Methodological development report for carbon sequestration and GHG metrics in LCAs

Summary in the original language of the document

The production of animal sourced food significantly contributes to climate change. Cattle, for example, produce methane while digesting feed, which is a strong climate gas. In addition, manure management and feed production largely contribute to the carbon footprint of meat and milk. To mitigate climate impacts innovations are needed on both the supply side, such as changes in the production, as well as on demand side, such as reducing meat consumption and food waste. In the Re-Livestock project, innovations on the production-side will be analysed and how they contribute to a reduced carbon footprint, using the method Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, to calculate the impact of livestock systems on climate change, several methodological challenges exist. In this report, three issues are addressed: 1) choice of functional units; 2) accounting for carbon stored in soils and biomass; 3) integrating effects of long-lived greenhouse gases (such as carbon) and short lived greenhouse gases (such as methane). For each methodological challenge, the relevant literature, models, guidelines and recommendations are reviewed. The findings were then discussed among experts involved in the project to draw conclusions and recommendations.