Environmental performance

Environmental performance review

Since 2015, CSIRO has played a leading role in benchmarking the red meat processing industry’s environmental performance. Links to recent reports published by AMPC are below:

Climate impacts of biogenic carbon emissions

Unlike most sectors of the economy, GHG emissions in the red meat industry are mainly biogenic methane. How biogenic methane emissions are addressed in GHG accounting schemes is therefore a matter of major consequence.

With biogenic methane, the relatively short atmospheric lifetime, of around 12 years, means that a more-or-less steady emissions profile over time can be consistent with climate stabilisation. There is a natural cycle whereby atmospheric CO2 is assimilated into grasses and other vegetation by photosynthesis. As ruminants digest this vegetation, methane is produced and emitted to the atmosphere, where it breaks back down to CO2.

Research by Dr Brad Ridoutt has demonstrated that while the industry has made an historical contribution to elevating atmospheric GHG concentrations, the ongoing activity of the industry is not making a further incremental contribution.

This is explained in a recent OECD presentation:

Links to other publications

Key contact

For collaboration opportunities, research partnerships or pilot trials, please contact: