Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right

Estimates of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions attributable to livestock range from 8 to 51%. This variability creates confusion among policy makers and the public as it suggests that there is a lack of consensus among scientists with regard to the contribution of livestock to global GHG emiss...

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Main Authors: Herrero, Mario, Gerber, Pierre J., Vellinga, Theun V., Garnett, Tara, Leip, A., Opio, C., Westhoek, H.J., Thornton, Philip K., Olesen, Jørgen E., Hutchings, N., Montgomery, H., Soussana, J.F., Steinfeld, H., McAllister, T.A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/3910
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author Herrero, Mario
Gerber, Pierre J.
Vellinga, Theun V.
Garnett, Tara
Leip, A.
Opio, C.
Westhoek, H.J.
Thornton, Philip K.
Olesen, Jørgen E.
Hutchings, N.
Montgomery, H.
Soussana, J.F.
Steinfeld, H.
McAllister, T.A.
author_browse Garnett, Tara
Gerber, Pierre J.
Herrero, Mario
Hutchings, N.
Leip, A.
McAllister, T.A.
Montgomery, H.
Olesen, Jørgen E.
Opio, C.
Soussana, J.F.
Steinfeld, H.
Thornton, Philip K.
Vellinga, Theun V.
Westhoek, H.J.
author_facet Herrero, Mario
Gerber, Pierre J.
Vellinga, Theun V.
Garnett, Tara
Leip, A.
Opio, C.
Westhoek, H.J.
Thornton, Philip K.
Olesen, Jørgen E.
Hutchings, N.
Montgomery, H.
Soussana, J.F.
Steinfeld, H.
McAllister, T.A.
author_sort Herrero, Mario
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Estimates of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions attributable to livestock range from 8 to 51%. This variability creates confusion among policy makers and the public as it suggests that there is a lack of consensus among scientists with regard to the contribution of livestock to global GHG emissions. In reality, estimates of international scientific organizations such as the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are in close agreement, with variation mainly arising on how GHG emissions are allocated to land use and land use change. Other estimates involve major deviations from international protocols, such as estimated global warming potential of CH4 or including respired CO2 in GHG emissions. These approaches also fail to differentiate short-term CO2 arising from oxidation of plant C by ruminants from CO2 released from fixed fossil C through combustion. These deviances from internationally accepted protocols create confusion and direct attention from anthropomorphic practices which have the most important contribution to global GHG emissions. Global estimates of livestock GHG emissions are most reliable when they are generated by internationally recognized scientific panels with expertise across a range of disciplines, and with no preconceived bias to particular outcomes.
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publishDateRange 2011
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spelling CGSpace39102025-11-12T04:26:40Z Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right Herrero, Mario Gerber, Pierre J. Vellinga, Theun V. Garnett, Tara Leip, A. Opio, C. Westhoek, H.J. Thornton, Philip K. Olesen, Jørgen E. Hutchings, N. Montgomery, H. Soussana, J.F. Steinfeld, H. McAllister, T.A. animal feeding climate change Estimates of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions attributable to livestock range from 8 to 51%. This variability creates confusion among policy makers and the public as it suggests that there is a lack of consensus among scientists with regard to the contribution of livestock to global GHG emissions. In reality, estimates of international scientific organizations such as the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are in close agreement, with variation mainly arising on how GHG emissions are allocated to land use and land use change. Other estimates involve major deviations from international protocols, such as estimated global warming potential of CH4 or including respired CO2 in GHG emissions. These approaches also fail to differentiate short-term CO2 arising from oxidation of plant C by ruminants from CO2 released from fixed fossil C through combustion. These deviances from internationally accepted protocols create confusion and direct attention from anthropomorphic practices which have the most important contribution to global GHG emissions. Global estimates of livestock GHG emissions are most reliable when they are generated by internationally recognized scientific panels with expertise across a range of disciplines, and with no preconceived bias to particular outcomes. 2011-06 2011-06-16T07:51:34Z 2011-06-16T07:51:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/3910 en Open Access application/pdf Elsevier Herrero, M., Gerber, P., Vellinga, T., Garnett, T., Leip, A., Opio, C., Westhoek, H.J. Thornton, P.K., Olesen, J., Hutchings, N., Montgomery, H., Soussana, J.-F., Steinfeld, H. and McAllister, T.A. 2011. Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right. Animal Feed Science and Technology 166-167:779-782.
spellingShingle animal feeding
climate change
Herrero, Mario
Gerber, Pierre J.
Vellinga, Theun V.
Garnett, Tara
Leip, A.
Opio, C.
Westhoek, H.J.
Thornton, Philip K.
Olesen, Jørgen E.
Hutchings, N.
Montgomery, H.
Soussana, J.F.
Steinfeld, H.
McAllister, T.A.
Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title_full Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title_fullStr Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title_full_unstemmed Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title_short Livestock and greenhouse gas emissions: The importance of getting the numbers right
title_sort livestock and greenhouse gas emissions the importance of getting the numbers right
topic animal feeding
climate change
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/3910
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