Agricultural innovation is urgently needed to develop additional solutions for lowering agricultural methane emissions that can be deployed and scaled rapidly, while ready solutions start to roll out.
Agriculture produces 25% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions—as much as electricity generation.
Lowering agricultural emissions is urgent, but it won’t be easy. Many additional solutions for cutting agricultural emissions need to be developed. Beyond technological challenges, there are also social and cultural challenges – food is much more intertwined with culture than where your electrons come from.
Two of large obstacles impeding reductions in agricultural emissions are a lack of solutions for livestock enteric methane emissions (“cow burps”), and a lack of accessible greenhouse gas measurement technologies. Spark is working on both fronts.
Livestock enteric methane accounts for about 25% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, as much methane as fossil fuel infrastructure leaks, driving about 0.1°C and counting of warming. Existing commercial solutions can partially mitigate enteric emissions from cattle on feedlots and similar facilities, but that’s just a small portion of total enteric methane emissions – less than 10% globally. Addressing the remaining portion requires systematic research, international development, and sociology investments.
of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture
of global anthropogenic methane emissions come from livestock enteric emissions
and counting of warming comes from livestock methane emissions alone
Regulatory simplification and an $82m per year U.S. Department of Agriculture research and innovation program would create a win for producers and a win for the environment by advancing solutions that easily drop into existing farm practices and convert avoided methane into increased milk and meat production.
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The world needs solutions for lowering agricultural methane emissions that can be deployed and scaled rapidly. The US has an opportunity to lead on agricultural innovation through 2023 Farm Bill research funding and capacity-building.
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