Narratives Behind Livestock Methane Mitigation Studies Matter

Abstract

AbstractA recent study in AGU Advances highlights the key role of production efficiency changes in livestock methane emission mitigation, which outperforms demand‐side efforts (Chang et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021AV000391). While acknowledging the high value of Chang et al.’s analysis, this commentary argues that the way its results are emphasized and discussed matters. As it is, the proposed narrative might even inadvertently (not intentionally) contribute to a “climate delay discourse,” that is, a discourse that fully accepts climate change but justifies inadequate efforts. From a climate emergency perspective, one important result of the study is that total emissions have increased substantially in the last two decades, at odds with climate change mitigation targets. A more transformative narrative would highlight the need to cultivate synergies between production and more ambitious demand‐side efforts, rather than the differences between their respective mitigation potentials.