million tons to 157 nations.
In the end, the researchers found that Brazil’s livestock sector is slated to contribute between 0.42 and 0.63 GtCO2e by 2030, which is approximately double the NDC limit. Additionally, the researchers calculated the estimated cost savings for every ton of CO2 by 2030, which the team estimated could be between USD 18.8 billion to USD 42.6 billion.
“Our goal is not to say: produce or eat less meat, but to start a discussion about the current form of production, which is linked to deforestation, high emissions and without adopting sustainable techniques,” said Dr. Mariana Vieira da Costa, who is a biologist at UNIFESP and lead author on the study. “Our findings show that it’s necessary to adopt practices in the production chain that reduce emissions. This also contributes to reducing the costs associated with climate change.”
What new connections between beef production and GHG will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Environmental Science and Pollution Research, EurekAlert!