GLOBAL AND REGIONAL
ASSESSMENTS OF GHG EMISSIONSAND MITIGATION POTENTIAL INLIVESTOCK SUPPLY CHAINS
Modelling management interventions

Dr Anne Mottet, Livestock Policy Officer, FAO-AGAL

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING INTERNATIONALGUIDELINES
FAO’s work on GHG emissions in the livestock sector to identify low emission pathways
Pierre Gerber (team leader), Henning Steinfeld, Benjamin Henderson, Carolyn Opio,
Anne Mottet, Tim Robinson, Alessandra Falcucci, Giuseppe Tempio, Rubén Martinez,
Michael MacLeod (SRUC), Theun Vellinga (WUR)…

Produce disaggregated assessments ofemissions and mitigation potential
Carry out economic analyses of mitigation
costs and benefits
Engage in multi-stakeholder initiatives onmethods and practice change2LEAP, THE LIVESTOCK ENVIRONMENTALASSESSMENT AND PERFORMANCEPARTNERSHIPTo develop comprehensive guidance and methodology forunderstanding the environmental performance of livestock supplychains33 RECENT PUBLICATIONSEXPLORE MITIGATION STRATEGIES INLIVESTOCK
Requires Tier 2 approach to identify interventions in practice

GLEAM
Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model••••••

Life Cycle Analysis modelling
Cradle to retail, all major sources of emissions included
Computes emissions at local level (cells on a map)
Can generate averages and ranges at different scales
Developed at FAO, in collaboration with other partners
Allows for scenario analysis
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GLEAM

HOW DOES GLEAM USES IPCC
(2006) GUIDELINES ?

ANIMAL COHORTS• IPCC (2006) Tier 2 requires the animal population to be
categorized into distinct cohorts (types, weights, phase ofproduction…)• But data on animal herd structure generally not available
 GLEAM herd module : 6 cohorts
Key production parameters:
mortality, fertility, growth andreplacement rates, age or weight at
which animals transfer between
categories (e.g. age at first parturition);
duration of key periods (e.g. gestation),and the ratio of breeding females tomales.

DAIRY CATTLE SYSTEMS

Source: FAO, 2013

ANIMAL ENERGY REQUIREMENTS & FEEDINTAKE• Calculation of animal energy requirement for each cohort (system module)
IPCC (2006) Tier 2 (Equations 10.3 to 10.13)
Gross energy requirement = maintenance + lactation and pregnancy + animal activity +weight gain and production.
IPCC (2006) does not include equations for calculating the energy requirement of pigs
or poultry
 Equations derived from NRC (1998) for pigs, Sakomura (2004) for chickens• Calculation of feed intake, total feed emissions and land use
Feed intake of each animal category (in kg DM/day) animal’s energy requirement /average energy content of the ration (feed module) GLEAM feed module

FEED MODULE: EMISSIONS FROM FEEDCROPS•N2O from pasture and crop cultivation
Direct and indirect N2O: IPCC (2006) Tier 1 methodology.
Synthetic N application rates for each crop at national level: existing datasets (FAOSTAT)
Manure N application rates: manure module.
Crop residue N: crop yields and IPCC (2006, p. 11.17) crop residue formulae•CO2 and N2O from fertilizer manufacture
Average European fertilizer emissions factor of 6.8 kg CO2‐eq per kg ofammonium nitrate N in all regions (Jenssen and Kongshaug, 2003)• CO2 from field operations, where mechanized
Average level of mechanisation and energy type consumed/ha x EF
•CO2 from blending and transport of compound feed
186 MJ of electricity and 188 MJ of gas for 1 000 kg of DM
Average transport distance 200 km.

GLEAM FEED BASKETSENTERIC FERMENTATION
Calculation of CH4 emissions arising enteric fermentation
IPCC (2006) provides default enteric methane conversion factor, Ym (% ofgross energy converted to methane)
GLEAM has specific Ym to reflect the wide-ranging diet quality and feeding
characteristics globally:
9.75 0.05 ∙9.75 0.05 ∙7.75 0.05 ∙where DE = feed digestibility of the ration
CH4 emission factor:
365 ∙∙

100 55.65

MANURE MODULE• CH4 emissions arising during manure management (Tier 2)
Volatile solids excretion rates: Equation 10.24 IPCC (2006)
Proportion of the volatile solids converted to CH4 during manure management:
Equation 10.23 IPCC (2006)
CH4 conversion factor: IPCC (2006, Table 10A-7)
Proportion of manure managed in each system: official statistics (such as the Annex
1 countries’ National Inventory Reports to the UNFCC), other literature sources andexpert judgement. IPCC systems challenging.
• N2O emissions arising during manure management (Tier 2)
N excretion : Equation 10.31 IPCC (2006) as the difference between intake andretention. N-intake depends on the feed dry matter intake and the N content per kgof feed.
Rate of conversion of excreted N to N2O: IPCC (2006) default emission factors fordirect N2O (Table 10.21, IPCC 2006) and indirect via volatilization (Table 10.22,IPCC 2006) + variable leaching rates, depending on the AEZ

RESULTSGLOBAL EMISSIONS FROM LIVESTOCKSUPPLY CHAINS, BY CATEGORY OF
EMISSIONS

FAO, 2013

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EMISSIONS INTENSITIES PER KG
PROTEIN

Source: FAO, 2013

AVERAGE FEED DIGESTIBILITY FOR DAIRYCATTLE

Source: FAO, 2013

MANURE METHANE CONVERSION FACTORFOR DAIRY CATTLE

Source: FAO, 2013

VARIABILITY OF EMISSION INTENSITIESFAO, 201320

MITIGATION POTENTIAL LIES IN THE
VARIABILITY OF EMISSION INTENSITIESDistribution of intensive broiler supply chains according to their emission intensity in temperate zones of East and SoutheastAsia

32% mitigation if producers in a given region,
farming system and agro-ecological zone
applied the production practices of the 10%
producers having lowest emission intensity

FAO, 2013
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CASE STUDIES OF MITIGATIONINTERVENTIONS IN PRACTICE
Commercial pigs

- Manure management- Energy efficiency- Feed quality, health and husbandry

Mixed dairy OECD
- Lipids supplementation- Anaerobic digestion- Energy efficiency

Specialized beef

- Pasture quality & C sequestration- Health and husbandry

Small ruminants- Forage quality- Health & husbandry- Grazing management

Mixed dairy- Feed quality- Health & husbandry

FAO, 201322

CONCLUSION• IPCC guidelines provide fundamental international standards that
don’t exist for other environmental assessments• Tier 1 emission factors in livestock could be improved- By providing guidance on how herds can be split into production
systems and animal cohorts- By introducing management practices, such as MMS, feed
rations…
- By using results from global LCA assessments relying on Tier 2
calculations• Sectorial approach and Tier 1 : wrong incentive for mitigation
 guidance should be given: LCA & Tier 2 to allow for mitigationassessments (cf AnimalChange project)

THANK YOU24