Meat, milk and methane: new insights into agriculture’s role in climate change
New research on methane gives a better picture of how it contributes to global warming. This lecture will discuss the research and explore policy implications.
Agriculture is responsible for around half of New Zealand’s emissions, and poses the biggest challenge in our transition to a low carbon economy. The two main agriculture greenhouse gases are nitrous oxide (a long-lived gas like CO2) and methane (a short-lived gas).
New research on methane has given us a more accurate picture of how it contributes to global warming. The research suggests a better way to measure methane by a modification of the global warming potential (GWP) metric that is used in climate change accounting. This would give a better basis for policy such as how methane should be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme, and the scale of emissions reductions needed to get to ‘net zero’.
Policy decisions on methane over the next year or so will have major implications for livestock farming but also for the broader land sector in New Zealand. The lecture will summarise the research findings and explore the related policy issues.
About the presenter
Professor Dave Frame is Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (NZCCRI) at Victoria University of Wellington. He has been a Lead Author on the Fifth and Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and his research has often been published in the world's leading scientific research journals.