The methane agreement, signed by Brazil and 102 other countries at COP26, in Glasgow, stipulated a commitment to cut pollutant gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and raised the challenges for agriculture, in search of more sustainable production.
After deforestation, cattle raising is the activity responsible for the greatest amount of carbon dioxide emissions and is also the main emitter of methane into the atmosphere — both are gases that contribute to global warming.
Brazil is the fifth largest emitter of methane, according to data from 2018, with most agribusiness emissions coming from so-called enteric fermentation. Gas is produced in the digestive tract of cattle and in natural processes. Another percentage comes from landfill waste and oil and gas production.
The deal includes half of the top 30 methane emitters. Of the big economies, however, China, Russia and India have not made the commitment.
“It is a challenge, but Brazil cannot be left out. It is difficult to comply with, but we hope that a great effort will be made, for the benefit of Brazilian exports”, says José Augusto de Castro, executive president of the AEB (Association of Brazilian Foreign Trade).
He points out that agriculture may, at first, lose part of its competitiveness, but it is necessary that the government and the private sector strengthen partnerships. “As much as the transformations may bother part of the sector, the country cannot turn its back on the world on the environmental issue.”
“The agreement was an advance, and the commitment made by Brazil ended up going beyond what was imagined. It is now necessary to show the market that we are capable of doing this, it cannot just be said in speech”, says the professor at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas ) Eduardo Assad, specialist in agribusiness.
“At the same time, the country could have had a much firmer position at the conference, with a commitment to balanced agriculture, but we’ve lost that place in the world in the last two years. We’ve come to COP26 on our knees.”
Among the initiatives to reduce emissions, the government has highlighted the ABC+ Plan, which aims to control the emission of gases (methane among them). The goal is to avoid the release of 1.1 billion equivalent tons, by the agricultural sector, by 2030.
The first phase of the ABC Plan included initiatives such as direct planting and pasture recovery; the second includes technologies, such as irrigated systems, and the incentive for the adoption of these practices is through public credit, with the Safra Plan.
Today, however, the resources that finance low-carbon agro production are equivalent to R$ 5 billion, or 2% of the total program for 2021 and 2022.
In the assessment of analysts heard by sheet, the volume of resources needed to meet the new goals will need to be increased in the coming years. Private contributions should also help even more to meet the increased demand for investments.
Luiza Bruscato, coordinator of GTPS (Sustainable Livestock Working Group) believes that it is necessary, first of all, to estimate methane emissions by the livestock sector efficiently.
“We have several realities within Brazil, each with its particularities, but the first challenge is to estimate emissions. Once that is done, the ABC+ Plan is very robust. If we manage to implement it fully, recovering degraded pastures without further deforestation, we’ll be up ahead.”
She also says that it is necessary to improve communication in agribusiness. “Brazil needs to do a better account of the balance of emissions, also thinking about the case of carbon. Our result may be much better than that of countries that only use confinement and do not have conservation reserves.”
“We need resources to continue preserving. You can’t throw everything bad that happens on the rancher’s account, even to comply with international agreements without a counterpart”, says Francisco Manzi, from Acrimat (Association of Breeders of Mato Grosso).
“The government has to do its part, whether it’s regularizing land, promoting access to credits, demanding the international community and inspecting and punishing the minority that practices illegal acts”, he adds.
During the COP, the CNA (Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil) defended that the Brazilian producer is committed to environmental sustainability.
Muni Lourenço, vice president of the organization, stated that the country occupies a prominent position in the world due to the production of beef using low-carbon technologies.
“We are one of the largest beef producers in the world and we have the potential to expand this production with environmental sustainability, incorporating sustainable techniques into the production chain.”
He also stated that low carbon emission technologies have allowed for a reduction in the area of ​​pastures and increased the number of animals per hectare.
From a technical standpoint, Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) highlights that it has already been developing strategies to reduce methane, such as plant genetic improvement, through the development of pastures that are more easily digestible by animals.
A second strategy is through the genetic improvement of the animals themselves, so that they can be slaughtered in advance, which reduces the time for generating gases per head. In the last ten years, the slaughter time has been reduced from 48 months to 36 months. One of the premises of the ABC+ Plan is to intensify this practice.
Another measure comes from the use of additives in animal feed, through the use of tannins and essential oils mixed with the feed. These studies are still at an early stage.
“Brazilian agriculture has been contributing to the reduction in emissions for at least three decades. By adhering to the agreement on methane reductions, Brazil is ready to help, together with other countries, achieve a 30% cut in emissions . We can make our contribution to this goal”, says the president of Embrapa, Celso Luiz Moretti.
He also points out that it is impossible to zero out methane emissions from livestock, but through progress in the integration of farming and forestry, it is possible to offset the effects of this.
“The first big front is to reduce methane and the second is to compensate. There was initial concern about the effects of the agreement on the sector, but it could be a stimulus for us to have a more competitive and efficient livestock production in the next ten years.”
In the view of Paulo Camuri, senior economist at WRI Brasil, although it is difficult to measure the volume of resources needed to make the transition agreed at the COP, it is entirely feasible that Brazil can reduce methane emissions by 30%.
“The way to produce livestock with lower emissions, both of methane and carbon, already exists. But just having the technology is not enough to guarantee that the agreement will be fulfilled. It is necessary that farmers have access to the practices.”
He also assesses that, based on data from the last ten years of the ABC Plan, the producer has shown himself willing to adopt productive practices to increase sustainability and there is room to expand funding for the plan. “The producer has already discovered that the technologies available to produce with low carbon emissions even reduce production costs.”
“The next step is to ensure that the technologies available to produce meat with lower methane and carbon emissions reach more producers, both large and small, at affordable costs.”
Sources: Embrapa and Wri Brasil
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