Australia's red meat industry drops 2030 carbon neutral goal
The carbon neutral pledge, first announced in 2017, was absent from Meat & Livestock Australia's long-term strategy document released on Tuesday. Its managing director, Michael Crowley, said the target had proven unachievable.
"We need more time, more support, and more investment to reach our goal," he said.
Australia's Red Meat Advisory Council dropped the 2030 climate neutral goal from its strategy last week.
The decisions echo those of some governments and companies that have scaled back climate commitments in recent years.
The livestock industry's original 2030 target aimed to reduce emissions and offset those that remained by carbon sequestration in soil or plant matter.
To this end, the industry has pursued innovations including the breeding of animals that emit less methane, using feed supplements such as seaweed that inhibit methane production in the gut, and improving soil carbon capture techniques.
While emissions from Australia's red meat industry did drop 78% by 2021 from 2005 levels, according to the country's science agency CSIRO, this was due to less land clearing and a smaller national herd - not a decrease in methane produced per animal.
Crowley said the research over the last few years would mature into implementation and the industry could still reach 80-90% of its carbon neutrality goal by 2030.
"We need to drive adoption," he said.
He added that the 2030 target had spurred over A$100 million ($66 million) in sustainability investments and MLA, a livestock research and marketing body, would continue to drive efficiency gains and reduce net emissions per kg of meat production.
Australia is one of the world's biggest exporters of red meat and home to 30 million cattle and more than 70 million sheep, according to MLA.
During digestion, these animals produce methane, which breaks down over time but is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a timespan of 20 years.
($1 = 1.5207 Australian dollars)
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